Epica Double Wide UV Curing Nail Dryer for Acrylic Gel/Shellac Manicures 54 Watt

My daughter wanted one of these for her upcoming birthday, so after looking for hours on Amazon & reading tons of reviews I finally decided to purchase this one. (the reviews made me decide to get one for myself as well) They arrived in a few days, fully assembled and when I finally had time to give myself a pedicure, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the unit worked. First of all it is quite spacious and both feet fit in very comfortably. Tried my hands in there as well just to see how they fit and it's very roomy. The controls are conveniently placed on the front of the unit, which is perfect, because you don't have to fumble for buttons on the side or the back. It's very easy to operate; it has auto shut off after the time is up which beeps several times then turns off. It is quite loud but you get used to it. Having the fan as well as the UV Lights is great, sort of speeds up the process & honestly who doesn't like to get it done quickly. When I polished my toes with the gel polish I decided to try just a 3 minute timed dry on the base coat, then for the color I used 7 minutes for each coat(you have to press the timer button until the 3 & 4 are lit at the same time....again very easy to operate),and for the clear top coat I also used 7 minutes. With each coat I used the fan as well because it feels nice and speeds up the drying time. After that I used a little bit of alcohol on a paper towel to "cure" the gel...because they were a bit tacky, which set the polish as hard as a rock. I couldn't believe that I had just given myself a salon pedicure in my home using a machine I bought online.. it was fantastic! And the price was incredibly low, so one more mani or pedi and it will have paid for itself... my daughter is going to love hers just as much as I love my new Epicura Nail dryer!!!! I'm gonna give myself a manicure tomorrow, because I can't wait to use it again. Don't wait, buy yours now!!!!! :) **Update** July 11, 2013** Gave myself a manicure, used the gel polish that states it is for LED light dryer, and this worked just fine..my mani looks fabulous 1 week later! Gave my daughter her Epica Nail dryer last Saturday the 6th for her bday, I used it to give her and another person a manicure, using regular nail polish & a clear gel top coat; they both came out beautiful! And my daughter loves it... she gave herself a pedicure later that night. So glad I found this unit! :)

My friend recently started getting shellac nails at a salon and was complaining about them costing around $25 each time she went (approx. every 2 weeks). I had been considering something like this because I bite my nails, and thought the shellac would keep me from doing so, and allow my nails to grow and strengthen (they do, by the way). I'm more of a DIY person, myself- pay more up front for the equipment and save money in the long run- and always like to choose the best product for my purchase. I spent a lot of time looking for a UV nail dryer and I chose this one based on style and reviews. I noticed that any negative review was made only because the user was using it incorrectly- and now I see that even doing that is incredibly foolish (no offense guys). This is very easy to use, very light, and works very well with both the shellac that I use and the regular nail polish my room mates use. It is easy to transport from room to room, and gives even normal nail polish an extra shine. I love the timers, and it is wonderful in that it automatically turns off after a certain period of time ((I tend to get caught up in whatever movie I'm watching while I'm doing my nails, and would otherwise just derp out and forget what I'm doing)). It's perfect for both hands and feet. I highly recommend this product for anyone looking for a UV curing nail dryer. Will post updates (if I remember) if it ever stops working, but I've used it several times already and have had no problems with it.

I have used this lamp two times, and each time, my Shellac manicure has cured well. I say this lamp is powerful because I have cured my nails for three minutes for each coat after the base coat and I have seen some bubbling. I will try curing my nails for only two minutes for each coat after the base coat to see if the lamp is still as effective without the bubbling--I think it will be. The dryer without the UV lamp is great too, because I can use it to dry my hands and nails after washing cuticle remover from my nails. An excellent feature is the fact that I can put both hands (or both feet) into the dryer at once. That feature can save a lot of time. The only downside is that the lamp only has two, three, four, and seven minute timers, and those may not correspond to Shellac curing times. So, you will have to experiment. The lamp comes with a spare fuse and an extra bulb. It also includes instructions for curing generic gel manicures. When I first opened the box and plugged the lamp in, the device was on already, so it made a little popping sound. I would recommend turning the switch off before plugging the device in each time. I would buy this item again.

I like the size, the ease of using, and everything except it does not harden the gel shellac even after 14 minutes under the light. I have not gone longer than that, so I have no idea how long it would actually take for polish to harden. I have not been able to use 3 coats of polish, the base, the color and th top coat. I dried each of 2 coats for for the full 14. Guess I expected it to dry like tha nail salon driers.