Kiko Milano Perfect Gel Duo* Swatches and Review

The Italian brand Kiko Milano are the latest to launch a nail system that supposedly replicates a salon gel manicure without the need for UV and in the comfort of your home.  The Perfect Gel Duo, priced at £7.90 contains the two products you need to achieve this look.  I was kindly sent four of the Perfect Gel Duos to test for you guys so see if they live up to the claims under the cut.

Kiko Milano Perfect Gel Duos

So the set comes with two products, the Perfect Gel nail lacquer, available in 18 different shades and the Perfect Gel top coat which cures in daylight without the need for UV, producing a more durable manicure so lets check out some of the different shades available and whether they stand the test of time!

All of the swatches below are of three coats and a layer of top coat.

670 Orange - Orange is not a fluoro orange or citrus orange but more of a blood orange which I think makes it a bit more wearable.  If you're a fan of coral or red polishes then this might a cool alternative.

682 Violet - Here's another contender for the title of Radiant Orchid in a nail polish.  The colour is very much true to its name in being a violet shade, rather than a warmer purple.  It's a cool toned shade that would great on both paler and darker skin tones.

677 Milk Mint - I like how Kiko are so to the point with their colour names in this collection LOL.  This shade is a gorgeous milky mint shade, leaning slightly more to the bluer side of the shade and as I found out, it is a great, if not spot on match for the famous Tiffany Blue.

676 Yellow - Now this would probably the most awkward shade to photograph.  I tried to adjust the colouring in Photoshop to show you how warm and buttery the yellow if but this is as close as I could get it.  Its not a lemon or neon shade of yellow, which I still love but I was so glad to see this shade come off as on the warmer side of the spectrum.


The Wear Test - I'm sure you're all wondering how it got on with wear during the week.  I actually recruited my Mum to test this out for me.  She's famous for not being able to keep polish on her nails for more than a day or two without major chipping (it's to do with her nail structure methinks, even Gelish slipped off her nails!) so I'm always trying new top coats and polishes to see if they stick around.

My Mummy wore the shade Orange on her nails from Friday to I think Wednesday before she had a major chip and for her that is pretty good.  Kiko promise UP to a week of chip-resistant wear so a five day stretch for someone whose nails chip so easily is a marker for quality I think.

The pros for this collection are that the system does seem to work, the top coat gives the polishes a fantastic shine and seem to last a fairly long time.  Also, the sets are presented in really slick packaging so it would be the perfect gift for any polish lovers and the polish can be removed by normal nail varnish, easy peasy!

The biggest con I think is that the sets are strictly sold as duos so if you want to buy more of these particular Perfect Gel nail lacquers, you also get an additional top coat.  The two products are designed to work together so you can't really have one without the other but for £7.90, its not bad for a colour and gel-like top coat, even though you might end up with a surplus supply.

The Perfect Gel Duos are available in Kiko stores and online here for £7.90.  What do you think of the gel effect trend, worth the hype?  Let me know in the comments below and be sure to follow, subscribe and like all of the social media sites below, until next time :-)

*these products were provided for review but all opinions are mine