Olive and June Manicure System Review
I had been getting acrylic gel manicures for a couple of years, but needed to alter my budget and could not fit salon visits in anymore. At first, I tried press on nails, but the ubiquitous lifting of even a slight corner would have one piece of my hair pulling through it and driving me mad. I also hated how one would pop off and then I have one naked nail. Chipping is one thing, but a completely bare nail is way noticeable. I figured there must be more long wearing nail polishes these days, so I started to look for brands and reviews on Instagram.
During my search I came upon Olive and June Manicure System. The aesthetic of the brand is cute and fun. They have fun polish colors and the items in the set are pastel pink. The reviews I read were good and it stated it was a long wearing polish which is the most important factor for me, besides the color options. I like painting my nails and doing manicures, but I don’t have time to be messing around with my nails every few days. I was hoping to at least find a 10-day wear option.
I ordered the Manicure System which includes:
The set is really cute upon arrival. I liked having a new set of everything for my manicure journey. Also the colors were great. I had ordered some extra so I would have a variety of colors. I followed the directions for the manicure and the polish, which it states to apply thin layers. I also used the drying drops. I painted my nails and toes.
Everything was great for a couple days, then I saw the first chip on my nails and it was downhill from there. My toenails held up beautifully, however. I tried the polishes on my nails several more times with the same results, and me having to do touch ups every couple of days. I wear gloves when I do dishes, but I type on the computer a lot and lift weights so that may make some polishes chip faster on me. A lot of people have given great reviews on the length of the wear, so like with many products I chalk it up to everyone is different and what works for one person may not work on another. I have continued to use the polishes, but only on my toes. I have since bought a UV light gel system that wears longer on me. I will review gel polishes another time.
Amendment 10/25/23: I did not give up on the system and as I got frustrated with my gel polish for various reasons I will discuss in another blog. I decided to give Olive and June another try on my nails. I was in a hurry and did the coats thinner than I usually do. I know I mentioned the thin layers previously, but I did not quite grasp how thin they needed to be. The latest time I used it on my nails I had no chips for about 8 days, which is a vast improvement from my previous experience. My advice would be to keep trying to do the layers thing and see what happens.
This is a picture of my toenail polish after 13 days and it is holding steady. I do love the colors; I call these my Café Latte toes. Another thing I liked about the system was the Poppy. It really does help you to get the polish on smooth and straight. Also the flat shape of the polish brush helps with control of where the polish goes. I use the cuticle serum regularly but it doesn’t do much for me. I live in a very dry climate so this might be part of it and I may need a stronger formula.
Overall, the system is cute and fun, and I would recommend it.
