Olive and June Review: Does the Nail Polish Last?

Is Olive & June worthy of the hype? I wondered this for months before trying it myself way back in 2019! The result? I’ve upped my nail game by trying out this social media loved at home manicure nail polish. And now I can share a full Olive and June review with you!

*In case you don’t want the full review, know this – I adore Olive & June and believe it is totally deserving of the hype. I’ve been painting my nails forever and have tried almost every polish around and none compare to Olive & June. Keep reading if you’re curious why.

Since that first box I got in 2019, I’ve since tried out many of their products. Those products include their Mani System, their Pedi System, their Press On System and care items like those for hand and foot care, cuticle care and more! In this review I’ll share the pros, cons and how long the polish actually lasts. Let’s get into it!

This post includes affiliate links.

Use this link and the code jenb20 for 20% off your order of any of their systems!

How I Tested Olive & June

I’m a busy mom so I have no time for a nail polish that requires upkeep! I’ve also been painting my nails for years using everything from Sally Hansen to OPI so trust me, I know my nail polish.

For this review, I have done a variety of testing with upwards of 50 manicures. Each were left on until we noticed chipping. Here’s some things I’ve tested:

• Tested the different types of polish – both long lasting and quick dry.
• Also tested on a variety of people from my daughter who is 5 years old to friends, family and other moms.
• Using a variety of application methods
  • Putting it on with minimal prep and minimal upkeep after
  • Following all of their prepping recommendations and reapplying the top coat every couple of days
  • Tested one layer + topcoat all they way up to 4 layers + topcoat

I went about life as usual and didn’t protect my nails in any way and asked anyone who tested it to do the same.

My Olive & June Nail Polish Review

Let’s dig into some specifics – how long it lasts based on different polishes, pros, cons and more!

How Long Polish Lasts

I think this is the question that everyone wants answered! Instead of my nails chipping after a day or two, if I fully prep my nails, and reapply my top coat, I can go at least 4-5 days without a chip and typically only get chips on nails that are peeling (my pointer finger nails always peel no matter what I do!). My sister can easily go 5-7 days, sometimes longer.

Long-Lasting vs. Quick-Dry Polish

Their polish is beautiful and they have every color imaginable yet keep coming up with new colors! The polish doesn’t get as clumpy or goopy as quickly as other brands that I’ve used.

They have 2 kinds of polish – long-lasting polish and quick dry polish.

Long-Lasting Polish

The long lasting polish (basically their regular polish), as you can imagine, lasted the longest on me. With proper prep and adding my top coat, I could wear this for about 4-5 days with no chipping.

Removing it was definitely harder than the other polishes but came off easily, like any normal polish. The only ones that were more difficult to remove are glitter style polishes. Using the Olive & June pod helped get it off incredibly easy.

Quick Dry Polish

The very fist time I tested a quick dry polish, I put it on and then my husband asked me to cut an onion only a minute or two after finishing (I’m the designated onion chopper in this house haha!). I figured I’d give it a go to test it out and I was shocked that it stayed in perfect condition even after all my chopping.

The difference came with how long it lasted. This one usually starts to chip on day 3 for me with proper prep. This is typically the polish I use on my daughter and even as a little girl who is constantly playing, crafting and doing things with her hands, it will normally stay on great for at least 2 days.

This one is incredibly easy to remove – the easiest of the two.

One thing to note – when it comes to the glitter, some of the larger glitter polishes like Sprinkle Cookie are incredibly difficult to apply. I ended up having to pick out each chunk of sprinkle with a toothpick to apply it on my daughter and. Not ideal to say the least.

In summary, you can count on 4-5 days of chip free nails with the long lasting polish and you should get to day 3 with the quick dry polish. The quick dry polish is incredibly easy to remove.

Also, the top coat is amazing. It smooths out any imperfections and gives you that gel-like finish. I think that is the biggest game changer of the whole thing because it really helps you your at-home manicures look professional!

Brush and Application Experience

The Olive & June brush is far better than other brushes I’ve used. The shape of the brush is flat which make it easier to actually apply the polish. When you open the bottle you’ll see that there’s a flat side, that is your guide that helps you be able to lay the brush flat on your nail.

This makes it easier to apply your polish with the flat brush since you use less strokes (I do one down the middle then one on each side). It also helps prevent tons of brush stokes to be seen.

There is a bit of a learning curve for small nails (like my daughter’s) since the brush can be the width (or wider!). You can turn the brush on the side for smaller nails.

Pros and Cons

• Goes on easy with their flat edge brushes
  • The flat brushes makes it much easier and quicker to apply than other brushes that I’ve used.
• Lasts longer than most polishes and doesn’t chip as easy
  • Other polishes I’ve used will chip in 48 hours and these will last much longer than that.
• It’s 15 free (free of most harmful chemicals like Formaldehyde, Toulene, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor, Ethyl Tosylamide, Xylene, Triphenyl Phosphate (TPHP), Acetone, Animal-Derived Ingredients, Bisphenol-A, Nonylphenol Ethoxylate, Parabens, Sulfate)
  • Having much cleaner nail polish makes me feel so much better about using this not only on my nails but also my daughter’s.
• Vegan and cruelty free
• They’re always coming out with new, fresh colors and products
  • This is a good and bad problem since I always want more colors! 🙂
• Best customer service around
  • Any problems, just email them! They’ve always been so helpful with product questions, tips and more.
• Available online as well as Amazon, Target and Walmart
  • In person options makes it great for quick purchases for you or for gifts!
• Options for quick dry polish and dry drops for fast manicures
  • These products make it so much easier to younger kids’ nails who don’t have the patience to sit around to let them wait to dry.

Olive & June Cons

• The flat edge brush can be hard on small or skinny nails (like my daughter’s nails) since it’s wide
• New products can quickly sell out

Tips After Using Multiple Times

I’ve discovered a few different things that help extend your manicure. Prepping your natural nails and waiting in between each layer makes a huge difference.

Without proper prep, waiting between layers or reapplying the top coat, it will last about 2 days on me. They can chip much easier than something like gel manicures or dip nails, however, I’ve noticed that it lasts longer than other polishes I’ve used and their top coat is the best I’ve ever used.

Other things to note I found with testing:

• Not waiting in between each layer to allow it to dry will also cause early chipping
• Apply only 1 or 2 coats + a top coat to make it last the longest
• Applying anything over 3 coats + top coat will likely cause chipping within a couple days (the lighter polish color needs more layers which is when I did a lot of layers)

What Comes in the Mani System?

The Mani System includes:

1. The Poppy– Olive & June’s secret weapon to being able to polish your non-dominant hand with success (more on the poppy below)
2. The Mani Box – easily hold all of manicure items in one place
3. Award Winning Cuticle Serum – another secret to flawless manicures is beautiful cuticles! Pro tip: turn the top many times to get the serum to start flowing.
4. Clean-Up Brush – nobody is perfect, not even the pros! Dip your clean up brush in your polish remover pot and clean up and imperfections on your nails. I use this every single time I paint my nails!
5. Acetone-free Polish Remover Pot – yet again, this is the BEST polish remover around. Not only do they make it easy to remove your polish but it works better than any remover we’ve ever used. My sister actually added her Target brand polish remover to her pot when her pot dried up and she could immediately tell the difference. O&J nail polish remover pot makes it easier and faster to remove your polish. The best part is you can easily remove one nail to fix it while you paint your nails rather than having to ruin your entire mani!
6. Straight-Edge Nail Clippers – the easiest way to shape your nails is with these straight edge nail clippers.
7. Dual-Grit Nail File – a must have to finish shaping your nails.
8. Nail Buffer Bar – I use this both on the top of my nails as well as to file down my cuticles.
9. The Top Coat – this brand’s top coat is magic! It smooths any perfections for a gel-like finish and keeps your nails looking flawless. Put this on every 2-3 days to prevent chips.

Plus you get a polish of your choice! You can choose from long-lasting, quick dry or both.

The Poppy

The Poppy is Olive and June’s “secret weapon” to salon worthy nails without the salon!

It’s a unique bottle handle that makes painting your nails, especially your non-dominant hand (for me, that’s my right hand) easier! You can even use it on any universal polish bottle handle, not just Olive and June’s.

To use the Poppy, you need to remove the cap of the nail polish! This is where I got messed up – you have to pull somewhat hard to get the cap of your nail polish off. My best trick is to twist the opposite way that you would open the nail polish while pulling up gently.

Other Olive & June Products

1. Press On Nails

Olive & June also came out with Press On nails!! Like the others, they have a full Press On System to get your started. If you need a quick, easy manicure that looks really professional, this is a great option.

Check out my full review on their Press On nails here but overall they’re amazing!

2. Pedicure Kit

From a patent pending foot rest to give you the perfect angle for painting to your toes to a foot file and cuticle remover, this is one of the best sets ever!

Check out my full review of the Olive & June Pedicure System here.

3. Nail Strengthener & Ridge Filler

If you deal with weak nails that peel or have ridges or white spots, these 2 products are fantastic. My own nails are known to peel no matter what I do and using other brand’s nail polish always make them weak.

I’ve been using the nail strengthener off and on over the past few months and love it. I noticed a difference in just the first application. I don’t deal with too many ridges in my nails but if you do, they have a ridge filler but this is a great option to fill in gaps in your nails before painting them! It creates a perfect solid base for the perfect mani.

4. Olive & June Dry Drops

The Olive & June dry drops dry your nails to the touch in just 80 seconds! Just put a drop or 3 on your nails, wait 80 seconds and fully dry in half the time as usual.

I use these on myself and my young daughter. It’s easy to use and it actually works!

5. Nail Tools & Nail Art

If you want to try to do nail art and designs, you need some nail tools! Olive and June has their own nail tools as well!

Mani tools can be a little hard to figure out in the beginning but just like the perfect manicure, a little practice is very helpful when it comes to creating beautiful nail art.

Olive & June vs. Salon Gel

The biggest differences between Olive & June polish vs salon gel nails are the application, duration and removal. For application you need to wait until your polish is fully dried before touching anything unlike gel polish where you’re good to go right away. Polish will last you about 5 days while gel can last 2-3 weeks. Removal is much easier with gel polish using a polish remover vs soaking in acetone for the gel.

FAQ

I hope this Olive and June Review was beneficial!

Is Olive & June Worth It?

Yes – Olive & June is absolutely worth it if you want salon-looking nails without the nail salon price or time commitment. Based on my experience, you’re getting about 4–5 days of chip-free wear with the long-lasting polish (sometimes longer with good prep), and each at-home manicure costs just a few dollars per use compared to a typical $35–$50 salon visit.

When you factor in polish lasting for multiple manicures, the cost per manicure is roughly $2–$5, plus you save the 45–60 minutes of driving, waiting, and sitting at the nail salon every single time. For busy moms, anyone trying to save money, or anyone who loves having polished nails but doesn’t want the upkeep of regular salon appointments, Olive & June is one of the best at-home manicure systems I’ve tried.

This works especially well for busy women, moms, beginners, and anyone who wants a quick, easy, polished look at home. The flat brush, amazing glossy top coat, and easy-to-use system really make it feel worth the hype.

Olive & June Discount Code

Use this link and the code jenb20 for 20% off your order of any of their systems!

Thanks so much for reading!