Olive and June Nail Polish: An Honest Review

You’ve seen it all over Instagram and you are probably wondering, is Olive and June Nail Polish worth the hype? After trying the manicure system, here is my honest review of Olive and June Long Lasting Nail Polish.

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My Experience with Manicures

As a self-proclaimed (and lifelong) beauty junkie, I have gone through several stages of nail care and manicures.

Back in the day, I tried acrylic nails which were too much damage and too much upkeep for my liking. When I lived in New York I would get great manicures at the salon and they were so affordable, but when I moved to Chicago the basic manicure wasn’t that less expensive than gel so that’s what I switched to, every two weeks for years. When Covid hit and going to the salon was out of the question I had to figure out what to do with my nails and thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out some home manicure brands.

Olive & June is the nail polish brand I chose to try that is traditional nail polish. Olive and June isn’t a gel polish, it doesn’t need a UV lamp and they aren’t stickers. It was what I was most familiar with from a home manicure perspective since I had bought my fair share of OPI and Essie back in the day (admittedly I was not as great about getting regular pedicures as I was manicures so nail polish came in quite handy).

While I was familiar with nail polish, I was inexperienced and had never been good at it. I would frequently paint outside the lines and chipping would happen early so I was eager to try Olive and June and see what they were all about.

About Olive & June

Olive & June is a California-based, Woman-owned company (owned by Sarah Gibson Tuttle). Sarah opened a wildly successful brick & mortar nail salon in 2013 and launched the now-famous line of nail polishes in 2019.

This luxury nail polish brand is vegan and cruelty-free and is 7-free formulated, which basically means it’s made without all the toxic things that so many nail polishes contain. The other key claim is that it is a gel-like finish but doesn’t require UV and comes off with basic nail polish remover (more on that later).

Originally only offered online, Olive & June is now available at Target as well.

What’s it Like to Use Olive and June Nail Polish and Nail Tools?

In order to get the full experience, I bought the Olive and June Mani System with the one polish selection. I followed the included instructions when using each tool (we’ll get into the details below) and was very, very happy with the initial results. The polish was easy to apply, thanks to the must-have Poppy, and the finish was smooth and shiny. Here is an honest review of each item & tool included in the mani system.

Nail Polish

Olive and June offer a wide variety of nail polish colors. Seriously, there isn’t a color that I’ve been looking for that I haven’t been able to find. They are just the right consistency, not too thick and not too thin. I find that 2-3 coats work best depending on the polish color and what I’m trying to achieve. After two years, the polish I got on day one is still the same consistency.

Note this review is for the Long Lasting formula. After publication, Olive & June also launched Quick Dry. For a full review of the Quick Dry formula, check out this post!

The Poppy

The Olive and June Poppy is a game-changer. Made from silicone, it pops onto the nail polish handle and its unique size and shape help with application, a steady hand, and more control. It’s surprising the difference it makes.

Pouch

A plastic zip-top pouch comes with the mani kit to store everything in it. I don’t use it to store the nail polish remover pot because I’m worried about it leaking, but I keep everything else except the polish in the pouch, which is nice.

Cuticle Serum

The Olive and June cuticle serum won an Allure Best of Beauty award in 2019, so it has rave reviews. It’s a serum that comes with a foam applicator tip, like the Charlotte Tilbury wands, and you are supposed to use it twice a day. I have tried it, but because I’m allergic to one of the ingredients I don’t really use it. Plus, two times a day feels like a lot for nail care so this step just isn’t for me.

Top Coat

Olive and June Super Glossy Top Coat is the pièce de ré·sis·tance of the manicure. It really is super glossy but aside from that, it’s what prevents the nail polish from chipping the minute you use a keyboard. They recommend reapplying every two days, but I never remember to do that.

Clean Up Brush

The Clean Up Brush is a no-brainer. While The Poppy gives you so much more control coloring outside of the lines is still bound to happen. When it does, this brush gets rid of polish where you don’t want it in a breeze. I can’t believe I hadn’t thought to use a brush before, but it’s a must-have.

Nail Polish Remover Pot

What’s nice about the Nail Polish Remover Pot is that you don’t need to use a cotton pad (although these are my favorite) to remove your polish and it makes dipping your brush so easy. With that being said, I didn’t repurchase it after I used it all because I found it didn’t really work the best with dark deep colors like red and black. If I used it with dark colors I got stain remanents on my cuticles, not cute.

Straight-Edge Nail Clippers

You can’t buy the clippers on their own, you have to get them in a system. They are fine, nothing special, but they are straight-edged which takes some getting used to. For a beginner like me who likes a rounded shape, I don’t prefer it, but if you want to create an almond or coffin, these are needed.

Nail File

It’s a pretty basic dual grit nail file, but it works.

Nail Buffer Bar

Like the nail file, it’s pretty standard but nice that it’s included in the mani system.

Other Products from Olive and June

Olive & June has created quite an assortment of products over the years. While I haven’t tried everything yet, below is a review of the items I have tried that aren’t included in the mani system.

Ridge Filler

One of the things I love about Olive and June is no base coat is needed, but if you do have some ridges this ridge filler is like a primer to create a smooth surface for nail polish application. I don’t normally use this, but after my impatience led to some damage during press-on removal (check out the full press-on nails review) I tried it and it made a huge difference.

Dry Drops

The Olive and June Dry Drops are applied after the glossy coat and make it so you can touch your nails in 80 seconds. I still wait longer than that to touch, and even so, they are still pretty fragile, not like a gel-manicure where they are 100% dry when you leave the salon. Still, they’re better than nothing.

Press-On Nails

I have a detailed review of the Olive and June Press-On Mani System, but they are amazing! I received several compliments and they stayed on really well (almost too well, per my ridge filler comment above).

Nail Strengthener

You can buy this on it’s own or as part of the Press-On System and it is great! It acts as a primer under polish or daily as an intensive treatment. I’ve been using it daily when I don’t have polish on and it’s really helped my nails repair the damage from the press-on removal.

What is Olive University?

As a novice when it comes to giving myself a manicure, I highly, highly recommend checking out Olive University! This is Olive & June’s free resource center to teach you all there is to know about polishing your nails, from beginner to expert. You can sign up for weekly Masterclasses as well where instructors from around the country focus on one specific area, like color story or shaping.

Everything I’ve watched from them has been great and I’ve learned a ton, like capping my nails, not flooding my nail bed…the list goes on and on.

Is Olive and June Worth the Hype?

Yes and no, it depends on what hype you are listening to. Is Olive and June like having gel polish? No, it’s not. You have to wait for it to dry fully and it isn’t flawless for two full weeks the way a gel manicure is. Is it an amazing nail polish? Yes, it absolutely is. I have never been able to paint my nails at home and have them look so good for so long. I would even say that if I get a regular manicure (not gel) at a salon, my nails look very similar to when I paint them at home with Olive and June.

Pros and Cons of Olive and June Nail Polish & Mani System

Final Verdict of Olive and June Nail Polish

I really like Olive and June nail polish and have recommended it to personal friends several times. It’s what I use most days (when I’m not trying out things for the blog) or if I don’t have an event, in which case I usually use something a little more permanent, like press-ons.

In all transparency, I seldom sit down and give myself a full manicure, but I wish I did. More often than not, I find that I need to get some color on my nails so I will pop on The Poppy and give myself two quick coats, and then will be out the door. In that case, my nails chip in a couple of days but it’s my own fault because I failed to apply the top coat.

When I do the full Olive & June manicure, including the Glossy Top Coat, my nails have lasted 8 days with no chipping, which I think is pretty impressive for an at-home polish. I absolutely think the Olive and June Mani System is worth it.

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If you loved this Olive and June Nail Polish review, check out these other posts:

Olive & June Press-On System Review

Quick Dry Nail Polish Olive & June Review

Ohora Nails: Are They Worth It?

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DISCLOSURE: If you buy something through my links, I may earn an affiliate commission, at no cost to you.  I only feature products I would use myself, and all opinions expressed here are my own.  Because I am very obsessed with FTC compliance, check out my full disclaimer here.

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