Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish and Top Coat Review

I bought this in shade Fairy Tailor, which is a lovely pale pink. I dont do my nails very often, as if the colour is too dark, I notice it all the time and it annoys me for some reason! So this colour was is perfect. I find the brushes very easy to use, and are a nice wide brush. The polish dries quickly, and is hard wearing. I used two coats of colour, and one of topcoat, and my nails looked good for a week. My only slight negative feedback would be that the polish peeled off a few fingers, which made me wonder if I just hadn't prepared my nails properly first? But overall, great, easy to use product that lasted well. I will branch out an try more colours!

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.

The formula of this top-coat is very thin which makes it easy to apply and very forgiving. If you have any mistakes on the polish layer this does a good job at disguising them and leaving a smooth layer. It definitely makes nail polish last longer, and the finish is not too shiny as some top coats can be. It has more of a satin shine.

Ok so the title.. this polish and top coat duo really is pretty great! The polish is beautiful and opaque, it goes on great with beautiful coverage. The top coat is stunning, super glossy and sets really hard. The only reason I have stated it’s not a miracle is because it didn’t last the 12 days chip free that it claims. On my first application I got three days before slight chipping at the top and then five days until the polish started chipping away at the cuticles. At that point I decided to remove it and try again, with five days left of my trial. I am at day five now and have definitely had better success. I’m just starting to get chipping on the tips now, nothing at the cuticles yet.

So what did I do differently the second time? Firstly I painted at night and was careful to let them entirely dry and then sleep before doing anything strenuous with my hands and secondly at day three I applied another top coat.

Despite the above I really do love the set, five days for me is still pretty great! And the formula of both is beautiful. I absolutely intend to buy more shades of the polish and try the top coat over other brands I already have. I’m pretty brutal on my hands so I was impressed with the result!

I was really impressed with the Essie Gel Couture nail polish and top coat. Used together they rivaled real gel polish in a way that most regular nail polishes can't. I usually prefer gel polish for it's longevity, but this polish seems to hold up just as well so far, with the added benefit of being able to be removed with just regular nail polish remover! The colour I used was "fairy tailor" a beautiful baby pink sheer polish, one coat worked perfectly as a nude for me (two coats ended up a bit patchy/streaky, but this may be from user error?). The top coat dried quickly and shined well. I'm excited to keep using these polishes as an alternative to gel polish, and I hope to get my hands on a few other shades in the range too.

A nail polish combination that everyone should use. The stylish packaging is very cool, but if a bummer it doesn’t allow you to stack them easily. Following the instructions I applied 2 coats of the gel colour and followed but the top coat. The gel colour went on very smooth and had a thick flawless coverage. The top coat seemed to make the gel colour shine even more and just seal in the vibrant colour. Once again easy to apply. As always needs a decent arount of time to dry just to make sure you don’t ruin the overall finish. On my hands which are constantly being washed, the polish stayed on for about 8-10 days on different nails. I’m sure if you were more careful it would last the advertised 12 days easily. Definitely be using again.

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!

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!

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.