Olive & June Gel Polish Review
Photo Courtesy of Olive & June
There is something about a gel manicure that feels completely different from a regular one. The polish is already dry by the time you finish; it has a glossy shine that looks almost glass like, and it lasts much longer than traditional nail polish. When I heard Olive & June was lunching gel polishes, I was so excited and could not wait to order. I have been a fan of their long-wear polishes and top coat for years. Their top coat is one of my all-time favorites, and I never let myself run out of it. Because I love their other products so much, I had high hopes for the gels as well. Now let’s get into the full breakdown of Olive & Junes gel nail polishes.
Photo Courtesy of Olive & June
Olive & June Gel Polish Kit
Details - The kit has the following items: 1 5 Finger LED Gel Lamp, Peel-Off Base Coat, Gel Polish Base Coat, Gel Polish Top Coat, Poppy, Cuticle Pusher, Nail File, Nail Clipper, Nail Buffer, Cuticle Serum, Cuticle Remover, Clean-Up Brush, Acetone Remover Pot.
Performance - Overall, the kit is very well put together and has everything you will need for an at-home gel manicure. The LED Gel Lamp is really nice and does a great job of curing their gel polishes as well as other gel polishes.
Price - 1 color polish kit: $95, 6 color polish kit:$125
Vegan - Yes! The products in this are vegan 🌿.
Photo Courtesy of Olive & June
Olive & June Gel Polish Top Coat
Performance - This top coat is excellent; it has amazing shine and provides polish with a beautiful, glossy finish. I find the O&J gel polishes in general to be very thick, so it is important with all the polishes to use very thin light layers. Without going in with thin layers, the polish, like most gel polishes, can peel and chip easily.
Price - $12
Vegan - Yes! This is vegan 🌿.
HEMA-FREE - Yes, as well as 15-Free!
Photo Courtesy of Olive & June
Olive & June Gel Polish Base Coat
Performance - This gel base coat is nice and feels like a very standard gel base coat. This is another product that light layers are needed but overall when used with O&J gel polishes or other brands of gel polishes, it works well! It is VERY important with this and any nail polish that you prep your nails well. If you do not prep your nails well and make sure you nails are fully dry before applying the base coat the polish will not last long.
Price - $12
Vegan - Yes! This is also vegan 🌿.
HEMA-FREE - Yes, as well as 15-Free!
Photo Courtesy of Olive & June
Olive & June Peel Off Base Coat
Performance - The Peel-Off Base Coat works exactly as its name suggest: it creates a base layer that can be peeled away instead of removed with liquid remover. Because it doesn’t require curing, it can also be worn under regular polish. I have tried it with gel, regular polish and glitter polish (which is the best because glitter polish is so hard to remove!) I find the wear time, with gel polish particularly, is anywhere from 2-4 days. I find after that the gel polish does tend to peel rather quickly unless I only apply the peel-off base coat to the center of my nail and leave about 2 mm around the edges clear from peel-off the base coat. This trick helps the polish last a lot longer than the 2-4 days.
Price - $10
Vegan - Yes! This is vegan 🌿.
HEMA-FREE - Yes, and 15-Free!
Photo Courtesy of Olive & June
Olive & June Gel Nail Polish
Performance - Just like all the other O&J gel polishes, the colored gel polishes should also be applied in thin layers. The two shades I tried of the gel polish (CV & Obsessed) were pigmented and didn’t have any streaks or patchiness. I can get about 2 weeks of good wear with the system (typically with other gels, I get 2-3 weeks.) On average, I found that the O&J gel polish system lasts me between 10-14 days, depending on how well my nails have been prepped. The way I like to best prep my nails is: clean up my cuticles, buff my nails, clean off any dust, and then wash my hands, followed by letting my nails dry fully and adding a coat of nail dehydrator before starting to paint my nails. If I take all those steps and make sure my nails are fully dry before painting them, I can usually get the polish to last 14 days.
Price - $12
Shade Range - 55 shades now, and launched with 28.
Vegan - Yes! This is vegan 🌿.
HEMA-FREE - Yes, and they are 15-Free!