Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish and Top Coat Review

Thank you Beauty Review for this very cool trial team product!

The bottles are a twisted version of the standard Essie bottles - a really nice touch for brand recognition but a different product.

I chose the shade Walk the Hemline, because who am I to turn down a Johnny Cash pun. And also a stunning deep mocha nude shade!

Super easy to apply, clean and quick. 2 coats went on smoothly.

The top coat added such shine and clarity to the shade and definitely led to long lasting colour!

Normal nail polish chips within a few days, but this lasted closer to 10 before starting to look ratty.

Highly recommend!

I put my hand up to trial both the Essie nail polish in the pink shade, 240, Model Citizen and the Essie Top Coat and got on the Trial team with Beauty Review. As soon as I got the products, I was eager to give myself a mini manicure. I used to bite my nails so this was a trial I was interested in.

The nail polish bottle is glass with a twisted appearance. You can see the pink nail colour through it. It has a white lid that twists off easy. 'Essie' is embossed on the glass bottle.

I applied the nail colour first, it went on smoothly with good coverage and dried fast. That was the first step of this two step process. After it dried, I applied another coat of nail colour, then I applied the Top Coat which is clear and is used to seal the Essie Gel Couture colour. The bottle of Top Coat is twisted glass as well exept it's white on the front with a twist off lid. It looks like clear nail polish and seemed to dry reasonably quick too.

I noticed my nails seemed more stronger, not so brittle after using these and the polish stayed put longer than other cheap brands I've tried. I'm pretty rough with my nails, always washing dishes in hot water, having hot baths and showers but my nail colour still lasted longer. I noticed after about a week, the polish did start to look like I needed to give myself another mini manicure due to wearing off a little, from doing household duties. Both the nail polish and the Top Coat were easy to take off with nail polish remover and the 2 step process was easy to do to refresh. I ended up doing my nails again a second time, after about a week just to freshly do them.

The Essie Gel Couture I tried in the shade Model Citizen, I loved the colour of it. It was a light pinkish shade which went nice with my tanned skintone. It had a faint smell like most nail polishes do but it wasn't too bad. I have seen there's a variety of beautiful colours in the range at Farmers and other stores and if you're wanting to do your nails yourself at home, these would be perfect. They're a little pricey for me but I think they're worth it if you want, long lasting wear. The 2 step process is simple and they seem to last well. I've been getting nice compliments from my family and friends every time they see me wearing this Essie Gel Couture 240 Model Citizen and Top Coat.

Two beautiful products! These go hand in hand, so recommend you use both!

I have the Essie shade "Buttoned and Buffed" (beautiful dark nude colour) and the Essie top coat which has a platinum finish!

I have never had my nail polish last more than 3 days without either flaking or chipping off, and 5 days in, my nails are still strong and looking like my day one nails, even after wrangling a busy pre-schooler, lots of dishes and some gardening :)

I do think the top coat increases the longevity of nail polish immensely.

Loved the gel like nails these two products give, it really feels like you have had your nails done at a salon.

Both products are super drying and give a smooth shine like finish, love them and will definitely be purchasing more shades.

Love the beautiful twisted bottles too!

I followed the instructions and applied two coats of the divine pink colour (Model Citizen) and one coat of the top coat ... the first thing I noticed was the smell - such a strong smell of nail polish! But I can overlook the smell for a nail polish and top coat that apply that beautifully and dry that quickly! For the first time in my 42 years I did not dent or ruin a nail within minutes or even hours of application - it was a miracle for me! So happy :) The brush in both bottles are an excellent size and shape and makes application so easy - a really smooth application that was quite enjoyable to be honest. The bottles are an interesting shape - the glass has been twisted. It makes it easy to distinguish both on the shelf at the store and in my nail polish drawer at home. The top coat comes in a white bottle which After three days my nails were still in perfect condition despite what they had been through with typing, gardening, bubble baths with my daughter, playing, washing etc etc. No chips or dents, the only thing I noticed was the colour had lost its shine and the colour looked a little dull so I followed the instructions and applied another layer of top coat and taadaa my nails looked fresh, shiny and like they had just been done. Excellent! I am on day seven and my nails still look better than they would using a normal nail polish and top coat. They are starting to chip away slightly at the very end of the nail but apart from that they are still looking good. I will be applying another layer of top coat today to freshen them up again and I feel I should get another few days out of them looking acceptable... as long as the tips don't chip further because at this stage you have to look very close to notice.

Apart from the strong smell while applying I am really happy with these products overall and they will both definitely be my go to when it comes to nail polish going forward.

Using both the polish & top coat was definitely a better option. The polish did set slightly strangely, with a blotch in one corner than wasn't there when I painted them, but perhaps just a user error. Took quite awhile to dry, but has set well and hasn't chipped after a week of not being cautious of my nails!

This is long lasting. As I write there’s still no wearing off and it’s been 5 days. The top coat does a great job of selling the colour and adding shine.

I selected Essie Gel Couture in “Spiked With Style” (#360) for this trial. The polish is bottled in a clear twisted Essie branded glass bottle, so that the colour of the deep red polish is visible through the glass, while the top coat is in an opaque white twisted bottle.

There is no base coat with this gel couture system. It’s designed to be used as a two-step process; two coasts of colour followed by one coat of ‘platinum grade finish’ top coat.

To start, I filed and shaped my nails, pushed back the cuticles, gave them a light buff and then cleansed them well with nail polish remover to remove any natural nail oils before applying the first coat of polish.

The wide, flat, round ended brush mirrors the cuticle area perfectly, making it really easy to get a perfect coat in just 4 swipes of the brush; one down the middle, one down each side, and then one across the tip to cap the free edge. By the time I’d painted my second hand, the thin layer of polish on the first hand was dry and ready for a second coat.

Something I did notice is that this polish has quite a cold feel on the nails with each layer, including the top coat. Any accidental messes on the skin are easily cleaned up with a bit of nail polish remover on a cotton bud.

I did wait 10 minutes between applying the second coat and the top coat, as I wanted to be sure that the colour was dry. The top coat has a really nice thin consistency that applies really well. It’s better than any other traditional lacquer top coat that I’ve used the the past. It doesn’t smudge the colour coats below (like some top coats do), and has a very smooth looking and vibrant high-shine.

Silly me dinged one of my thumbs before the top coat was dry, and smudged the colour underneath, but it was easily fixed by rubbing a finger dipped in a tiny bit of nail polish remover lightly over the dented polish to smooth it out, and then simply reapplying a coat of top coat after the initial application had dried fully.

I used 4 layers of the colour Pre-Show Jitters (alabaster white) and two coats of the top coat to achieve an opaque and slightly more raised finish to closer imitate a gel-like manicure. The layers dried quicker than the normal Essie polish, and they self leveled very well which was great when my application was not as even. My nails were so shiny once the top coat was applied and in my opinion, looked very much like a salon finish.

I love the shape of the Essie's brushes compared to other brands, as they are wide, flat and have a rounded end making it easy to apply the polish in two or three strokes.

I did find clean up around the edges to be more difficult than Essie's regular nail polish. It took more effort as the polish did not want to be removed once it was on. The longer it dried, the harder it was to clean the edges up. For me, this was a good indicator that the polish would last. I was using an acetone free nail polish remover, first with a brush, then in a nail corrector pen.

My nails looked perfect for 6 days and only started to show signs of wear on the 7th day. The polish was cracking on a few nails where they bend often. This did not cause any chipping and was only noticable up close as my sister still asked if I had gone and got my nails done professionally. I'm writing this review on the 9th day and I have only one tiny chip!

I think this combination is worth the price and I would recommend it. It is simple to apply, dries quicker than normal nail polish, looks amazingly shiny and stands the test of time.

All I can say is wow. Using both these products together definitely makes your nails look like they were done professionally. Both easy to apply and dry really fast. The texture is really thin and glides on your nail so easily without hassle. Highly recommend these products. Think I've found a new favorite nail polish.

Let me start by saying that I love wearing nail polish and painting my own nails. I’ve tried multiple brands of polish including gel type polishes so I was super keen to try this Essie gel combo to see how it compares. I’ve only used it for one week but so far I love it. Continue reading below to find out why.

This polish has lasted really well. I have worn this polish and the top coat together for a week now and only one nail has started to chip (index finger on one hand). I’ve washed dishes my hand without gloves and I’m constantly typing at work too. There has been no tip wear or chipping or peeling around my cuticle area either.

The colour is really opaque. I only needed two coats and that was enough to get a decent application without streaks. The consistency is slightly thicker than the normal Essie polish but I like it better. I found that the normal Essie polish sometimes is too thin and you need to apply more layers. This polish went on smoothly and like I said did not leave any streaks or bubbles. The top is really shiny and glossy. It looks like you’ve had your nails done professionally.

The brush is really nice to use. The size enables you to apply the polish on your nail with three strokes. The brush is quite dense which allows you to fan the brush out across your nail when you are applying the polish. The dense brush also means it holds the right amount of polish to deposit on to your nail.

The bottle is a standard glass bottle with a twisted rectangular shape. It’s easy to hold and use. I also like that the clear top coat has a white bottle instead of being clear which means it’s not exposed to light.

Overall I really like this polish combo and would definitely recommend this to everyone else. I am keen to buy more in different colours.