Hi guys! One of my greatest pet peeves is when a manicure chips pre-maturely. At times, I don’t repaint my nails because I dread the first chip which usually occurs a couple days later while the rest of the manicure looks okay. I love painting my nails but I just have to be in the right mood for it. With all of that said, I was quite excited when Nail Polish Canada, one of my favourite websites to order nail polish from, asked me to pick two shades from the Essie Gel Couture line to review. Inspired by the fall season I chose a merlot shade, Model Clicks, and a grey shade, Closing Night.
The Essie Gel Couture line is a gel-like system that does not require a UV lamp. Interestingly enough, it also does not require a base coat. Being an avid base-coat user this seemed strange to me, but although it sounds insignificant, it saved me a LOT of time when doing these manicures.
Essie Gel Couture | Model Clicks
The first shade I tried was the Essie Gel Couture in the shade Model Clicks. It’s a deep merlot shade that is beautiful for the fall season. The first thing I have to say about the Essie Gel Couture system is that I absolutely LOVE the brush. It’s a bit wider than your average brush and is also flattened. It was so easy to get a nice, even and clean application. I barely had to do any clean up afterwards. It took two thin coats to achieve opacity which is pretty standard.
I was also very impressed by the dry time. I was a bit skeptical since I always choose top coats specifically for a quick dry. A top coat that is part of a system like this usually isn’t quick dry so I was worried. However, my nails dried in record time! Within 15-20 minutes I could start lightly using my hands again without worrying about ruining my new manicure. It definitely felt like it was a quick dry top coat. It also is quite shiny as well!
The photo above was taken after SEVEN days of wear! This includes five work days, where I essentially type on a keyboard like a mad-woman all day and it also survived a wedding on it’s second night of wear. Aside from a tiny bit of tip-wear and tiny chips out of the bottom, it looks passable! I can’t believe it! I think I found my new favourite nail polish formula!
Essie Gel Couture | Closing Night
Next up, I currently have Essie Gel Couture in the shade Closing Night on my nails. It’s a grey with a soft shimmer to it. It applied just as nicely as the previous shade and looks beautiful on the nails. This shade as well took two shin coats to achieve opacity.
Overall, I am super impressed with the Essie Gel Couture line and am shocked it took me this long to try them. If you’re looking for a long wearing manicure you can try at home I would highly recommend these! You can find the full selection of Essie Gel Couture over at Nail Polish Canada. They offer free shipping to Canada on orders over $19 which is very reasonable!
Have you tried the Essie Gel Couture line? Let me know in the comments down below!
xoxo,
Robyn
These products were all sent to me complimentary for review however all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Lipstick on the Lake 