I love the little luxury of getting my nails done at my favorite salon. However, the price can definitely add up. For someone with shaky hands, the thought of doing my manicures at home feels daunting and impossible. But I finally gave Olive & June a try, and their manicure system completely changed my views! Read below for my honest review of this at-home manicure kit, and how I use it to create a salon-quality look.
My Olive & June Starter Pack
I first noticed Olive & June during a Target run. Its colorful display jumped out at me in a sea of numerous polish bottles. Unlike competitor brands, Olive & June had everything I needed in one spot: an introductory polish kit, cuticle pusher, and even cuticle serum. Pretty much everything I was used to seeing in a salon was already available to me in-store. Not to mention, the nail polish is 7-free.
If you are looking for a simple try-out of the brand, I recommend the products I linked above. The 4-ct. nail polish sampler was an affordable way to try out a few colors at once, and I thought I would buy more once I was sure I loved it.
Olive & June At-Home Manicure System Review
I posted a few stories about my products on IG stories, and the brand kindly reached out asking if I wanted to try their ‘manicure system‘. (Yes, of course!) The price of the at-home manicure kit is $85 if you pick 6 nail polishes, saving you $24 if you were to buy each piece individually. Considering that the average cost of a regular manicure (including tip) is $30 these days, you would get your money’s worth just by using your kit 3 times.
Also not sure how long this promo will last but MANI30 gets you 30% off the kit, so your total comes out to around $60!
What does the Olive & June ‘Mani System’ come with?
The kit arrived in a cute pink box, and I was definitely impressed by the contents: polish of your choice, the Poppy (which I will get to next), cuticle serum, top coat, clean-up brush, polish remover pot, straight-edge nail clipper, mani filer, and buffer bar.
Everything felt reminiscent of the products I would see in the nail salon, except designed in a very user-friendly way. The kit also comes with an instruction manual, and tips for achieving a glossy manicure. Finally, I found the polish smell to be very light. The products are formulated to be vegan, and cruelty-free.
Olive & June: ‘The Poppy’
I give so much kudos to The Poppy for helping me achieve a tidy manicure. You might be wondering what is this balloon-shaped device. It’s a handle that you can attach to your polish bottle to make painting simpler. I didn’t believe it at first, but once I tried it, I understood why it helps so much. The Poppy handle helps level out the angle between your nail and the brush, while giving your painting-hand additional support. Super ergonomic, and clever.
I read multiple reviews of people sharing how this design helped them to paint with their non-dominant hand, or offer support to those with RA. After giving this device a try myself, I really believe it.
What makes this at-home manicure kit so effective?
Every piece is designed so that you can paint your nails more easily at home. The polish remover pot is a bottle with a sponge-foam center. Just dip your fingers into it, and rotate. The polish comes right off mess-free, and doesn’t require any cotton rounds. If you make a mess up painting along the nail edge, or get paint onto your cuticle, just dip the ‘Clean-Up‘ brush into the polish remover pot, and use it to touch up any stray polish marks.
This clean-up brush is a saving grace that you didn’t think you needed, but now you can’t live without.
Final Thoughts on Olive & June
Overall, I love the manicure system, and it is the best job I have ever done on an at-home manicure. I did notice some chips along the edges after 1 week. However, I think that is because it was my first time painting, and I didn’t ‘cap’ my edges like I was supposed to. There were no real issues with using any of the pieces inside my kit. The only real challenge was painting on an uneven nail bed (aka my thumb). I had to redo that one a few times, but I believe practice makes perfect!
Drying Time: It would be a huge plus if the mani system came with a dryer of some kind. But otherwise, I recommend doing your nails when you have lots of down time to relax. I waited until ~1-hour for nails to dry before I touched anything, and even then, I noticed slight scuffing while trying to open a Ziploc bag (oops!).
The Olive & June kit is the perfect companion to doing your nails at-home, and I hope you use it someday! (MANI30 for 30% Off – mani system c/o Olive & June. Intro pack I purchased on my own)
The Poppy handle is such a good idea! I could use the help. Does it fit on other nail polish bottle handles or only on Olive & June ones?
Yes, the Poppy Handle has an expandable circular opening. I haven’t tried on other polish bottles, but you should be able to use as long as it fits.