Yes, you can use color polish with gel nails. Solar nails is actually a product name. The type of nails referred to is just a french manicure look done with acrylics or gels. The white acrylic/gel is laid down first at the tip, then the clear or pink acrylic/gel is laid over that. No polish required.

I've tried the Sally Hansen strips and didn't care for them, in fact returned them to Ulta for a refund. I also use the Red Carpet kit and like it but it only lasts me about a week at which point I peel them off. I have my own uv manicure lamp, and haven't used the one which came w/the kit I purchased. In addition I use the CND shellac products. It lasts a wk, maybe a little longer, and requires a little more effort to remove. I'm not sure if it is these products or winter but my nails have become very weak so I'm giving them a break and concentrating on getting them in better condition before using them again. This post was edited by funnygirl on Sun, Jan 6, 13 at 20:01

I do think that there is a bit of a learning curve to the Incoco strips, I didn't get them on perfectly, and then they stayed on so long that I was forced to see my imperfect application for two weeks! And I did have more difficulty applying to my right hand. For the french manicure set the white strip is separate, and I believe that it is applied first, then the sheer pink over top. I think that you could probably buy just the white tips and apply your own sheer polish over the top. These things stay on so well that you could probably remove the top coat of sheer and repolish after a week or so if you wanted to.

I've been getting gel nails for my fingers for the past 5 years. My nails grow quickly, so I go to the salon every other week. I get the French nails, because I like the clean look, and can go an extra week as long as no one looks too carefully at the cuticles. The manicurist just uses polish remover to get rid of the white band, then applies, with a brush, the gel from the cuticles and lightly up the nail.