Pregel Muse: General Information

If you've been interested in Japanese soft gel, or gel products in general, you may have come across the name Pregel. Although I am very much still self taught, and have a lot of ways to go when it comes to being an expert in the Japanese soft gel industry, here are some of the things I can share with you! 

You can also check out their catalog here! 

What is Pregel? 

Pregel is one of the brands under Preanfa, who also sells a range of other smaller brands, such as Kimagure, BettyGel, Spirit, Pregel, Cangel, Pregel Muse and Premdoll. (BettyGel to Pregel is like LilyGel to Leafgel, a more affordable, beginner friendly option for those who might not need or want salon quality soft gels!). The most popular brand, which is also JNA (Japanese Nail Association) approved is Pregel, which can be used in most salons and for the JNA exam - so you know it's nail tech certified! It is definitely not as easily accessible as brands like Leafgel, Kokist and Ageha (for those outside of Asia), but I've seen this brand highly recommended by a lot of Japanese nail techs. 

Pregel is the main brand, and within Pregel, there is also Pregel Muse - and the most important differentiation here is for colors. Pregel basically manufactures all the clear gels, such as base, builder, tops. Cangel is their bottled top coats. All of their bases, builders and tops from Pregel are in pots with various sizes you can purchase. They also offer a Magical Primer in order to extend the wear of their gels. 

Then for colors, there is a choice between Pregel Ex and Pregel Muse - the main difference being that they're two different 'lines'. EX and Muse sometimes will release a collection that has both an EX and Muse formulation, with very minimal differences between the colors (although they're not identical). 

R: Pregel Muse, L: Color EX

PREGEL Color Ex is described as : 

Developed with excellent compatibility with PREGEL Excellent Base in mind. Smooth application and self levelling while maintaining great colour development!

Color EX pots tend to be wider and taller than the Muse, with a hollowed out base at the bottom. 

Additionally, the color range for Color EX is more limited than MUSE, with only 320 shades. As you can see with the above, Color EX labels their colors with numbers and names. 

PREGEL Muse is described as: 

A new line of high quality, cosmetic grade pigmented colour gels. PREGEL Muse boasts these qualities which can be shared when you mix Muse with EX colour gels!

No Shrinkage, Self-leveling, Can be applied thinly or thickly and cure completely, Highly pigmented colours

In comparison to Color EX, Muse pots are a little smaller and shorter, but they're less unwieldy and also have flat bases (making them really good for storage compared to the EX). The Muse line also has 419 colors (as of November 2022), and often have lots of new releases (roughly one a month). Compared to Color EX, Muse labels their colors with names and numbers, but have a letter denoting what type of finish it is. 

According to the Preanfa catalogue : S - Sheer, P - Pearl, G - Glitter, F- Fibre. 

Unfortunately, they don't explain GP, GP, L or M. From what I've been able to gather, M is usually a color which has a higher pigmentation of coverage, L tends to indicate neon colors, and GP/GB are usually a mixture of glitters or pearl finishes, like suspended glitters or metallic leaning pearls. 

How does Pregel compare? 

Overall, Pregel's color line up is comparably, much more varied and interesting compared to Kokoist and Leafgel's - keeping in mind they have frequent releases of new collections. 

When considering the formula of the gel, I really enjoy working with Pregel's color formulations because they tend to be very forgiving when it comes to working near cuticle lines. Compared to Kokoist and Leafgel, Pregel tends to be more 'buttery' and less stretchy (which can sometimes be a hassle when painting long nails, it skips and drags on surfaces resulting in patchy and uneven application), however, the pigmentation of the colors is noticeably not as 'full coverage'. Kokoist tends to either be completely pigmented or intensely sheer, whereas Pregel is in the middle - M colors are fine with one coat but are far better with two, whereas S colors can be very sheer/translucent, or almost full coverage with two or three coats. That said, Kokoist has definitely got far superior pigmentation and coverage for the product (to the point where I need to mix the colors with clear gel to thin it out for proper application, and it will still be amazingly pigmented), and their basic colors work a treat as liner colors in a pinch. That said, they have a lot of white based colors, but not a lot of interesting finishes. Compared to Leafgel, Pregel is a little closer in terms of formula, it's a smidge more 'stretchy', but I find Leafgel's color catalog relatively conservative and plain for my style, and I don't enjoy the shape of their pots. Compared to Ageha's color gels, I feel that they're the most similar in formula as they're relatively easy to work with and don't drag and skip on the nail as much, but I find Ageha's color category system hard to work with (numbers denote different coverage/finishes). 

In regards to clear gel - I like the various offerings from Pregel, they offer the most variations of base, builders and tops compared to Kokoist, Ageha, Presto, and Leafgel. There are at least 2-3 products for each kind, which can suit all purposes and types of nails. You can view each type and their functions here (it is in Japanese). 

Where you can buy this: 

At the moment, there are a few websites and brands that sell Pregel products. 

I recommend TAT (located in Canada) as they are a reputable Japanese nail brand, however their shipping prices can be inconsistent for those outside NA, but they do have a physical shop within Canada. They also have shops within Japan which you can enter without a nail license. 

I also recommend NailWonderland (located in Singapore) who also happens to offer official Pregel courses if you would like a Pregel certification. They also offer reasonable prices for international shipping, and have a physical shop in Singapore. 

I personally bought mine from BeeBeeNail, as it is a shop I was able to go to in person. If you are located in Hong Kong and would like to have a look at Pregel products, I highly recommend going there.