essie gel couture Nail Polish – Review

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that a number of my recent flat-lay photos include essie gel couture nail polishes. This is for a couple of reasons. First, the packaging is gorgeous and they fit with my Instagram aesthetic. Secondly, I’m obsessed! I’ve used countless types of nail polish over the years, including other at-home gel options. The essie gel couture nail polishes are the best I’ve ever tried. I almost always get questions about the essie gel nail polish when I include them in my photos. So, isn’t it about time I share a proper review?

Featured Colours from The Essie Gel Couture Collection:

From left to right – Caviar Bar, The It-Factor, Top Coat, Turn ‘N’ Pose, Flashed, First View

I’ve loved essie nail polish for as long as I can remember. They always have the prettiest colours and the quality is excellent. However, once other brands started coming out with gel nail polish, I stopped buying essie as often. A gel manicure almost always lasts longer, so I was hoping essie would come out with gel polish too. Needless to say, I was very excited when these were released and couldn’t wait to get my hands on them. I was curious to compare essie to the competition.

After several manicures (including a few from the salon), I have enough evidence to tell you that the essie gel couture nail polishes are unbelievable. Like, the best nail polish I’ve ever used!

How do an at-home manicure with essie gel couture polish:

It couldn’t be easier to give yourself a manicure with essie’s gel polish at home. I should also mention that I’m terrible at painting my own nails. I have a hard time keeping my hand steady, especially when I’m applying polish to my dominant hand. I’ve been using this secret to not getting polish on your skin – it really works!

Anyhow, when you use the essie gel couture nail polish, it’s a simple two-step process. You don’t need to worry about applying a base coat (though my aesthetician does) and you don’t need to use a UV light. All you do is apply two coats of the nail polish of your choice and finish with their high gloss top coat. It’s that simple!

What I love about the Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish:

It’s long-lasting: Whether you do your manicure at home, or have it done at the salon, the essie gel couture polish does not chip. They claim that it will last 14 days and it absolutely does. I find that the manicure grows out before it chips, so I take it off after 7-10 days. I’m usually tired of the colour at that point, too.

Beautifully designed: The packaging is gorgeous. It’s a twisted bottle, designed to mimic the swirl of a perfect runway gown. The brush has a swirled stem, designed to hug the curvature of your nail. This design ensures a perfect application.

Awesome coverage: You know when you come across certain nail polishes that just don’t cover your nail properly? Well, that’s not a concern with these nail polishes! They are highly pigmented, and don’t go on streaky. I also find they have an incredible shine, thanks to the top coat.

Easy to remove: You can remove this nail polish as easily as regular nail polish. There’s no special “soaking” required.

The only downfall:

Price point: As with any other gel nail polish, an individual bottle is going to be a little bit more expensive than traditional nail polish. Of course, when you compare the cost to a salon manicure, it’s really not too bad. I was lucky enough to receive a few colours as PR samples, but I’ve since purchased more…so the price hasn’t stopped me!

Needless to say, I’m hooked on this nail polish…but that’s probably obvious.

There’s a number of other bloggers who’ve also shared their positive feedback about the essie gel nail polish. You can check out Chelsea’s recent post on Olive & Ivy, where she reviewed and provided swatches of some of her favourite colours. There’s also a great review on Beautyzine, including photos of her nails after 14 days of wear. Last but not least, my girl Amber at Canadian Fashionista, also shared a great review and some swatches.

Have you tried the new essie gel couture polish yet? If not, you need to buy them now!