Red Carpet Manicure Solid Cream Gel Polish Palette Review

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Red Carpet Manicure is a nail beauty brand owned by Nail Alliance, who also owns Gelish, Morgan Taylor and Entity Clean.

One of the cool things about both Red Carpet Manicure and Gelish is that because they are from the same parent company, they both create similar products including cream gel palettes.

Cream gels are solid gel nail polishes that have a thicker formula which makes gel polish easier to apply.

Solid cream gel polish is still a soft gel polish, meaning you can soak it off in acetone, but the formula is creamy, workable and no-drip. You apply it with a separate cream gel brush that’s included with each set.

Compared to liquid gel color polish in bottles, which can drip into the cuticle line, you don’t have to worry about getting solid gel polish on your cuticle and then developing an allergic reaction to uncured gel. 

Solid gels stay where you put them so they can be a useful solution for those of us who have more curved nail beds.

Both Red Carpet Manicure and Gelish sell basically identical solid cream gel palettes with the same color names, number of colors per palette (6 each), product volumes (3.7g/0.13oz)  and as you’ll see below, ingredients (HEMA free).

The main differences between them are that the Red Carpet Manicure solid cream gel line has more variety - there are currently 6 palettes compared to 4 from Gelish. They’re also in different branded packages, offered at slightly different price points and depending on which palette you get, they may be sold in different stores.

With Red Carpet Manicure, the 6 cream gel palettes currently available are: 

Soft Girl Essentials - a light neutrals set also called Act Natural by Gelish Midnight Berries - a reds set also called Get Reddy by Gelish Positively Pastels - a pastel set also called Pretty Pastels by Gelish Brite Lite - a neon set also called Neon & On & On by Gelish Cutesy Pinks - a pinks set not yet available by Gelish Cuddle Me Teddy - a deep neutrals set not yet available from Gelish Today we’re focusing on the Soft Girl Essentials Palette, or the Act Natural Palette by Gelish, the ingredients, as well as the individual color names, are identical:

Red Carpet Manicure Soft Girl Essentials Ingredients:

Polyurethane-57, Benzyl Methacrylate, Isobornyl Methacrylate, Silica, Trimethylolpropane Trimethacrylate, Ethyl Trimethylbenzoyl Phenylphosphinate, Hydroxycyclohexyl Phenyl Ketone, PEG-9 Dimethacrylate +/-: Mica, Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 (CI 15850), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360), Red 34 (CI 15880), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Yellow 11 (CI 47000), Violet 2 (CI 60725).

Gelish Act Natural Ingredients: 

Polyurethane-57, Benzyl Methacrylate, Isobornyl Methacrylate, Silica, Trimethylolpropane Trimethacrylate, Ethyl Trimethylbenzoyl Phenylphosphinate, Hydroxycyclohexyl Phenyl Ketone, PEG-9 Dimethacrylate +/-: Mica, Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090), Iron Oxides (CI 77491), Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Iron Oxides (CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Red 6 (CI 15850), Red 7 (CI 15850), Red 30 Lake (CI 73360), Red 34 (CI 15880), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Yellow 5 Lake (CI 19140), Yellow 11 (CI 47000), Violet 2 (CI 60725)

I’m convinced that these solid cream gels are the same product in different boxes, but let’s continue.

A look at the Soft Girl Essentials Solid Cream Gel Polish Palette:

LED UV Lamp Plus Base and Top Coat Needed

To cure solid cream gels, you will need a LED/UV lamp, a Gel Base and Top Coat and a nail cleanser, which are not included. If you don’t already have these things, I highly suggest picking up a starter kit.  Either the Red Carpet Manicure Fortify & Protect Pro Starter Kit or the Fortify & Protect Essentials Starter Kit will work. If you’re getting the Gelish version, pick up the Gelish Starter Kit, or the Gelish Lamp, Base and Top Coat Bundle and cleanser.

Space Saving and Perfect for Travel

These cream gel palettes are so easy to store! They’re incredibly compact and take up such little room compared to gel polish bottles. 

Even if you collected every solid cream gel color palette that Red Carpet Manicure or Gelish makes, you could still fit them all in the corner of a dresser drawer. These cream gel palettes are perfect for small space lifestyles, as they are very stackable.

Their small size makes them also great for travel. They weigh so little they won’t make a dent in your luggage pound limit, they won’t leak and they take up very little cubic volume in your bags. I picked up this palette while travelling - it was so easy and worry free to take home on an airplane.

Individual Color Pods

Each color comes in an individual color pod, which is removable from the container. This further enhances their portability.

The compartmentalization also helps reduce contamination between the colors and it decreases the exposure to sunlight and oxygen each color receives, which improves the longevity of these shades. 

It makes it easy to take out the color you need, whilst keeping the rest in your cool, dark storage place.

Application Brush Included

This color collection is gorgeous, isn’t it?

An application brush comes with each palette and snaps into the palette container. You can clean the brush with an uncured base or top coat, then with a nail cleanser and lint-free wipe.

To use the solid cream gels, prep your nails for a manicure then:

1. Apply 1 thin coat of your base gel; cure

2. Apply 2 thin color coats using the included brush; cure between coats

3. Apply a gel top coat; cure

4. Cleanse each finished nail with nail cleanser and lint-free wipe

5. Moisturize

For best results with curing time, follow the instructions on your nail lamp for how long to cure. To remove these gels, soak them off in acetone as usual for gel polish.

Overall Impressions

As you can see, these cream gels have never before been used and the palettes are sold shrink wrapped in plastic, ensuring they haven’t been opened by shoppers before you. 

The shrink wrapping makes a difference in the confidence to buy - it provides peace of mind in knowing that your brand new gels weren’t exposed to light or air while sitting on the shelves. 

All in all, the Red Carpet Manicure Solid Cream Gel Polishes are unique to the polish market and I love that they come in so many color varieties.

They’re a perfect solution if you’re looking for a no-drip, HEMA free gel polish that can be easily stored in small spaces.

Best of all, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel on getting a whole new gel polish set up if you already have invested in Gelish products - as Gelish makes the exact same formula, just in different packaging.

While both of these sets are available on Amazon, you may have a preference for shopping at a beauty specialty store. If that’s the case, Red Carpet Manicure is found at Ulta, whereas Gelish is at Sally Beauty.

If you have a Red Carpet Manicure set up, like the branding better or you prefer to shop at Ulta, it's best to go with the Soft Girl Essentials Palette, which, at the time of writing, is less expensive when you get it at Ulta.

If you have a Gelish set up, like the branding better or prefer to shop at Sally Beauty, it's best to go for the Act Natural Palette, though it is a bit more expensive at Sally Beauty.

Get the Red Carpet Manicure Soft Girl Essentials Palette at Amazon or Ulta Get the Gelish version Act Natural at Amazon or Sally Beauty

Other Articles You May Enjoy:

• How To Remove Gel Polish At Home

• 5 HEMA Free Gel Nail Polish Brands

• How To Get Better Gel Polish Adhesion

• The Differences Between Nail Polish And Gel Polish

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