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 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 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!

First off I LOVED the brush. The tip is slightly rounded helping you get close to the cuticle without going onto it. It spreads well enough to cover nail easily and fast. The colour is amazing and applies pretty opaque with limited product. It is pretty fast drying but i wouldn't say in 30 seconds like it claims, maybe 1 minute or so between coats. I am pretty rough and work with my hands and i did start to notice chipping after one week, which i think is still amazing considering how rough i am. After a week and a half whole sections on nail polish peeled off. The top coat is good. Gives polish a nice shine and seals it all nicely!

I liked this polish and will definitely be purchasing other colours!

I was fortunate enough to get to trial these two products...a very formidable combo! I chose "the-it-factor" as my polish colour. Very easy to apply. Went on like a dream. I love the shape of the brush..a nice rounded curve..it seemed to fit the shape of my fingernail beds (the top part) really well so it looked like a real professional job. After applying two coats of the polish, I applied the top coat. That went on easily too. After 10 days of wear, chipping has been minimal (as I've really put this combo to the test, with a bit of gardening, lots of keyboard time etc). I was expecting more of a high shine/gel finish to be honest, but that may have been because of only one coat of the top coat. I am tending more toward vegan products these days however after removal of one nail this morning, the colour hadn't stained my nails and my nail bed looked in reasonable condition. On the whole I would recommend this product. It would make a lovely duette-gift for a galpal, especially coming up to christmas, what with the stunning colour range and the dinky bottle shape.

I am hard on any nail polish so my expectations weren’t high but the Essie Gel Couture duo is noticeably stronger than other nail polishes in my collection. The result of using the colour and top coat together gave a beautifully glossy result that drew many compliments and has lasted with no dulling. I was impressed with the drying speed and easy application of both products. Essie have created the ideal brush shape for fast, easy application. As I said I am hard on my nails-gardening, washing dishes without gloves and as an artist my hands are exposed to paints, clays etc that require scrubbing at times. So although 12 days on my nails is a huge ask, overall it did perform well. After a week I have chipping on the nail tips but the colour has retained it’s integrity & gloss. I trialled ‘Spiked with Style’ because dark colours often streak and any flaws are easily noticed. Would I use it again? Absolutely and am intending to buy some other colours in the range. The brush design, richness of colour, high gloss, fast drying creamy consistency are all winners for me so I don’t care if I get less wear than Essie suggest is possible. Honestly the brush design alone won me over. To apply a dark colour and not require touch ups is a rarity for me. As a busy single mum I appreciate anything that makes my life easier!

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.

Together the polish and top coat looked great. The colour was vibrant and glossy. I loved the way it looked and it was easy to apply. The only downside was that it didn’t last as long as it claimed. It lasted longer than the average nail polish but definitely not longer than a week and chipped within the first couple days