I paid $55 for a manicure with Dazzle Dry polish. My nails looked great, and I’m confident I could recreate the results at home for less.

Over the past year, I’ve tried lots of different types of manicures, from professional press-ons to an at-home gel kit.

However, I’d heard a lot about Dazzle Dry — the UV-free nail polish that’s supposed to last up to 14 days without chipping — but hadn’t tried it myself.

As a gel polish enthusiast, a standard polish that lasts up to two weeks seemed too good to be true.

Dazzle Dry is different than standard gel or lacquer polishes.

Unlike standard gel polish, Dazzle Dry doesn’t require a UV lamp to cure the manicure.

Instead, Dazzle Dry considers itself a reinvented lacquer, advertising that it has the benefits of long-lasting gel without the harsh chemicals or damaging removal.

The system consists of four steps, including nail prep, base coat, polish, and top coat.

I went to Lena Rose Beauty in Chicago for a professional Dazzle Dry manicure.

Eager to try the nail system for myself, I headed to Lena Rose Beauty in Chicago for a professional version of the manicure.

After greeting my usual nail tech, Teresa “Tere” Rodriguez, I took a seat. I opted for a navy blue shade and a sparkly purple color.

After removing my existing manicure, my nail tech applied a primer and clear base coat to my nails.

After Rodriguez removed my Brazilian manicure, they worked on my cuticles and applied the Dazzle Dry nail prep primer.

They followed up with two layers of the clear base coat, which is supposed to help the polish last longer.

The polish looked nice and dried quickly.

Next, Rodriguez applied two layers of the deep blue shade I chose and one coat of the tiny purple sparkles. After waiting a few moments to ensure my nails were dry, they finished with the top layer to give it a shiny look.

Rodriguez then flipped a five-minute hourglass to time my drying process, and I was surprised to find that my manicure dried in the expected timeframe without the help of sprays or a cool fan.

Once my nails were dry, Rodriguez used in-house body oil for a soothing hand massage. To wrap up the relaxing process, they enveloped my hands in a hot towel and applied cuticle oil to each nail.

The manicure took less than an hour and cost $55, including tax and tip.

After two weeks, my manicure looked better than a regular polish set.

I was delighted by how well my nails fared after two weeks. The nail growth was evident, as were a few expected chips, but I thought the Dazzle Dry polish held up more nicely than regular polish typically does.

Overall, I was happy with the Dazzle Dry system.

At the end of the day, I was very happy with my Dazzle Dry manicure. The only downside was that I didn’t think the polish looked like a gel manicure, even after the addition of the shiny top coat.

That said, after seeing how easy the manicure was to execute, I’d definitely invest in an at-home mini Dazzle Dry starter kit ($42) to save some money on future trips to the salon.

However, I think a professional Dazzle Dry manicure every few months would be worth the splurge for the careful cuticle cleanup and relaxing hand massage.

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