If you are a new user of gel polish, please give yourself 2-3 manicures (tries) to get used to how to apply gel polish.

There are many tips and tricks to applying gel polish that make the difference between a good application and an application that is too thick or doesn’t last long enough (i.e. chips easily). Often, new users of gel polish make small mistakes during the application process and then think that any chipping is due to the formula of the gel.

We have tested our gel polish countless times and it truly is an amazing 1-step formula. You won’t find a better 1-step formula on the market (really!)…so please be patient, read our application instructions carefully, and take your time to familiarize yourself with LMM gel!

Once you get used to the application process, you will find that this is a fantastic gel that will give you a shiny, colorful, and chip-free manicure for work, play, and travel!

• When you start your nail prep, you just need to push your cuticules back (we include a cuticle pusher in our kits). Trim loose skin or snags (with a cuticule nipper). This is an optional step; you don’t really need to do it as longs as you use cuticule oil and hand cream regularly and push them back sometimes. This keeps them groomed on an ongoing basis.

• File the edge and the surface of each nail. Filing the surface allows the gel to adhere better and filing the edges helps keep the gel from chipping. File in one direction using light strokes. You don’t want to saw away (back and forth) at the edge of your nail as this wear it down quickly and it’s easy to get an uneven shape.

• Make sure the first coat of gel polish is VERY thin (with barely any gel in the brush). Do not lob on a bunch of polish the way you would do with regular nail polish. This is extremely important to ensure that the base layer is not too thick, which will affect the lasting. You can remove excess gel polish from the brush (before applying) by wiping it along the opening of the bottle. This will help in ensuring a VERY thin first layer.

• If you get it on your skin, use the cuticle stick or your thumb nail from the other hand, to just remove the excess before curing the nail with LED Lamp.

• If you smear it before you go into the lamp to dry it, you just need to wipe off the entire nail with the remover + a cotton pad and re-paint it.

• Cure the nail as soon as the gel is applied (instead of applying gel on all five fingers then curing one by one). It’s important to cure each nail immediately to minimize the amount of time the gel is exposed to air, as this will negatively affect the result. The mini macaron is a 30 sec cycle, and the maxi macaron (larger lamp) is a 60 sec cycle.

• Apply a second layer of gel polish and cure again. Make the 2nd coat slightly thicker with even strokes of gel polish. This will create a nice, smooth top layer, which can last longer.

• Cap the tip of every nail by running the brush along the edge. This will also protect from chipping by providing a thicker layer of gel along the nail edge.

• Let the lamp rest for 30-60 seconds between application on your left and right hands. This will allow the lamp to cool down.

• Close the bottle of gel polish when not in use, and while you are waiting for each curing cycle if possible (or at least set the cap over the bottle while you are curing to minimize the amount of air and light that enters the bottle). This will prevent the gel from drying out, as gel reacts to both LED light and also natural light. Avoid having the LED lamp shine directly on an open bottle of gel, as this will also dry out the gel.

• Be sure to shake the bottle well each time before applying because our gel polish is a 3-in-1 gel (base coat, color and Top coat all in one formula). Sometimes if the bottle has been sitting for a long time, the Top coat component can separate, so shake well to mix the formula.

• For new users, when you’re drying the nail under the LED light, it’s possible to accidentally move the nail (if you’re not paying attention). It’s important to keep the finger still so that the light dries all around the entire surface (including the edges of your nail). You can always cure your nail for an additional 5-10 seconds to ensure that you have completely dried the nail before moving on to the next one. This will make sure that even the edges are fully cured. If you are still experiencing chipping issues, we recommend curing for an extra 5-10 seconds to make sure that the chipping is not caused by nails which aren’t fully dry.

• Don't apply hand lotion or cuticle oil BEFORE or DURING the gel application process. This will cause the gel to slip and not adhere well.
• Don't buff your nails after filing them . Filing creates a rough surface, allowing the gel to adhere better. Buffing reverses this effect by making the surface smooth again (which will cause the result not to last very long).
• Don't apply the gel on or too close to the skin . If you get gel on your skin, use the cuticle stick to remove it before curing. Curing gel on your skin will affect the lasting (easier to the gel to come off).
• Dont apply gel polish in direct sunlight (outdoors or in a sunny room) as this can cause the gel to harden (as this is what happens with LED light). Work in a cool, dark space with interior light. (The same goes for storage of your gel polishes).

Gel Polish is different from regular nail polish in that you need to “soak” it off.

Le Mini Macaron has a variety of products to facilitate the elimination of the gel or any kind of nail polish from your nails.

To remover your old manicure:

• File the surface of the gel manicure that you wish to remove. This step will eliminate the top layer of the gel polish (which is the hardest one) and will allow the remover pad to work even better. For a gentler filing, we suggest you to try our Sanding Block. Make sure NOT to file the gel until you see your natural nail, only file slightly the upper coat.
• Tear open the Remover Pad and insert your finger, with the cotton pad over the nail. The acetone from the cotton pad will soak into the gel.
• Wrap the packet around your finger, removing the sticker on the packet to ensure that it’s air tight. For better results, insert each finger with its correspondent pad into our Remover Clips. Wait 15 minuttes.
• Remove the packet. The gel polish will have a shattered effect. Use our Gel Polish Remover Tool or the cuticle stick that comes on each LMM Kit to scrape off the gel.
• Wash your hands to remove any debris. If your cuticles are dry use a little bit of hand cream to moisturize them.
• Last but not least, if you want to revitalize and and give your nails a break from any kind of polish, our nail treatment Rescue Moi, with Vitamin B5 and C, will help to re-build, restore and rejuvenate the surface of your nails in just one week.

Voilà, there you have it!

If you have followed all the basic tips on the application do’s, and you are still face chipping issues, it may be because of the natural oils in your nails. In fact, 20% of women have naturally oilier nails just due to body chemistry.

We recommend that you wipe your nails before you apply gel polish. You can use regular nail polish remover to quickly wipe each nail after filing the surface. This will remove the dust from filing and create a non-oily surface to start your application.

Our nail care line is designed to be used to rebuild your nails between gel manicures. It is not recommended to be used under gel polish as this will affect the lasting of your gel manicure and cause chipping. You can, however, use our nail care line as a base for regular, air-dry nail polish. Our cuticle oil can be used to nourish and moisturize cuticles after your gel manicure is cured and complete. This can also be used between gel manicures or over regular nail polish manicures.

It’s very important to use and store your gel polish correctly. Gel polish is light sensitive (that’s why it hardens when exposed to LED light). It will also react to sunlight or natural light if exposed for an extended period of time. If you store the product near a window or around a light source, it’s possible that it can harden inside the bottle over time.

The first time you open your bottle of LMM gel, you will find that it’s very thick (compared to regular nail polish). This is perfectly normal. Please take the following precautions to properly use and store your gel polish to ensure that you can use it for as long as possible:

• Don't keep the bottle open for an extended period of time.
• During the application process, open the bottle to apply the gel onto one nail. While the nail is curing, we recommend you to close the bottle or at least place the cap back over the bottle to cover it. This will minimize the amount of air and light that can get inside.
• If the bottle is open, don’t set it too close to the LED lamp, as any exposure to the LED light may affect the gel inside the bottle. It’s better to either keep the bottle closed or farther away from the lamp when the LED light is on. Never shine the LED light directly onto an open bottle.
• Store gel polish bottles in a dark place or inside a drawer, away from windows or other light sources. Do not store in the refrigerator. Always keep bottles at room temperature.

Yes! We are proud to say that our gel polish contains no toulene, DBP, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, camphor, TPHP or xylene. Also our polish is cruelty-free and vegan.

We are proud to say that we do not test on animals. In the beauty industry, the highest standards of safety and compliance would be the regulations in the EU (European Union), which are the strictest in the world. The EU bans over 1,300 items in their cosmetics (vs. the US, which bans only 11!). Our products are EU compliant and approved to sell in the European Union. One of the requirements to pass EU compliance is NOT testing on animals. So there you go!

Our LMM products are safe to use during pregnancy, but we understand that some women like to limit the amount of beauty products that they use (in general) while pregnant. It is up to each woman to decide. If you feel comfortable to use regular nail polish products, then you can feel comfortable to use gel products, which contain little to no fumes and no harmful chemicals. And unlike UV lamps (which contain UV light), our LMM lamps use LED light – the same kind of light you get from inside an office building – which is safe to be exposed to on a daily basis.

The power charger included in this kit is NOT designed to be used with mobile phones or other electronic devices . It is meant to be used only with the LED lamp included in the kit. Usage with other devices may lead to overheating or damage. Please take care to ensure that you only use the charger with LMM’s LED lamp. However, you can feel free to use the LED lamp and USB cord with any computer, portable charger, or any other mobile adapter with a USB outlet.

Our light is actually LED (not UV) so it dries quicker and also doesn’t contain UV rays!

Our LED lights are timed to go off automatically. The mini macaron is a 30 sec cycle and the maxi macaron (larger lamp) is a 60 sec cycle. So you don’t have to think about it!

Gel polish is VERY thick. It needs to be applied ULTRA thin. If you apply it too thick, it can feel like it’s burning under the LED lamp. It’s OK if the lamp feels a little warm on your nail as you’re curing it, but it shouldn’t burn. If this happens, wipe off the gel and re-apply a super thin coat.

For first time users, we recommend that you can cure for a few seconds more (4 - 5 sec.) as sometimes first-time users paint a bit thick. You should paint a thin layer, but if you find it’s not totally dry after 1 cycle under the lamp (30 sec), just cure for a little longer and this should do the trick.

Our standard, single-finger classic and glitter mini macaron lamps are 3W and require a 1A or higher adapter, while the full-size Le Maxi lamp is 5W and requires a 2A or higher adapter.

Yes, the lamp can work with any gel polish, if the gel is good quality. We can’t necessarily guarantee the results if it’s not our own gel, but it should work with other ones. Also different gel polishes matched with different lamps sometimes require different “curing” times. If you use our LED lamp with another gel, and you find it’s not dry enough, we recommend 2-3 cycles under the lamp (30 second cycles, two or three times).

By the way, we have heard of some people trying our LED lamp with Nail Polish and telling us this doesn’t work. Nail polish requires air drying, whereas gel polish contains a polymer that must be ‘cured’ by an LED lamp in order to harden (dry). Nail polishes are NOT meant to be used with LED lamps and no nail polish will dry from being under an LED lamp. ONLY patiently air drying nail polish will work!

All of our nail care items dry with air. There is no need to use the LED lamp to dry. Just apply 1 or 2 coats to bare nails and let them air dry.

Our 1-step gel is meant to last for 7 to 10 days chip-free. It’s designed to be easy to apply but also easy to remove so you can change up your color whenever you want.

If you’d like to extend the lasting for an extra week, we recommend you our Gel Top Coat (one of our best sellers!) and you can paint a layer over your gel manicure and this will really seal it in & give you that 3 week total salon lasting (chip-free and shine).

LED lamps contain much lower levels of UV rays. The risk with LED lamps is far less than with UV lamps. Furthermore, Le Mini Macaron’s mini lamp exposes you to even less light than typical UV lamps. One LED lamp usage session’s UV exposure is less than a 10-minute walk on a sunny day.

People with sensitive skin and/or who have had a prior reaction to HEMA (an ingredient in gel polishes) may be allergic to our gel polish. The reaction occurs when the gel comes in contact with the skin.  It’s always a good idea to test the polish on a nail before using it for the first time.  If a reaction occurs, consult with a healthcare professional.

In the beauty industry, the highest standards of safety and compliance would be the regulations in the EU (European Union), which are the strictest in the world. The EU bans over 1,300 items in their cosmetics (vs. the US, which bans only 11!), including HEMA. HEMA, the most common nail allergen, is a water-based chemical that tends to minimize odors. As our products are EU-compliant and approved to sell in the European Union, they do not contain HEMA. The absence of this ingredient may result in a more noticeable scent.

Gel polishes are thick due to their unique formulation. Gel polishes contain a higher concentration of resins, which is what makes the polish adhere to your nails. Gel polishes also tend to have a higher pigment concentration compared to regular nail polishes. This means better color density for you!

As gel polishes require curing under LED lamps, the formulation needs to be thick enough to make sure it doesn't spread out during application and can be evenly cured under the light without pooling or running.

Store your gel polishes in a cool, dry, dark place. Gel polishes should not be exposed to the sun as they contain monomers, which can be activated by exposure to sunlight. Monomers are essential for the curing process as they initiate the reaction that transforms the liquid gel polish into a solid, durable finish on the nails. Our gel polishes are packaged in opaque bottles, lined inside in black, to protect them from light exposure. Remember to keep the bottles tightly closed when not in use to prevent air and light from getting in.

We charge a flat rate for shipping, as follows:

• 2,95€ for Spain
• 4,95€ for Italy, France, Belgium and Portugal
• 7€ Germany & The Netherlands
• 10€ UK*, Ireland, Austria, Poland, Northern Ireland, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
• 25€ for Switzerland*

We currently offer free shipping to the countries listed above, except UK and Switzerland, for orders over 49€. Free shipping for UK orders over 59€. Free shipping to Switzerland for orders over 99€.  Free shipping total must equate to the minimum amount or over following the application of discount codes and/or Gift Cards. Certain restrictions may apply. For customers in Switzerland, we are doing our best to find a better solution and reduce the costs of shipping. Thank you for understanding. 

FOR SPAIN, the order preparation time takes 1.5 business days, and around 3-4 business days (in total) to be delivered to you, from the day you order to the day it arrives.

FOR ITALY, the order preparation time may take 2-3 business days, and it may take an additional 2-3 business days to be delivered to you, for a total of 4-6 days from the day you order to the day it arrives. 

FOR REST OF EUROPE, the order preparation time takes 1.5 business days, and around 4-5 business days (in total) to be delivered to you, from the day you order to the day it arrives. 

*FOR UK AND SWITZERLAND

The order preparation time may take up to 2 business days, and around 4-5 business days (in total) to be delivered to you, from the day you order to the day it arrives. However, please note that from time to time we do experience additional delays due to customs. Please contact us if you have any questions about your package. Please note, that customers from Switzerland and the UK (and countries outside of the EU) may need to pay Taxes and Duties for any order above 150€. Please see our FAQs section for more information. 

 

Please be aware that during busy periods such as Black Friday, sales, and promotions, there may be a delay of up to 2 additional business days in shipping times. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.

If you find you have a defective or missing product, we will replace this for you (at our expense). Please contact us directly if you encounter this and we will be happy to assist you.

Once your order ships, you will receive an email from both us and our transport partner company with your tracking number. If you have trouble tracking your package, feel free to contact us with your order number, and we will check its status for you.

In some cases, carriers update the delivery status before delivering the package. Please wait 24 hours to see if the product will be delivered.  If you still do not receive it, please email us and we’ll find it together.

Please check your address details carefully when you submit your order to ensure that there are no delays with your shipment. If your package is extremely delayed (as can happen sometimes with third-party shipping companies), please contact us and we can find a solution together. 

Please be aware that during busy periods such as Black Friday, sales, and promotions, there may be a delay of up to 2 additional business days in shipping times. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.

Please review your order carefully before confirming and submitting payment. Unfortunately, once your order is paid and you have received the order confirmation, we cannot make any cancellations or changes to your order.

If you do not wish to keep your order once it is received, you may choose to reject the package from the courier or you may return the package to us. Any return shipping fees would be incurred by you. If you have any questions, please contact us directly.

Unfortunately, once your order is paid and you have received the confirmation, our system does not allow us to make any changes or cancellations.

If you do not wish to keep your order once it is received, you may choose to reject the package from the courier or you may return the package to us. Any return shipping fees would be incurred by you. If you have any questions, please contact us directly.

After receiving your order, you have 15 days to make a return. You must email us to verify the order number and confirm your information for the return. Please note that the items returned must be in their original packaging and not used. We cannot consider any items that are used, incomplete, ruined, damaged, or dirty for a refund.

Depending on how you ship your package back to us, it may take up to 5 working days for us to receive it if you are shipping within Spain. If you are shipping internationally it could take up to 10 working days for us to receive it. We will request that you provide us with your tracking number, so we may track the order.

Once we receive your package and assess the products, we will send you a confirmation email. It will take 1-3 business days to process and refund you the amount of the order, minus shipping fees.

days (in total) to be delivered to you, from the day you order to the day it arrives.

For the rest of Europe and the UK, the order preparation time may take up to 2 business days, and around 4-5 business days (in total) to be delivered to you, from the day you order to the day it arrives. For Italy, order preparation may take 2-3 business days and then 3-4 business days (in total) to be delivered to you. 

Please be aware that during busy periods such as Black Friday, sales, and promotions, there may be a delay of up to 2 additional business days in shipping times. Your understanding is greatly appreciated.

When goods are imported into a different country or customs territory, there can be a charge applied called 'Customs Duty' that is charged by the local customs authority where the goods are being imported. If Customs Duty is required by your territory, you'll be responsible for paying it to the authorities. Whether Customs Duty is payable, and by how much, depends on your country's specific regulations.

If you do have to pay Customs Duty though, the amount payable is usually calculated based on the value of the goods and the type of goods being imported.

Customers from Switzerland and UK (and countries outside of the EU) may need to pay Taxes and Duties for any order above 150€.

If you decide to refuse the customs fee, your parcel will be returned to Le Mini Macaron.  We will process your order for a refund and in some instances, a custom handling fee may be deducted from your refund.

If you're still unsure on whether you'll be subject to customs fees, we recommend contacting your local customs office for more information before placing your order with us.

Scalapay is a convenient payment method that allows you to purchase your favorite products now and to pay them later, in 3 equal monthly instalments. 

When placing your order, you will have to pay the first instalment (equal to one third of total purchase value) on Scalapay. The next 2 instalments will be charged monthly by Scalapay.

For example, if you are placing an order for a total cost of 90 euros, you will pay 30 euros at the time of purchase, 30 euros after one month and the last 30 euros after two months.

We offer this payment option for any order from 50€ or higher, with no interest-fee.

Unfortunately this option is not available yet in the UK and in Croatia.

It’s very easy and available free-of-charge for any order of 50€ or more. 

At checkout, simply select Scalapy as a payment method and click on “pay now”

You will be directed to Scalapay’s portal and will be invited to login or to create an account.

Once you’ve confirmed your identity and paid the first instalment, your order will be approved and you will be redirected to leminimacaron.eu order confirmation page.

Are you based in the UK or in Croatia? This option is not available in your countries (yet) but we’re working on finding a solution.

There is no additional charge for you when you pay with Scalapay.

But you should keep in mind that if you cannot pay your monthly instalments on time, Scalapay will charge a late fee as follow:

Late payment over 24 hrs = 1.20€ additional charges

Late payment over 9 days = 1.20€ additional costs (in addition to the first fee)

Items purchased with Scalapay follow our standard returns policy. To request a refund, please contact our customer service.

Once the refund has been approved by Le Mini Macaron you will receive a confirmation email from Scalapay. It can take up to 10 working days for the money to appear in your account, depending on your bank.

For full refund: Any amount you have already paid will be returned to the card you used for the payment and the others will be cancelled.

For partial refund: The refunded amount will first be deducted from the instalments that have not yet been paid. Depending on the amount of the refund, the instalments will be reduced or cancelled.