Leafgel: Color Gel 901 and 307 Review and Swatch

Information about my order and the brand: 

Leafgel is a professional Japanese soft gel brand -  although it was not possible to buy these in Japan very easily (most shops will require that you have a Japanese Nail Association/JNA certificate or some sort of nail technician qualification), it's become far easier in recent years to get these. I have previously spoken about Jasmine Nails in Hong Kong, which is one such reseller of Japanese soft gel brands, but I did a little bit of research and found that it was possible to get Leafgel from Australia now. 

Although Leafgel has a LeafgelAus account, it's not actually possible to buy from that website. However, Leafgel has 'educators', and there is one in Sydney and one in Melbourne. You can contact the Sydney educator directly to purchase LeafGel goods, and the Melbourne educator has a website with some Leafgel products as well. 

For me, I decided to also enrol for a certificate Level 1 course with the Sydney educator, and with the course she sells a 'student kit', which includes Leafgel files, brushes and potted products. I personally find it quite difficult to categorize colors which only have numbers for names on the top of the pot (they have names written on the sides of the pots in Japanese). The Sydney educator told us that she had picked each kit to have colors that would be frequently used with clients so I thought it would be best to go with their recommendation (although retrospectively, I wish I had tried to pick out colors I liked because there are honestly a few in the bunch that I really would not wear. Ever. I suppose the upside is you can always mix colors easily with gel.) 

For this purchase, I paid by bank transfer to avoid extra charges associated with sending money through an online platform, and domestic shipping cost $12 AUD. Each pot of gel contains 4g and cost $25.95 AUD each - which is about the same from other American resellers such as Zillebeau as well.  

Some thoughts about the product: 

Overall - the wear of gel colors (more so than normal nail polish) is hugely dependent on the base and top coat, so it's relatively hard to express how well these colors wear individually (eg. wear time or chipping) as they're not formulated to be applied and worn alone. Much like all other chemically dependent products (like hair dye/nail polish),  potted soft gel polish works best with products within their own brand and are formulated to perform the best with each other. For these colors, they will wear far longer and adhere much better with the Leafgel base and top coats. The other colors I have tried from this brand do have great flexibility for art, and do self level well, and don't blur or feather over each other - but I would say that most JNA approved Japanese soft gel brands are overall just fantastic in quality. 

Compared to some other brands I own, Leafgel is the only brand which offers 4g of product, hence they're priced "higher" than other brands (eg. Kokoist, Ageha), but are actually the most affordable in terms of price per gram. However, I'd say that Leafgel's pots are probably the most frustrating I own - they're cute little pots but they're ridiculously finnicky to store and pack well and don't stack up well on top of one another. I've also had a few instances where I haven't removed the foam/foil top and gel will end up leaking all over the edges of the pot and make it impossible to open. When you open them, I'd recommend scraping off all the product from the top and just removing the foam/foil top all together. That said, you will still have to be very careful about accidentally tipping them over or leaking. 

901 (Cinnamon) is described as a 'blush cinnamon color that’s perfect for seasonal transition! This color has a very unique viscosity that is semi-sheer, but full coverage with two coats and has a buttery smooth texture. A versatile color that would work well with gradation/ombré art and an array of designs."

I would probably describe this as a dusty nude-pink shade. On my nails here, I've applied two thin coats and still ended up with a relatively visible nail line - so if you're looking for full coverage I would recommend doing more layers or applying a thicker layer. Personally I found that applying this one too heavily can result in certain patches forming that are a little darker and the overall color looks slightly uneven, especially if you leave it to 'self level' a little, so I preferred applying more thin layers, rather than working with this thickly. I love this color though, and sheer shades can be very forgiving - especially when applying with your non dominant hand, so I enjoyed this one. This was purchased from Jasmine Nails. 

307 (Rose gold) is part of their glitter series. This is a really pretty shade of glitter - it's not very obviously 'pink', but has a wonderful balance between cool and warm tones - which I usually have an issue with. Out of the glitter collection, I have to say,  this is definitely my favorite. While the glitter is a little sparse even after being mixed, so it can take a bit of mixing and pushing to get full coverage glitter, especially if you don't want a bulkier finish. On me, I applied two coats, but I'd probably recommend at least 3 if you'd like a full coverage finish.