If was able to create one product, it would be this! A LED based natural gel manicure set for use at home. As I’ve mentioned previously I’m cursed with super dry nails that shrivel up and crack just at the mention of gel polish. I’ve also got a near 100% smudge record when it comes to doing my own nails. I always underestimate how long they’ll take to dry. Ahhh! It’s beyond frustrating. I’ve also got zero patience or time to go and get my nails done at a salon. Green Flash by Manicurist Paris is therefore, as close to a dream product for me as I could ever imagine. When I first saw it in Selfridges in London, I couldn’t resist giving the Green Flash at home gel manicure system a shot. With such high hopes could it deliver? I had everything crossed.

Green Flash is the first ever green and clean, non-damaging and vegan gel nail polish. Produced in Paris with an emphasis on sustainability, which is apparent in their clever packaging, they have produced a product that doesn’t contain the harmful ingredients of conventional polishes. Their formulation contains 96.5% bio sourced ingredients. It also doesn’t damage your nails in the same way as conventional gel application and removal does. The Green Flash remover is acetone free and Manucurist has sought to ensure the pleasure of this self-care moment through super easy application and removal. This sounded good as I’ve never especially enjoyed doing my nails due to the inevitable frustration at having to wait for them to dry and then smudging them!

The Green Flash LED Gel Polish Discovery Kit comes with all you need for an at home gel manicure. If you buy directly from Manucurist, you have an incredible range of colours to choose from. Poppy Red was the only option available in Selfridges when I visited. There’s also a choice between a travel lamp and a superior lamp. The latter is sold as being of a professional quality and can cut drying time in half and is only fractionally more expensive. I wish I’d known this at the time of buying the kit, as I assumed the travel lamp was the only option.

Green Flash is intended to be make-up for nails, in that it combines nail enhancing ingredients along with aesthetically pleasing results, which is also incredibly easy to apply. There is an awareness that as life is busy, we all have very little time for such self-care. The Discovery Kit therefore couldn’t be easier to use. The base, colour and top coat are numbered 1,2 and 3 and the travel lamp has only two buttons. Base/colour and top coat. The polish is applied no differently to regular polish and once it has been set under the LED lamp, it’s fully dry and you’re all done. It honestly couldn’t be easier to use and I wouldn’t say I was especially gifted at doing my own nails. When it’s time to remove, it only takes one minute per hand! You simply apply remover-soaked cotton wool to each nail and secure it with the nail clips supplied and remove after one minute. The gel simply peels off effortlessly. No scrubbing or repeating required. It’s almost like removing a film from your nails. So there’s no staining of your cuticle either.

I absolutely love pretty much everything about the Green Flash Discovery Kit. But, there’s one significant caveat. The first few times I used it my nails were chipped within a couple of days. My bubble was burst!  I couldn’t get anywhere close to a week of prefect wear. However, I’ve subsequently found that applying thinner coats of each layer of polish is key, along with an extra couple of minutes drying time. With this little bit of trial and error, I got a whole week of chip free wear of Hortencia, which is a perfect sheer pink polish, and is one of the many new colours I’ve bought since first trying the Discovery Kit.

So, despite the initial teething issues, I’m now fully committed to the Green Flash revolution. One of the main reasons why I’ve fully committed is that I genuinely look forward to using this product. It’s green and super luxe and super easy to use. You’re guaranteed perfect, smudge free polish every time, with that super shiny gel polish look being highly addictive. Especially when it doesn’t trash your nails. It also only takes me around 15 minutes to paint and dry my nails perfectly, as I can squeeze both hands under the lamp, which appeals greatly to my impatience. Green Flash has also opened up the world of coloured polish to me. Having been a neutral obsessive for the past several years, I’m now experimenting with all colours because there’s no staining of the cuticles, which I absolutely loath, and if they do chip, removal couldn’t be easier. Green Flash unquestionably makes nail painting super-efficient, indulgent and, dare I say it, fun!