Essie Gel Couture Nail Polish and Top Coat Review

The Essie gel couture system is the same as many mail polish applications, containing a colour coat and a top coat to lock in the coloured coat. This range is meant to have the shine of a gel, and increased longevity of a gel without the need for a UV lamp. It has the shine but I found the longevity similar to other long wearing top coats, although certainly better than normal nail polish. The edges wore off at approximately day 4 and started to chip off the bed of my nails about day 6.

The formula was a little hard to work with as it was so runny but I imagine after a few uses and it has dried a bit this will not be an issue. However because it was runny it flooded my cuticles quite easily and because the polish dries like a flexible plastic I found it started to lift here first as the polish was wearing off.

I chose the shade Rock the Runway as my shade to trial. It was described as 'a fierce classic red nail colour. Gorgeous. Striking. Untamed.' and oh my god...it really it is! It's a deep but bright red, perfect for summer toes!

The bottles are very cool and just look that little more edgy on the dresser. The brush is very easy to handle and use, you can do the classic, 'middle, side, side' and cover your nail in 3 strokes. It applies really evenly too, its not too thick, but also not runny.

2 coats and the gel top coat took, maybe 10-15 minutes to apply. I don't mind that, I enjoy not rushing my nails.

I'm quite hard on nails - I'm pounding the keyboard for many hours a day, so I usually see the first signs of wear right on the tips. I followed the instructions to reapply the top coat every couple of nights, and noticed they started to look a little worn at the tips by day 8. Not too shabby!

I think this is a great duo for long lasting nail colour that you can achieve at home. I'll definitely be picking up another shade...maybe one of those stunning nudes!

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 really impressed with the Essie Gel Couture nail polish and top coat. Used together they rivaled real gel polish in a way that most regular nail polishes can't. I usually prefer gel polish for it's longevity, but this polish seems to hold up just as well so far, with the added benefit of being able to be removed with just regular nail polish remover! The colour I used was "fairy tailor" a beautiful baby pink sheer polish, one coat worked perfectly as a nude for me (two coats ended up a bit patchy/streaky, but this may be from user error?). The top coat dried quickly and shined well. I'm excited to keep using these polishes as an alternative to gel polish, and I hope to get my hands on a few other shades in the range too.

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!

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 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 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 (:

Great idea, low smell, lovely bright colour!

I like the bottle shape, the consistency and the colour. I used this system on my 9 year old twins nails and it didnt last 2 hours before it came off, I put it on my toes and we are still going strong with no chips. I would use this on my toes but not on my hands, I know kids are harder but did expect it to last longer than a couple of hours, when they were playing with dolls not exactly hard work.

I lile the brushes and the smooth consistency and thought it was lower in smell. The bottle shape was cool and easy to hold.