Happy New Year!! My 2026 kind of started today because I was traveling the beginning of the month and I’m just now getting back into my routine so I thought we needed to start out strong with a newsletter wrapping up 2025! Here’s what you can expect from today’s post:

• A round up of 10 new or new to me nail products that I loved from 2025

• My top 5 evergreen products that aren’t new but that I think everyone needs in their kit

• A few 2026 personal nail goals + some trends I’m excited to try this month & next! Let’s get into it 🕺

Top 10 Faves From 2025:

1. Kinetics Gel In Bottle Hard Gel: Hard gel that applies similarly to other builders in bottles, super strong and doesn’t need to be thick! It’s also great for weak/bendy nails that always lift!! It self levels soooo well!

2. Kinetics Fiber Base Builder Gel: Soft builder gel with nylon fibers added for extra durability and strength! This self levels like a dream & magically doesn’t flood!

3. Kokoist Terra Magnet Collection: Earth toned magnet gels with supperr fine champagne magnet powder for a really silky beautiful look! You can’t go wrong but I love Navy Earth, Pink Horizon, Bengala Red and Deep Forest

4. Saeyang Portable E-File: The quality of this e-file is incredible. It’s so quiet and smooth and feels so gentle to work with!

5. Nail Thoughts Dahlia Syrup Base & Hydrangea Syrup Base: The NT In The Garden collection has 12 new syrup builder bases. They’re all sooo juicy and beautiful and I can’t wait to use more of them!

6. Kokoist Max Magnet: This magnet is so powerful and lifts up every possible magnetic particle in the gel, it’s the best!!

7. Kokoist Pushu Pushu Fluffy: This is a fluffy flocking power that you pouf onto gel and it actually stays soft and fluffy! It’s so fun and magical.

8. My&Bee Flash Mag Gels: I got three of these gels from the Sweetie Nail Supply Sale and they are incredible!! These remind me of the Kokoist potted colors, they’re so pigmented and concentrated and you really only need one even coat for full coverage. They also have unique glitter and texture that really stands out compared to other similar gels I’ve tried! I wore this silvery sparkly one to Hawaii (it looks amazing on toes) and this red one for Christmas, and I still need to use this Layer Mag one!

9. Erica’s Carbide Barrel Bit, Precision Flame Diamond Bit + Polishing Ball Bit combo: My big 3 for Russian Manicures. This combo is elite!!! I talked more about my favorite bits in this post!

10. Kokoist Stick Light: I use this to flash cure literally everything. Builder gel overlays, color gel, magnet gel, art. You name it, I’m flash curing it with this baby!

Top 5 All Time Favorites:

1. Kokoist Ultra Glossy Top Coat: Doesn’t get dull and it’s scratch resistant. Theee best!

2. Mega Stick Base Soft Gel: The best defense against lifting gel! Whenever I wear this, the retention is unmatched.

3. Platinum Filler Base: HEMA Free and antibacterial builder + base gel in one! This gives my nails such great strength, it’s definitely my most used builder.

4. Le Blanc UV/LED Lamp: Since I use Kokoist the most, I feel safest using their lamp too. It’s also just an amazing quality lamp that works really well with all of the other gels from Sweetie Nail Supply and Kinetics that I use too! Don’t forget, if you’re using professional products, you need to be using a professional lamp.

5. Brush Cleaning Gel: This is the best way to clean your brushes efficiently and also preserve them and keep them from drying out!! I will admit I’m not perfect about using it and my goal this year is to change that because my brushes are a precious investment and well maintained brushes make doing nails easier!

2026 Personal Nail Goals:

1. Japanese/Korean Nail Art: I really want to get more into Japanese/Korean style nail art and practice it so I feel confident in executing all types of nuance art. I want to take more art classes, watch more tutorials, use new products and try new techniques!

2. Host Erica’s ATA Certification Classes: I became a certified educator with Erica’s last year and I’m so excited to host a few classes this year for anyone who is interested in becoming certified! The quality of their products is so incredible and I truly think I’ve improved my e-file skills since taking her class and using the tools too! If you’re interested in learning more about this class, please add your email here to be notified when it goes live!

3. New Starter Video Series: Some of my most frequently asked questions are around what products I recommend for starting out with gel nails and how to do it, and I really want to create something that will be like a one stop guide for anyone who wants to learn! If you have any questions or want to know anything specific, please leave a comment and let me know!

4. Do More Friend’s Nails! I have been doing my friend’s nails consistently for the past few months and it’s been soo much fun! I’ve really missed working on other people and it’s such a good opportunity to use new products and try new techniques that I wouldn’t always have the chance to do on myself. And it seems like you guys are all loving it too so I’m super excited to continue in 2026!

Jan/Feb Nail Mood Board + Trends:

These are some looks I have my eyes on this month!! Do you have a favorite?!

I’m super excited to get back to work and doing more nails! I feel totally recharged from my vacation and so inspired so stay tuned for lots more content, and as always - if there’s anything you want to see, let me know!!

BYE! 💋