Real Girl Review- Essie Gel Couture

Hey guys!

Back with another real girl review, this one being the next in my series about gel manicure alternatives! If you haven’t seen my review of Sally Hansen’s Miracle Gel, you might want to check it out!

Using the costing from my last post, a once-monthly salon gel manicure would cost you around $420/yr. This product costs $11.96 for the color and $11.96 for the topcoat, so assuming a new shade every month and 2 bottles of top coat, you’re looking at approximately $170 before tax.

This product is great. My sister has even tested the top coat with non-matched (not the Essie Gel Couture) colors and it still keeps your nails looking flawless for at least a week, if not longer. The above pictures are one week into wear. I kept this on for the full 14 days, and despite doing some weeding in the garden and carrying on as I normally would, there was only minimal chipping and a bit of cracking (below).

Unlike the Sally Hansen product I tried, this came off easily with acetone and didn’t dye my nails blue at all. I also liked the brush- it wasn’t so big that I had a ton of mistakes. I will say, for more normal wear (ie. not testing out a product), I’d touch up the tips as the color wears away if you’re a heavy typer like I am.

This test was a total win. Unless my next trial goes AMAZINGLY, I think I will be using the Essie Gel Couture for my long-wear and durable nail polish! The next review is on a much more expensive option (if you can believe it, with this costing over $20 for a starter set), so I hope you’re ready for a really in-depth review. The more expensive it is, the more I expect it to perform!