Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish and Top Coat Review

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!

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.

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.

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.

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 really liked these 2 products. They are super easy to apply and just as importantly just as easy to get off with nail polish remover, with the added benefit of being long lasting! I was really hard on my nails this week which wasn't ideal for trialing these nail polishes however i was very surprised that they lasted 10 days before chipping. If you were careful with your nails i could see it lasting a lot longer (:

I chose the shade 'Take Me to Thread' - its a mauve-y nude.

The twisted square bottle is super easy to hold while applying - why do they make round bottles anyway?!

I tried this on both my hands and my toes. It was really easy to apply the colour coat evenly and smoothly and it only took a couple of minutes between coats to be dry enough for the next layer.

The colour is deep and quite true to the bottle and without the top coat has a nice finish, smooth and semi-sheen.

The gel top coat makes this colour shine! It's stunning! I love it! The top coat definitely adds that gel longevity and finish. As per the instructions I reapplied the top coat every couple of days to my fingernails for the duration of the trial - I'm on day 13 (I think) and they actually still look really fresh and neat!

I only used the gel top coat on my toes once, upon the initial application. The colour hasn't chipped, or disintergrated at all. I think my zombie corpse will still be rocking perfectly pedicured toe nails, 5 years into the apocalypse.

Colour me impressed!

Also - shout out to the shade namer who came up with sexy-sewing themed names! They gave me a chortle!

I've found the Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish and Top Coat an absolute delight to use. Both products have excellent brushes and a high quality formula so my nails end up looking salon-perfect every time with minimal effort. The nail polish is highly pigmented and you can achieve full opacity with 1-2 coats, and the top coat really locks it in place and gives it a beautiful shine. When using these two products together I can go a good 3 days without any chips, which is great for me because I find most polishes start to chip after day 1. I'll be trying more of the gel couture nail polishes, and the top coat is my new go-to!

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.