My First Impressions of Olive and June’s Mani System and Dry Drops

Has Olive and June Nail System been the subject of much hype? Since 2013, when the nail salons started, I had never heard of it. Justine G., a beauty blogger I know, asked us what we thought of it on Facebook two weeks ago. You know that I could not resist when the majority of people said this was a game-changer. The code I used for 20% off sealed the deal. The Mani System, including taxes, cost me around $50.

To find out what made it so great, I visited the website. Sarah Gibson Tuttle was the star of one of the videos that introduced the product. Although she annoyed me, it seemed like Sarah did her nails herself because the were not too long and perfectly shaped. Her nails were normal, and it looked like she was using the Olive and Juniper nail system. It also explains what is in the Mani System, and how it’s used.

As long as they were 20% off and other bloggers had raved about the Dry Drops on Facebook, I added them to my shopping cart.

Since today is my first use of the O.J. Mani System, I’m going to do two separate posts. In a couple of weeks, I will post the follow-up.

Core Olive Mani System

Mani System includes the essential products for completing the Olive and Juniper manicure.

• A heavy duty ziplock bag in a clear green plastic to hold your tools
• Emery board
• a buffer
• a nail clipper
• A touch-up brush
• Nail Polish Remover Potion
• One bottle of nail varnish (your choice)
• A device you can attach to the top of a polish bottle so that it’s easier to use with your other hand.
• Super Glossy Top Coat
• Cuticle Serum.

These products are cruelty-free and vegan.

My favorites after just one usage are:

• The plastic bag is much larger than my makeup bag and it’s a lot clearer.
• The bristles are rounded and make the brush easier to use.
• The nail polish that I bought has the flattest brush and the right size for me.
• The super glossy Super Glossy Top Coat
• The cool application for Cuticle Serum.

Steps on the Olive and Juniper Mani

• Remove the old polish. Olive and June are big on removing all old polish to begin with and have clean, oil free nails. The small tub of polish remover was perfect for removing the last bit of polish I forgot. You can apply the small sponge attached to the lid on your feet. As I did not have any polish on my nail, I cannot say how well it will work to remove a hard-to-remove polish. It was mild and didn’t have acetone. Yay!

• Form nails. O&J recommends that you follow the rule of professional manicurers to shape nails. 90% using the clipper, and 10% the file. This time I did not need to use the clipper to shape my nail, and instead used my Mont Bleu glass file.
• Buff nails. The small buffer is easy to use.
• Polish your nails. The LD nail polish is a dusty pink crème. What does LD stand for? O&J claims that pastels, neutrals and nudes are easier to use than bright shades. They have a lot of reds, as well as a couple less-traditional shades. Three metallics and two glitters are available. Total, there are 79 different shades of polish. It is free of 7 harmful chemicals: Toluene (DBP), Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor, Ethyl Tosylamide, Xylene. This polish is manufactured in Korea. O&J suggests using two coats, but it covers completely with two coats. It was not streaky and the formula worked well. The polish also has a basecoat built in, which is great! O&J recommends 10 minutes between each coat. Sorry but it’s not going to happen.

• It’s great for my nails. The wand is wide enough to cover almost all of my nails. I found it easy to use, especially when using my dominant hand. It is possible to remove the wide cap from a white bottle and reveal a smaller one. The Poppy, a round, squeezable plastic gadget called The Poppy pops onto the smaller cap under the large cap. The Poppy is designed to help you polish your nails using your non-dominant arm. It didn’t make a huge difference to me but I think it was a clever idea. I’ll try it next time.

• Apply Super Glossy Top Coat. Super Glossy Top Coat comes with a similar or identical wand to nail polish. The bottle looks the same but it’s not possible to use the plastic tool when applying the topcoat with the non-dominant arm. I didn’t care. Glossy Top Coat in its shiny, opaque mirror bottle looks super glossy. It’s amazing.

• Drop Dry Drops on your nails to dry them. Since everyone liked the Dry Drops (as I said above), I purchased them to add on. I used to use similar Essence drying drops a few year ago. The Dry Drops are applied with a tube applicator. When I dropped a drop of the Drops on my nail, they rolled right off. The Drops were oily, and I tried to drop a single drop on my nails. It rolled off several of them.
• Use a clean-up brush to remove dirt. Prior to getting the O&J Mani System I rarely cleaned around my nail. The only nail brush I had was a regular brush. When I used a random one, the shape of it wasn’t always right for cleaning nails. The bristle shape is great.
• Use Cuticle serum. Apply the creamy, light cuticle lotion with an applicator tube with a fluffy, soft cottony top. The white cuticle serum quickly absorbed and dried.

Two sheets of stickers were included with the Mani System I purchased, including numbers, letters and items like sunglasses. The stickers are brightly colored and can be used to “personalize the box” that comes with the Mani System. These stickers are great for a young child or teen who you’re gifting the Mani System.

Results

It was a great result. I was very impressed with the result. My nails were glossy, like they had just been done by a salon professional. My cuticles also looked better than normal. So far, so good!

Since I did my manicure today, I’m not sure how long it will last. O&J emphasizes the importance of adding another layer of Glossy Top Coat to the polish every day. Will try to remember. In the future, I’ll report on my wear-time.

The only bottle I bought was a single color of nail polish. I don’t think I will wear it all the same. I think I could use the Mani System to apply other nail polishes, possibly even the Super Glossy Top Coat. When I do, I will let you know.

Olive and Juniper Products

The System allows you to purchase a single color or 6 colors. There are also bundles of six bright summer colors called SummerSqueeze, a larger Summer Set and The Spring Set which includes 3 pastel shades and 3 dark shades. The Summer Minis Set was one I thought about buying but decided to try out the System first and the polish before making a big purchase. It’s something I now wish I owned. Also available are Dry Drops and Super Glossy Top Coat. They even sell a Nail Primer, which they claim is built right into the polish. They also sell the Dry Drops, Super Glossy Top Coat and even a Nail Primer (that they said was built into the nail polish?

There’s also a Pedi System, and a Complete System which includes all the products for both manis and pedicures. The Weekender Mani System is a system I thought would be pared-down, but it includes Hand Serum and “white star” stickers on the nails, as well as a zipper bag to keep everything.

Olive and June is charging me shipping on purchases below $40. You know how much that frustrates me. Then I’ll wait until I finish my Dry Drops and Super Glossy Top Coat before buying a few more colors at $8. Olive and June offers a $30 membership that includes free shipping and 10% off everything. They also offer “special surprises”. The membership would not be worth it if I didn’t buy enough.

Olive and June offers a variety of online courses, including free Bootcamps and Masterclasses.

Olive and June has an intriguing concept. The Mani System would be a great gift for newbies, young girls, and even those who’ve been doing their nails for years. It is never too late for improvement! Visit the website to see it for yourself.