Let talk nails! I am a girl who loves to have her nails painted. Over the last 2 years I have been trying to perfect the at home mani…your girl cannot afford to go to the salon every two weeks to upkeep a manicure. I have tried various nail polishes, gel polishes, dips and press-ons. My current favorite is a gel polish manicure because it dries almost immediately once exposed to UV light and it lasts for about 2 weeks while looking glossy and without chips. What’s not to love? Let me tell you…I HATE how difficult it is to remove gel polish from my nails. Which leads us one our search for a beautiful and lasting mani that does not take 30 minutes to an hour for me to soak off!
Insert Olive and June. One of my best girlfriends introduced me to Olive and June. She RAVED about it saying, “it is so easy to apply” and “it lasts for weeks!” When she said her manicure withstood her lifestyle for 2 weeks, I had to try it. My friend works in a physician’s office and has 3 days a week at a surgery center…meaning she has to perform surgical scrubbing before every case…3 days a week! And she said her nails didn’t chip?!
I immediately went to the Olive and June website to order their mani system. Here is a link to their website to get started:
https://fbuy.io/oliveandjune/emmayoung
With this link, you will get 20% off your first order (And I will get a free polish! Thank you!!) *Disclaimer, I am not an affiliate with Olive and June. Just a girl who tried it, loved it, and wants to share the joy of beautiful nails!
The mani system includes:
- The Poppy
- The Top Coat (Long-Lasting AND Quick-Dry)
- Nail Polish Remover Pot
- Dual-sided Nail File
- Cuticle Serum
- Clean-up Brush
- Nail Clippers
- Multi-grit Buffer
- 6 Polishes of Your Choice
The colors I selected are: COCKATOO (my favorite), Glow, Cucumber Sandwich, You’re Doing Great, Koala, and Lipstick Stain
For me, to final total came to $72.76
I love how Olive and June sets you up for success. They provide you with easy instructions, great tools, and amazing quality nail polish. They really educate you on the products and how to get the best result with each one. The nail polish is 15-free which means it is formulated without formaldehyde, toulene, DBP, formaldehyde resin, camphor, ethyl tosylamide, xylene, triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), acetone, animal-derived ingredients, bisphenol-a, nonylphenol ethoxylate, parabens, and sulfate. Phew! That’s a mouthful and it just means they make a product that is better for you than most nail polishes! Their products are also vegan and cruelty free.
Post Mani Thoughts
At first I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. If you like using regular polish for your manicures, you will like the Olive and June system. Coming from gel manicures, I struggled with having to wait 5-10 minutes for the polish to dry. I am an expert level smudger. However, the more I used the product, the more I liked it. For me, it took a couple weeks to really like it – mostly because of my (slow) learning curve.
Pros:
- AMAZING color selection – I’m not exaggerating when I say I want to order every single color. The colors all feel on trend and modern and there are several to chose from. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
- Easiest application EVER – Olive and June have made the application process of their nail polish fool proof. To the shape of the applicator brush, to the clean up brush, to the polish remover pot, it is easy to apply and clean up any mistakes without messing up any other nails.
- Perfect for beginners – the kit comes with everything you need to get started if you are new to at home manicures. It also comes with an insert that tells you tips from the pros to make it easy.
Cons:
- The nail polish chipped after 4-5 days. Not bad for regular polish, but I was hopeful it would last longer.
- I don’t think I will ever get over the instant dry of gel polish. I think that might be more of a me problem…
Overall, I do really love the product. If you would have asked me after my first week of using Olive and June, I probably would not have recommended it. Once I got better at applying it, the better it looked and the longer the polish lasted. I don’t think it quite compares to gel polish, but with how easy it is to take off and change colors, the product grew on me quickly. So, yes! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!
Do you have any recommendations for how to remove gel safely, please share in the comments!! What are your favorite nail products?
