Olive & June Nail Polish: The Story and Eight Shades

Sarah Gibson Tuttle spent ten years as an equity trader before she opened the first Olive & June salon in Beverly Hills in August 2013. She had moved to Los Angeles from New York and could not find a nail salon she loved, so she made her own. The name comes from her great-grandmother and her grandmother, which I find sweeter than any slogan. In March 2019 the brand launched its Mani System, a way to do the salon manicure at home. That is the story behind the bottles here, and it explains why Olive & June nail polish is built for people who do their nails at a kitchen table.

Eight shades, so let me give you a way to choose. Roseberry, Varietal and Estate are the three I would swatch first, and Twig, Crisp and Truffles are the ones I would hold up next to them, since a shade always looks different on your own hand than in a bottle. Lowkey Perfect is the name I love most, because it is what I want from nails: quiet and finished. Not Quiet Luxury is a good name too. Pick two that you would wear to work and one you would wear only on a weekend.

Apply thin coats, cap the free edge, and wait two minutes between layers. Three thin coats always beat two thick ones. If a bottle has gone a bit stringy, roll it between your palms instead of shaking it, which keeps bubbles out of the finish. Keep the brush loaded with just one bead of color, and let the polish flow on rather than pushing it.

Polish gets the attention, but the small things around it decide if you get a salon result. I would not buy a color before I had the base and the top coat sorted.

Olive & June's The Poppy is the tool I would look at first: a handle that fits on top of the polish bottle so you get a steadier grip when you paint your own nails. Quick Dry Top Coat is what I use when I am doing my nails on the way out the door, since it helps set the color faster and adds shine. Nail Strengthener goes on bare nails in place of a primer, before color, and it is made for nails that feel weak or peel. Cuticle Oil is the finishing touch, and the one I keep by the bed.

An honest little routine: shape and buff the nail, wipe it clean, apply one coat of strengthener, then two of color, then top coat. Oil the cuticles once everything has dried. Do not skip the top coat, because it is the layer that takes the everyday wear.

If you are painting your dominant hand with the other one, go slowly, rest your wrist on the table, and use three strokes for each nail: center first, then each side. Clean up any mistakes with a small brush dipped in remover before the polish sets. A steady, boring setup, with good light and a towel under your hand, does more than any clever technique.

Polish sits on top of your own nail, and your hands need looking after just like the rest of your skin. I like to pair the polish with a few treatments that keep everything supple, so the manicure lasts and hands do not look tired.

Clarins' Hand and Nail Nourishing Treatment Cream is a two-in-one, since it is made for both hands and nails. Dior's J'adore Hand, Nail and Décolleté Cream is one for a desk drawer, and as the name says it can go on the chest too. Essie's All in One Base is a base coat that does several jobs at once, so it is a good choice for a shorter routine.

For nails that break, Dermelect's LAUNCHPAD is a bonding nail strengthener. butter LONDON's Jelly Preserve is a strengthening nail treatment, and Mineral Fusion's Top Coat Nail Treatment finishes it off.

What I would skip: layering a cream just before you paint, because the oil stops polish from sticking. Use your hand cream after the polish has dried, and paint on clean, dry nails. Also skip peeling polish off with your fingernails, which pulls away layers of the nail with it. Soak a cotton pad in remover, hold it on the nail for a few seconds, and wipe.

Here is the weekly manicure I can actually keep up. On Sunday I remove the old polish, file my nails to the same shape, and wash my hands. Base or strengthener goes on first, then color, then top coat, and cuticle oil before bed.

Midweek I add another layer of top coat to bring the shine back, and I use hand cream a few times a day. When the color chips, I do not start over, I just fix the tip and add top coat over it.

If your nails stay brittle, split often or look discolored, it is worth asking a doctor. A good manicure should feel calm, and it should take less time than it takes to watch one episode of something. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Olive and June Press On Nails, From a Beverly Hills Salon to Your Kitchen Table.