7 Best At-Home Gel Nail Kits, Vetted by Beauty Scientists

A pint-sized lamp, carry-on-friendly polish-removing wipes, a mini nail file, and a micro cuticle stick make this adorable gel nail kit perfect for a mani on the go. Its macaron-shaped light is the smallest lamp of those we evaluated and claims to cure nails in 60 seconds (it automatically turns off after the cure time for each nail, making the process pretty foolproof). Of course, the tiny footprint means you'll have to cure each nail individually, which may make for a more time-consuming mani.

The travel-friendly device is USB-powered, so you can plug it into a computer or a phone charger. This set only comes with one nail polish (which matches the color of the included lamp). Without a base coat or a top coat, we still found that just two coats of polish will do. "I love that you don't need base and top coats," said one reviewer. "The UV lamp is too cute for words. Not only that, it is very effective and cures gel polish and semi-cured strips very quickly."

This basic kit has exactly what you need and nothing else, making it perfect for DIY pros who may already have nail accessories. The muted neutral tones are on trend, and one tester said, "My nails don't seem to be damaged from using this." This kit is minimal with just a base coat, top coat, and polish included, so it's best for anyone who already has a full nail kit at home.

"I loved how my nails looked salon-quality when I had done it myself," a tester said. "I wouldn't even consider myself great at painting my nails, but after two times, I really got the hang of it, and once dry, the gel polish really looked professional and hid any errors I had made during the application."

If you're looking to expand your gel polish arsenal, though, our pros say this is your pick—there are tons of colors to choose from. It also comes with a lamp and various converters for different regions around the world, making it a great option for travel. We wish the application directions were included in the kit, and we also found that these formulas contain several ingredients with only minimal health and safety data for use in cosmetics.

Gelish has a wide range of gel nail polish colors to choose from (more than 200!), and this kit comes with everything you need to get started. The brand claims that the polish cures under the included LED lamp in 45 seconds and removes in under 10 minutes with the included artificial nail remover. This kit comes stocked with helpful extras, and reviewers say this is the ultimate beginner-friendly buy: "This kit had everything needed to apply gel polish at home," including base and top coats, cuticle oil, polish remover, and more. "They even give you nail sticks with sandpaper to smooth and prep the nails."

The kit comes with the full suite of Gelish must-haves, from its prep formulas pH Bond (which removes excess oils from the nail for a longer-lasting finish) and Foundation (an adhesive base coat that the brand claims protects the nail). It also comes with Top It Off, Gelish's high-shine top coat that the brand claims "will not dull, chip or peel," a cleanser to remove any lingering sticky residue, and Nourish cuticle oil to finish it all off.

Reviewers swear that "it looks like professional gels when applied," and that "unlike salon polish, it is very easy to remove without damaging nails." The tradeoff, they say, is that this polish only lasts one to two weeks instead of three to four weeks, as some salon gel polish might. Some components of the kit contain ingredients that only have minimal health and safety data for use in cosmetics. We also wish that the light was a little larger.

If you're on the hunt for a gel-like polish without the curing process, look no further than Dazzle Dry. Unlike any other nail polish, this four-step system goes on like regular polish but lasts about as long as gel, and it doesn't need a light to cure. "It's completely replaced gel polish for me," one of our editors shares. "And it really does completely dry in just five minutes. My nails feel so much healthier when I wear this instead of gel."

This kit comes with nail prep, base coat, top coat, and nail reviver. We love that it can be removed with drugstore acetone nail polish remover, rather than needing to soak off like traditional gel. Note that this product is a little thicker than other polishes, so there's a bit of a learning curve to applying it just right.

Finally, a peel-off option that doesn’t require the harsh soaking and time associated with most gel manis. The Manucurist’s formula doesn’t include the common methacrylates (which give the long-lasting finish found in traditional gel manicure kits). Instead, it claims to be made with up to 84% natural ingredients, resulting in a finish that’s much easier to remove—without acetone.

We found that the resulting mani doesn’t last as long as traditional gel manicures. “It started peeling way before the 10 days claimed,” our tester said. However, she was impressed by how much easier the polish was to remove, thanks to the kit’s clips that keep the dissolvent in place rather than the clumsy foil wraps. A reviewer added, “You get all the benefits of gel without the nail damage or lengthy and messy removal. Lasts about a week for me, but since it’s so easy to remove and redo, not an issue at all.”

One kit comes stocked with three color polishes, a base coat and top coat, a collapsible LED lamp, and a dissolvent—plus those fan-favorite clips to aid in removal. You can also choose between a 24-watt lamp for manicures in 30 minutes and the brand’s premium 36-watt lamp for 10-minute drying.