that awkward moment when your gel mani grows out...

GEL HACK 1: Do an all over polish. Use creams or glittery finishes to just polish over the entire nail with a new color. Cream polishes, like essie’s wicked, provide smooth coverage over the gel gap and glitters, like congrats, are spectacular at bouncing light away from imperfections.

GEL HACK 2: Glitter ombre. For our craftier obsessies, try an elevated ombre look with glitter. Start by choosing a dense glittery polish like set in stones or a cut above. Using the bottle’s brush, gently dab the polish into the gap area at the base of your nail, and lightly brush the remaining glitter upwards. You don’t want it ALL over the nail; keep the focus about a 1/3 way up from the cuticle to achieve that perfect cascading look.

GEL HACK 3: Reverse French mani. Using a thin brush, draw a curved line along the base of your cuticle to cover up the bare growth.Note that polishes with a bit more density like the concrete glitter, stay up slate, works great for this look because it dries to a height that will level up with the gel. If you polish out of the lines, wipe away any mistakes with an angled eyeliner brush dipped in nail polish remover.

Finally, top off any 3 of these hacks with a thick, glossy top coat to keep that gel shine going strong, like essie’s gel setter top coat. Long live the gel mani!