Kiara Sky Gel Polish Reviews 2024
Kiara Sky is a US cosmetics company that’s taking on the world, and not just that of nails. Named after the owner’s daughter when it was founded in California 15 years ago, it’s now in 45 countries and can be seen on the The Today Show, found fronting magazines such as Elle and Cosmopolitan, and even gracing Rihanna’s nails on the cover of French Vogue. With their poptastic pink and on trend, cute as heck branding, their success in the beauty industry is no surprise. Add to that their solid fan base, built on a ‘beauty without cruelty’ ethos and the relationship they have with their customers, and it’s a winning formula. Connecting at trade shows and on social media is a huge part of their business and it’s clearly working.
What to Wear
Kiara Sky boasts the ‘big three’ in nail art - a full range of gels, dips and lacquers. Reviews of their products are overwhelmingly positive in the majority. Focusing on the gels, their selling point is the two-step base color and top coat system. The color is mixed into the base coat, with the top coat essential for a lasting shine. Similarly, you’ll need the color base coat to avoid peeling. The pairs are also great value at our full price of $12.99, let alone when we’ve got them on sale.
New Colors on the Block
From the makers of Ink gel polish, who are known for their bright and bold palette, Kiara Sky comes from a gel color pedigree, and that’s what we’re looking at in this post. The gels come in over 150 shades and counting. All the nail polish giants boast a wide range, but it’s an ability to respond to fashion and move with the seasons that sets apart the market leaders.
With that in mind, yes, it’s the time of year to get your digits out and really nail fashion. Taking our cue from the catwalks, we’ve found the colors that will be painting the town this season. At ND Nail Supply we’ve got amethyst to zucchini and everything in between, but what are the shades from Kiara Sky’s range that will put glossy summer fashion at your fingertips?
Purple’s Reign
Not content with just summer, it’s the color of the year, with even the world authority, pantone, onboard. You’ll find lavender, ultraviolet and lilac at the top end of the fashion spectrum this season.
Like a lot of this season’s shades it’s a statement color, for sure. Our pick from Kiara Sky is Busy As A Bee. It’s a perfect match for the hue of the Summer - hazy verging on pale lilac, you’ll find pastels a theme in this post and beyond. Kiara Sky’s gels are solvent free so there’s no odor while you get busy.
Our choice at the deeper end of purple is Warm Lavender. It’s the pastel lilac’s muted toned, sophisticated cousin for those Summer nights. Take it even darker with the sultry Chinchilla.
In the Pink
Does pink ever really go out of fashion? It’s always got a place and this season it’s about bubblegum, cotton candy, marshmallows, and love hearts scrawled on your notebook. You’ll have seen streaks in hair and head-to-toe suits of it, but what shade of pink is on offer for your nails?
Our favorite is Cotton Kisses, and what’s in a name is just what’s in it, the fluffy, pale pastel of the day. It’s so sweet it’ll give you toothache, exactly what the catwalk calls for. A bonus here, especially for these pale shades, is that Kiara Sky’s gels are opaque in just two coats. Essential to see through this season; these pales aren’t about understated nudes, it’s teenage dreams and Harajuku girls all the way.
It’s That Easy Being Green
Perhaps one of the least ventured into colors in the world of nail art, green cannot be ignored this season. Following its fellow pastels, you’ll find a range of cool mint shades gracing the hot lists this Summer. Don’t be shy, pair your pistachio nails with clothes and accessories in any of the other top colors of the season for sure-fire success.
We love this barely there blue from Kiara Sky. It’s candy to satisfy your Sweet Tooth and the season’s palette. Meanwhile, High Mintenance kicks your green credentials up a notch until they’re edging on disco-ready. Being playful with these greens is what this Summer’s bold brights are all about. The consistency of the gels and no pooling ensures you’re working with a smooth finish rather than feeling like you’re spreading green goo on your nails.
Singin’ the Blues
Blue is piggybacking on green this season for a dreamy, aquamarine, Summer shade. Mint with an appearance from lilac is the way to warm up pale blue for sunny days. It’s clear seas ahoy and plain sailing.
Kiara Sky’s After the Reign is the pastel companion to our other Summer picks. If you apply two layers of the color base and one of the top coat, it should last for those pool parties for two weeks. In fact. we’ve found that Kiara Sky is the one of best two-step systems in terms of wear.
Summertime and it’s O.K. Coral
This popular offshoot of pink has been a nail art favorite across many seasons. The color’s versatility and neutral leanings complement an array of shades; the grown-up alternative to supersweet pinks. This summer, be sure to keep it in the beach-friendly, yellow-based family for maximum style.
We’ve got a few top picks from Kiara Sky’s gel range for this one. The rubber-smooth Rag Doll is nearly as sweet as a pink, but with a laid-back, cocktails at sundown edge. If you want something a bit more subtle, but still as solid, it is indeed Getting Warmer as an alternative. We couldn’t leave out Skin Tone for the nearly-orange mix of the two. Fans love the wide brush for edge-to-edge coverage and no shrinking - every sunset’s covered.
Mellow Yellow?
Not this summer. It’s bright and it’s bold - think sunflowers’ sunnier cousin and lemon’s beach party buddy. However, the tone is egg yolks and custard, stay away from anything approaching electric or lime. A reasonably safe color in your wardrobe, it can perhaps be one of the easiest to get wrong when it comes to your nails. Just make sure you don’t let your polish chip or fade, and you’ll keep your nails looking yellow rather than yellowing.
Predictably, our shade for this one is New Yolk City. Take care to pair it with this season’s others colors, especially bold, primary ones, and you’ll stay on the right side of the road. Kiara Sky’s gel is soak-off, and in tests takes between 10-12 minutes, coming off with minimal pushing. Not only that, but it doesn’t leave your nails weak, always a concern with chemical soak-off gels.
All That Glitters
It’s not only about bold color blocks this summer. A touch of sparkle is essential for those hot club nights and beach party days. The advantage of adding a pop of glitter to your nails, or even on one finger among a smooth-finished hand, is that you can keep those brights plain in rest of your outfit, whilst still maintaining the glamour.
Another bonus of the glitter option is that you can take any of the summer shades to the next level in an instant. Here, we've chosen Cherry Dust and Koral Kicks from the coral family. One is disco, maraschino sour, the other like pretty beach stones and shells. We just love the versatility of coral as one of this season’s key colors. Fortunately, Kiara Sky’s gels stand up to glitter polish tests as well. If you take your strokes from the free edge to the cuticle, and rearrange the pieces while wet, you'll ensure complete coverage. The glitter polishes will take a little bit more soaking to remove than the smooth ones.
Whiter Than White
Finally, and a firm favorite for a few seasons now, white nails are still with us, moving from the snow of winter to the bright sun and sand. Because it's another tricky shade to pull off, make sure your manicure’s immaculate to keep your color looking clean and fresh.
We’ve gone for Pure White, with two coats of the base combo and a top coat essential here to work with the color block theme. In tests, the gels dried in 2-3 minutes under an LED lamp, and slightly longer at 3-5 minutes under UV. Kick your white up a gear with this super-fine glitter polish, Frosted Sugar. You know it’s the dusting your sugary sweet Summer beauty look has been waiting for.
Nail It
Whatever look you’re going for, whether poolside or partying, Kiara Sky’s got you beach-ready and covered. The beauty of our top picks is that all you need for this summer is a small collection of bold shades for your wardrobe and your nails, and you’ll score points with the season’s trends. Remember, the limited range is the key here, think a rainbow pack of cool crayons with a beach vibe.
