My nails badly needed some TLC post-US trip and even while I was on it (did you see how totally unprepared my nails were for my fiance’s proposal? If not, check it out here). So after getting a hair treatment and cut (at Vivere Salon’s new branch—click here to read about it), my next beauty task was to get my nails done. And to make up for being so unprepared during my engagement, I opted for gel polish, also so I can begin the search for the brand and shade I’ll wear on my big day.

A friend recommended Gelish Soak-Off Gel Polish, saying that it’s the brand preferred by most of Hollywood’s most esteemed nail technicians, including those who do the nails of Adele, Lady Gaga, and Khloe Kardashian, among other A-listers. And this is locally available at Nailaholics Nail Salon & Spa, which has 56 salons nationwide and which reportedly intends to completely switch to Gelish soon. While relatively new to the country, Gelish is supposedly considered the number one gel polish brand globally. But what makes it so special?

I went to Nailaholics Nail Salon & Spa’s new branch in Glorietta 3 to find out, and here are the five main reasons:

1. It’s a safer gel polish. I have a friend who constantly dissuades me from wearing gel polish, but usually the good outweighs the bad I know. However, it’s good to NOW know that Gelish Soak-Off Gel Polish is free from three harmful chemicals that are usually found in most gel polish brands, including Dibutyl Phthalate, a material linked to cancer, increased risk of diabetes in women, nausea, reproductive issues, and birth defects; Formaldehyde, which is known to cause lung and nasal cancer, trigger allergic reactions, and breathing problems; and Mythelene Glycol, which can cause bronchitis, certain types of cancers, breathing problems, and allergies. Whew.

2. It has a faster curing time. Unlike other gel polish brands that take one to two minutes to cure, Gelish takes only 30 seconds with a standard UV lamp and even less when used with its own 18G LED lamp, which uses 3rd generation LED Gel Light. No more waiting for two to four hours just to get your nails done. (Or at least still set aside around two hours to get your gel manicure and pedicure done, especially if there’s only one nail technician working on both.)

4. Gelish and its sister brand Morgan Taylor (which has matching colors with Gelish) have a total of over 200 shades, although I hope more will be offered at Nailaholics in Glorietta 3 because they had less than 30 shades on the day I went (just enough to fill one of those gel polish swatching plates). However, I did find two shades that I really like: Hot Rod Red for my toenails (above) so they pop when I wear open-toed shoes and sandals; and Light Elegant for my fingernails (below), a subtly sparkly baby pink that makes my nails look clean, feminine, and fresh no matter what. I may have found my wedding gel polish!

4. It lasts longer. Reportedly no other gel brand in the market today can give you beautifully vibrant chip- and peel-free nails for up to 21 days. I can vouch for their 21-day guarantee, though—my nails did last exactly that long before they even started to chip around the edges of a few nails on one hand. Gelish’s unique formula does this without staining or damaging the nails.

How my gel polish looked after three weeks: still intact, but with obvious growth close to the cuticles

5. There’s zero damage when removed properly. One major setback of getting gel polish is, when the time comes to take it off, even at the salon, it leaves your nails feeling and looking battered and dry. It’s worse when you try to peel it off yourself (eep, guilty!). That’s supposedly not the case with Gelish, as it gives users the ability to remove their gel polish faster—in 10 minutes or less. That is, if they properly get it done at Nailaholics (for P250) or if they have Gelish’s nail polish remover that is also guaranteed safe. (In full disclosure, however, I couldn’t resist peeling off the gel polish myself when the edges started to peel off after three weeks, so I can’t say I had the same result—but I take full responsibility.)

Gel Polish services at Nailaholics are at P850 for a manicure and P950 for a pedicure. They have gel packages like the Ribbon Reef Manicure (P975) and Pedicure (P1,045), which combine a gel manicure/pedicure with a hand/foot spa; and the Color My Cabana (P1,690), which gives you a gel manicure and pedicure along with a foot spa.