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Hey guys! So it’s been a little while since I’ve done a nail polish review, but not to worry. Nail polish fans rejoice, as I’ve got a post reviewing 4 different ranges of gel nail polish for you! Hurrah!
KAGA is a professional gel nail polish brand that provides high quality gel nail polish and other supplies that professionals need for creating top quality gel nail polish manicures. They provide 4 different ranges that have slightly different formulas and come in at different price points. All of the ranges require the use of a UV light for curing.
These ranges are:
- KAGA - a lightweight gel polish. UV or LED cured. Comes in a range of 160+ colours. Comes in a beautifully designed bottle with a butterfly cap. The bottle shows the colour of the polish inside, and it comes with 12ml of product.
- Love Easy - a thicker gel polish that requires less coats. Non-shrinking and odourless. Comes in a range of 140+ colours with 24 glitter shades. Comes in a red bottle with a gold cap that has a sticker indicating the shade contained inside. Each bottle holds 15ml of product.
- QLZ - a lightweight gel polish. Can be used for full colour or stamping and is non-shrinking. Once cured, allows the nail to breathe and has no sticky residue. Comes in a range of 150+ colours with 24 glitter shades. Each bottle is the colour of the contents inside and holds 7.5ml of product.
- BMG - a thicker gel polish that requires less coats for coverage. Very cost effective and is non-shrinking and odourless. Every bottle is black in colour and holds 7.5ml of product inside. There is a little sticker on the bottle that indicates the shade contained inside.
All ranges are eco-friendly, vegan friendly, scratch resistant, soak off easily, last 14+ days and have a high gloss finish. In regards to curing, the base coat needs 2 minutes, each of the colour coats 2 minutes too, and the top coat needs 2-3 coats which require 2 minutes for the first coat, but then 3 minutes each for the second and third coats.
Today I will be reviewing a couple of shades from each of their ranges, one solid colour and one glitter shade from each. I’m going to review each of the gel nail polishes individually as we go, and then compare them and the ranges in general at the end. The gel base coat and top coat that I have are part of the KAGA range.
To help me with this post I have my sister who tried half of the shades whilst I tried the rest. Both of us wore two shades at a time to create a total of 4 nail looks. We’ve taken photos of each look in three different types of lighting; indoor, outdoor and under camera flash.
Each nail look combines shades from different ranges except for one (so a look may contain a shade from the BMG range and the Love Easy range on different nails), so instead of reviewing each range in order straight away, I’m going to review them a bit mixed at first. I’ll show you each of the looks we created, and review each shade used underneath the pictures. Then, at the end, I will do a summary of each range in a more structured way, taking from points I mention as we go throughout the post. This will also act as a comparison of results between the ranges.
I will also review the base cost and the top coat at the end of the post.
Look 1 - featuring Love Easy 034 and QLZ Q111
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Love Easy 034 and QLZ Q111 in outdoor light
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Love Easy 034 and QLZ Q111 in indoor light
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| Love Easy 034 and QLZ Q111 with camera flash |
This first look uses Love Easy 034 shade which is the orange colour and QLZ Q11 which is a gold glitter that also contains holographic glitter.
Love Easy 034 - yellow-orange
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| Love Easy in 034 |
On the swatch chart, this was a very bright orange shade. Even on the sticker on the bottle and looking at the polish in the bottle it looks orange. However, in the majority of lights, it looks pretty yellow. It’s hard to ascertain if it’s more orange or more yellow, so I’m just going to see it as yellow-orange.
This was the thinnest of the shades out of all the ones tested and the one that needs the most coats. I used 4 coats for this look and it still has some thinner areas where you can see through it. The consistency also seemed a little watery in comparison to the other shades featured in this post, so I had a harder time being less messy with it. That’s a minor criticism though as otherwise it applies nicely.
It wore very well, but felt a bit thick and heavy on the nails due to the extra coats.
QLZ Q111 - gold glitter with holographic glitter
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| QLZ in Q111 |
This is a small-piece gold glitter shade that also contains some chunky holographic glitter pieces. I found this glitter to be an amazing one to work with. The glitter really dispersed evenly over the nail, and it created a beautiful depth with each layer which makes it hypnotising to look at in person. The formula was the perfect consistency and I made no mess when applying it.
This shade is so sparkly and holographic in person and I couldn’t help turning my hands to the sun and watching my nails twinkle whilst wearing it.
Look 2 - featuring KAGA in 012 and 134
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| KAGA in 012 and 134 in outdoor light |
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| KAGA in 012 and 134 in indoor light |
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| KAGA in 012 and 134 with camera flash |
The second look features two different shades of green. One is a bright olive, and the other is a darker brown-green with gold, copper and green shimmery glitter.
KAGA 012 - bright olive green
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| KAGA in 012 |
On the first coat, this was thin and I suspected that it would need more coats. We were okay with three in the end, which surprised me a bit as I expected it to be four. The formula was thinner but still easy to use and control.
Sometimes decorative handles can make the brush harder to control, but this feels comfortable in the hand and doesn’t hinder application. There was a small amount of shrinking after applying the top coat, but nothing too major.
Overall it was good to work with and wore very well on the nails whilst remaining easy to remove.
KAGA 134 - dark, shimmering brown-green with fine gold, copper and green glitter
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| KAGA in 134 |
On the swatch chart I originally thought this was a brown/black glitter shade, but it is more of a dark brown-green glitter, which is very beautiful. This shade would be fantastic for the autumn/winter season and even for Christmas as the dark green and glitter just screams festive to me.
This was one of the best formulas out of the shades tested. Whilst it was thinner, it was very easy to work with and control. We could have gotten away with two coats but we went with a third just incase. Like KAGA 012, there was a small amount of shrinking, but nothing too bad.
Look 3 - BMG 030 and Love Easy 123
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| BMG 030 and Love Easy 123 in outdoor light |
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| BMG 030 and Love Easy 123 in indoor light |
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| BMG 030 and Love Easy 123 with camera flash |
Look 3 is made up of a beautiful dusky lilac-pink and pink glitter.
BMG 030 - dusky lilac-pink
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| BMG in 030 |
BMG 030 is a dusky lilac-pink shade that can be used for a nude shade nail look. This shade is part of the beginner range, but I definitely found it to be of super high quality. It was very easy to work with, and needed less coats than other shades. The formula was thick but very easy to disperse across the nails in minimum time.
Love Easy 123 - translucent pink shade with pink, silver and holographic glitter
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| Love Easy in 123 |
This shade is a pink-tinted but still translucent base packed with fine pink glitter and chunkier silver and holographic glitter.
It’s an easy glitter shade to use, and it is not difficult to spread the glitter across the nail evenly. It took three layers to create the finished look above, and each layer adds a lovely depth to it like the gold glitter above.
Just like QLZ Q111, this shade is mesmerising to look at in bright light thanks to the holographic glitter. Stunning.
Just like QLZ Q111, this shade is mesmerising to look at in bright light thanks to the holographic glitter. Stunning.
Look 4 - QLZ 021 and BMG 098
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| QLZ 021 and BMG 098 in outdoor light |
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| QLZ 021 and BMG 098 in indoor light |
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| QLZ 021 and BMG 098 with camera flash |
Look 4 consists of QLZ 021, a solid black shade, with BMG 098, a gold glitter that can be build up into a solid shade or used as a topper.
QLZ 021 - Black
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| QLZ in 021 |
QLZ 021 is a solid black shade. I think we could have gotten away with two coats of the black, but as with the others, we went with three.
The formula of this was fantastic and easy to work with, just like BMG 030. It was of average consistency and not difficult to use, and wore really well also. It was also easy enough to remove.
BMG 098 - gold glitter
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| BMG in 098 |
BMG 098 is a fine gold glitter in a transparent base. Very easy to build up if you want to wear it alone but also good as a topper over a solid colour.
We applied this onto the 4th finger as an odd nail like we did with the other looks, but we also added it over the black to show how it can be used as a topper shade if desired too.
This glitter again is easy to spread evenly across the nail and is easy to work with. We did have a small issue with pooling up around the edge of the nail with this one, but it was easy to clean up.
So there are the swatches. Now it's time for more of an overview and comparison of the ranges.
We applied this onto the 4th finger as an odd nail like we did with the other looks, but we also added it over the black to show how it can be used as a topper shade if desired too.
This glitter again is easy to spread evenly across the nail and is easy to work with. We did have a small issue with pooling up around the edge of the nail with this one, but it was easy to clean up.
So there are the swatches. Now it's time for more of an overview and comparison of the ranges.
KAGA
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| KAGA Gel Nail Polish |
Both shades applied well, and had a lovely high shine finish that is chip resistant. There was a minor issue with shrinking when curing the top coat with this range, but it wasn't extensive. There is a slight odour to these polishes too, but it's not overwhelming.
As mentioned above, the handle may be decorative, but it is still comfortable to use and doesn't affect application.
These shades are a little more expensive than other ranges, but you also get double the amount of product.
Love Easy
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| Love Easy Gel Nail Polish |
Putting that aside though, they both wear very well yet are still easy to remove. 034 is easier to remove than 123, but that is probably due to the glitter.
QLZ
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| QLZ Gel Nail Polish |
This formula was a breeze to apply to the nails, but also easier to make mistakes with.
The gold glitter, QLZ Q111, is probably the best glitter nail polish that I have ever used. It was such a great formula and the results were simply beautiful. You know you've found a stunner when you spend too much time twisting your finger about getting lost in that sparkle!
With that said, it was also the most difficult shade to remove. The chunky glitter was quite difficult to get off and it required a longer soaking time than the Love Easy 034 which was tried alongside it to finally remove it. The black shade was very easy to remove with no staining though, which is fantastic.
BMG
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| BMG Gel Nail Polish |
I was blown away by how good the formula is for BMG 030, the dusky lilac-pink. It was gliding across the nails with very little mess, it felt very difficult to get it wrong. The formula was the perfect consistency; not too thick, but thick enough for perfect coverage with minimum effort.
The formula for BMG 098 was a little thinner and easier to make mistakes with, but with practice I think it's not too difficult to master the application of it.
Both shades wear really well with a high-gloss finish and were easily removable with the recommended soaking time.
Now we're going to have a quick chat about the base and top coats.
Both the base and top coats that I tried with all of these colours are from the KAGA range. They both come in a black bottle, but the base has a silver cap and the top has a gold cap.
The base can be a bit tricky at first, and you need to remember to catch the whole nail and the free edge or else it begins to shrink off your nail. If you get it right though, it's a perfectly smooth base that the colour coats grip well onto. It is also important to do proper preparation before applying by buffing the nails and using a pre-polish wipe to remove excess oils on the nail.
The top coat needs 2-3 coats, and each coat needs curing. The first coat needs 2 minutes of curing time under the UV light, but second and third coats need 3 minutes each.
There is a sticky residue left behind after applying the top coat, but once it is removed with a solution or wipe designed to remove it, you are left with such a high-shine glossy finish that simply doesn't reduce in glossiness for the duration of wear.
Together, the base and top coat do a fantastic job at keeping your manicure in the best condition it can be.
Out of all of the shades, the black, dusky pink and gold holographic glitter shades are my favourites. This is down to the formulas mainly, as they’re the easiest to work with and you need the least amount of coats. Two of these shades are from the same range, which is the QLZ range. If I were to choose a favourite range though, I'd pick BMG alongside the QLZ range.
In regards to packaging, the KAGA and Love Easy bottle designs are beautiful.
So there we have it! A very long post, but I hope that it was an informative one.
If you're on the hunt for a new gel polish range to try, I do recommend all of the KAGA ranges. Each range has their own pros and cons, so I think which is best is more of a personal choice. What type of polish do you prefer working with? What are you using it for? If you prefer a thinner polish, you may prefer the KAGA or QLZ ranges. If you prefer thicker, maybe try Love Easy and BMG. If you are after something for stamping, try QLZ. Want to get into doing gel nails? BMG is a great range that is cost effective and very high quality. Therefore, I'm not going to say which is better as I think it is purely down to the needs of the buyer.
You can purchase all of the KAGA Gel Nail Polish ranges from KAGA or Amazon.
Which are your favourite shades? What range do you think sounds best?
Let me know in the comments below!
*These products were sent to me to sample as review considerations. However, this hasn't in any way affected my review with all thoughts and feelings about the products and company being 100% my own.
In regards to packaging, the KAGA and Love Easy bottle designs are beautiful.
So there we have it! A very long post, but I hope that it was an informative one.
If you're on the hunt for a new gel polish range to try, I do recommend all of the KAGA ranges. Each range has their own pros and cons, so I think which is best is more of a personal choice. What type of polish do you prefer working with? What are you using it for? If you prefer a thinner polish, you may prefer the KAGA or QLZ ranges. If you prefer thicker, maybe try Love Easy and BMG. If you are after something for stamping, try QLZ. Want to get into doing gel nails? BMG is a great range that is cost effective and very high quality. Therefore, I'm not going to say which is better as I think it is purely down to the needs of the buyer.
You can purchase all of the KAGA Gel Nail Polish ranges from KAGA or Amazon.
Which are your favourite shades? What range do you think sounds best?
Let me know in the comments below!
*These products were sent to me to sample as review considerations. However, this hasn't in any way affected my review with all thoughts and feelings about the products and company being 100% my own.
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