Olive + June

 

Fifteen years ago, after my big heartbreak, I told myself I had to start getting back into life. I bought myself a day planner and forced myself to use it – to make plans and keep them. I forced myself to start cooking again so I would, in turn, eat whole meals. And in an effort to do something nice for myself, I started getting manicures twice a month.

                I went to a sweet lady named Debbie, and not only was she amazing at her craft, she was just a sweet, fun friend. I enjoyed our conversations as much as I enjoyed her nail beautification. Not long after Ryan and I married, Debbie moved out of state, and I decided to give up my manicures. We could save money, for one thing, but I also wasn’t sure I wanted to go through the process of finding a nail tech I loved as much as Debbie.

                So for Christmas that year, Ryan bought me everything I needed to do my nails at home, just like Debbie always did them. And for the last thirteen years, I’ve done just that. I love the freedom and flexibility to do my nails on my own time – even if it’s really late on a Sunday night.

                But I’ve been frustrated with the quality of the polish I used, so I started looking for something I liked better. About two years ago, an ad for Olive + June polish showed up in my Instagram feed, so I started following them and researching their products.

                It took a full two years to take the leap, but a few weeks ago, I did it.

                I had saved up some money to spend for fun, and I ordered the kit, hoping it would be as good as all the research led me to believe it was.

                Guess what? It was.

                I ordered this kit, which came with everything I would need.

                The first time I did a manicure, I used the Peel Off Base Coat. It was a coat that went on my nail underneath the regular base coat. It was supposed to help make removal easier, though the instructions said using that coat would create a shorter life for the manicure as a whole.

                Well…that was true for me! One of my nails (the color, not the nail) peeled off one day later. And then I lost two more the following day! I ended up taking off all the rest of the nails and redoing them without that Peel Off Base Coat. Once I did the manicure the way I was used to doing them, I had great success with long-lasting polish.

                Case in point: here is my most recent polish the day I put it on…October 17^th, and I fully intended to show you what they looked like last night, November 6^th, just one day short of three weeks later. Alas, I got manicure-happy and took off the polish before I remembered to take the picture! So imagine…the polish holding strong.

                I love the colors themselves. They are rich and full, and my nails look shiny, which I love.

                The kit I chose came with the following colors: Dream Job (a soft, pretty pink), Sculpture Wing (kind of a gray/lavender), AW (a warm gray), Cool Mossy Green (self explanatory), Goal Getter (the one in the picture), and Cool Dark Plum (self explanatory). I also received a bonus bottle of Suited (navy blue). The base, top, and peel off base coats were also included, along with an assortment of nail tools.

                The polish goes on smoothly and – at least for me – lasts a long time. It comes off without damaging my natural nails, and I am so glad I made the switch to this brand. It’s worth it to me! I’ll happily add to my color collection for other seasons, but I think the colors I have will carry me beautifully through fall and winter!

                Here are the two other colors I’ve used, just in case you want to see!