Saw It On Social: Olive & June Nail Kit

With the ongoing pandemic, many of us are searching for ways to get salon quality beauty services at home.  When it comes to nails, my feed was flooded with ads for the Olive & June nail kit.  But does it live up to the social media hype?

Olive & June started as an Instagram-ready nail salon in California in 2013, and quickly expanded into a line of products.  They advertise their nail kits as everything you need to get a professional-quality manicure at home.  And their polishes are free of seven of the most commonly used chemicals, vegan, and cruelty-free.

To test the Olive & June products, I ordered The Everything Box.  This box included six nail polishes selected from their color line, a top coat, nail files, clippers, cuticle oil, and polish remover.  It also included the plastic brush holder that they designed to steady your hand while painting, and a small brush used to clean polish out of tiny crevices with ease.

I decided to test out the products on myself and two of my friends — B and K, who are 8 and 10 years old — to see how good they really were.  Because if your allegedly long-lasting manicure can survive to elementary age girls, it can survive whatever my day throws at it.

The Polishes. The first thing that I noticed was how viscous, almost runny, the consistency of the nail polish is.  When painting it on, I was getting a lot more spread than usual.  The consistency combined with the extra-wide brush made more of a mess than I’m used to and resulted in more cleanup than usual.

Olive & June offers a limited number of colors in certain ranges — neutrals, darks, neon, pinks and reds, etc..  The colors were well-pigmented and the online swatches were close to what I received.  But most of the shades they offer were more pale and neutral than I would normally choose.

The Extras.  Olive & June’s claim to fame is ‘Poppy,’ a brush holder that is supposed to steady your hand for smoother, more even coverage and a faster manicure.  Personally, I found it hard to adjust to holding the large, spongy accessory.  Even after my third set of nails and toes, I still hadn’t adjusted.

I asked an adult friend to paint her nails as well, and she liked it better than I did.  She said painting with the Poppy felt more stable.  So your mileage may vary on whether the accessory is for you.

As for the other accessories, the buffing cube and nail files were nothing special.  The nail polish remover comes soaked into a large sponge, which made for less spillage.  And the small paintbrush made cleaning up small messes a breeze.  But thanks to the liquidy formula, I didn’t have small messes, I had big ones.

Durability. Other reviewers and bloggers have claimed that the Olive & June manicure will last 7+ days.  And the brand has recycled claims by The Cut and Marie Claire into its advertising so that they can market themselves as long-lasting without claiming to be long-lasting.

I followed their instructions for maximum durability — nail prep + 2-3 coats of polish + 5-10 minutes of dry time between each coat + top coat reapplication evert 2-3 days.

My pedicure lasted 8 days before the chipping began.  My manicure, however, never made it to the second top coat application.  And the girls?  The 10-year-old went to put on a pair of sneakers an hour after application and ruined a thumb nail.  The 8-year-old had better luck, her forefinger peeled off the next day in the shower.

So I cannot vouch for any claims that they Olive & June polishes will give you a manicure that lasts for a week.

Bottom Line.  The Olive & June Kit is more hype than salon-worthy help.  The colors are pretty, and the kits are perfectly branded and Instagram ready.  But I found the formula very runny and my manicure barely lasted the weekend.  I would recommend passing on this particular social media-touted product.

Instead, I would create my own manicure kit with a few inexpensive tools from Amazon.

Polish Remover. Replace the O&J nail polish remover with this Twist & Scrub formula from Cutex.  If you prefer a more natural product, this Ella + Mila remover has fewer harsh chemicals.

Remover Brush. This double-ended brush lets you remove polish from tiny spaces in a snap.

Nail Files. This buffer block and nail file set will probably last you the rest of your life.  It’s perfect for filing and shaping nails.

Cuticle Oil. OPI’s cuticle care pen is perfect for those who don’t understand why cuticle health is a big deal.  Just brush on the product and let it go to work.

Base and Top Coat. Olive and June’s polishes don’t utilize base coat, but I like a three-layer manicure for maximum adhesion.  On the pricey side, Deborah Lippmann’s Gel Lab polish kit is my favorite.  On the drugstore side, OPI Chip Skip and Seche Vite top coat will get the job done.

That is my own personal manicure kit.  Not need to spend $80 on a set that doesn’t really live up to expectations.  What are your must-have at-home nail care products?  Leave your suggestions in the comments.

As with all Saw It On Social posts, I purchased the Olive & June kit with my own money.  No gifts were requested or accepted.  No discount codes were used.  The products were tested by me over a one week period, and all opinions really are my own. 

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