This viral brand released an at-home gel manicure kit — it's so easy to use (2025)

I love having my nails painted, but I just don't have the patience to let regular polish dry all the way. Whether I'm at the nail salon or at home, I always end up smudging my freshly painted nails because I didn't let them air dry enough.

This is why I prefer having my nails done with gel polish. My manicures last up to two or three weeks and always look perfect. They've become a prerequisite for any vacation, but where I live, a gel manicure costs between $40 and $60 before tip. Depending on the salon, walk-in appointments are next to impossible. Getting consistent gel manicures can cost a pretty penny!

Interestingly enough, I've noticed more at-home gel manicure systems popping up, and when I saw Olive & June created a system that was available at Target and was quickly gaining in popularity (the brand's gel nail polish has risen in search by 2,500% over the past 30 days!), I knew I had to try it myself.

Olive & June Nail Gel Starter Kit

Nail Gel Starter Kit

$

24.99

What we like

• Affordable compared to salons
• Kit comes with all supplies

Something to note

• Learning curve to apply gel

Includes: LED lamp, peel-off base coat, polish base coat, top coat, file/buffer, prep pad and cuticle pusher Does not include: Colored polish

I have been using Olive & June products for the last two years and genuinely love the brand for their unique designs and their ability to create a salon-like manicure at home. However, I had still been going to the salon specifically for gel manicures — until now.

I was looking for a system that would give me more flexibility, allowing me to give myself a gel manicure in the comfort of my own home. After all, manicures are way more enjoyable with my favorite show or movie on in the background.

The Olive & June Nail Gel Starter Kit comes with all the tools you need for a gel manicure. Once you open the box, you’ll find a 5-finger LED gel lamp with USB cord, one peel-off base coat, one gel polish base coat, one gel polish top coat, one file/buffer, one alcohol prep pad and one wooden cuticle pusher. You do however need to buy the gel color separately. I got a classic red and a light pink.

Between the cost of the starter kit and two nail polishes, it came out to less than $50, which is still more affordable than a gel manicure at a salon.

I prepped my nails as usual by cutting and filing them, then pushing back my cuticles. Then — this is the most important step — I dried out my nails by using the alcohol prep pad. The next time I used the gel system, I dried my nails out with 100% pure acetone.

You start the process by adding a thin layer of the gel polish base coat and "curing" your nails for one minute. Curing is the process of letting your nail polish dry, or set via the UV or LED light. Then, it’s time to add your color coat. Darker colors require less layers (I did two!), however lighter colors might take three coats to build the right amount of coverage and desired color.

After each color coat, I let my nails cure for two minutes. Afterwards, I painted a very thin layer of the gel top coat onto my nails before letting them cure for another minute. I finished off my manicure with cuticle oil and lotion.

I've never used an at-home gel manicure system, so I wasn't sure what to expect when it came to how long it would actually last. But two weeks later, I had a minor chip on my nail and some of the edges were lifting where my polish had pooled into the crease of my nail and skin. A 14-day at-home manicure? I was shocked at the longevity — it was exactly what I was looking for!

If you're heading out of town for a wedding or an event and don't didn't have time to do your nails at home, this kit is super lightweight, making it easy to add it to your bag and do once you reach your destination.

When I was ready to take off my nail polish, I buffed the top coat on all my nails and soaked cotton rounds in 100% acetone. I added the rounds to my nail beds and covered them with foil. After 15 minutes, the polish practically dissolved off. After that, I added cuticle oil and polish to rehydrate your nails.

If you've never done your own gel manicure, there is a slight learning curve. I've noticed myself getting better with each try. Here are a few tips that have helped me:

• The prep matters. Dehydrating your nails removes the oils and helps the product adhere better. To dehydrate my nails, I used the alcohol prep pad provided in the kit. However, the kit only comes with one so you can either purchase more alcohol prep pads — or I used 100% acetone for the next rounds.
• Keep your layers thin. The first time I applied my own gel, I thought I had thin layers, but the product pooled in the edge between my nail bed and my skin. After two weeks I noticed the fingers where the product pooled were the ones that were starting to lift first.

• Start slow, and clean as you go. If you're in a rush, it might not be an opportune time to do an at-home gel manicure. Going slow will help you keep the layers thin, and once the polish is cured by the lamp, it's set. This means polish that is on your skin too! Clean as you go by using a nail detail brush (I like this one from Olive & June) and nail polish remover.
• Do one hand at a time. I found it easier to do one hand from base coat to top coat, then to switch hands throughout the entire process.
• Skip the peel off base coat. The kit comes with one peel off base coat. I tried using the peel off base coat three times and didn't have a great experience. The point of it is that you add a small amount of peel off base coat to your nail, let it dry (don't cure it), then proceed with the rest of the manicure per the instructions. Every time I used this, I had a the polish pop off a nail (or three!) within 24 hours. This is just my experience with the peel off base coat, but I would say skip it and just go for the regular gel.

Olive & June Gel Nail Polish

Gel Nail Polish

$

9.99

What we like

• Affordable
• 10 colors available

Something to note

• Multiple coats to build color

Size: .46 oz. | Colors: 10

Olive & June Velvet Obsessed Glue Press Ons

Velvet Obsessed Glue Press-Ons

$

9.99

$

10.00

$

11.49

What we like

• Easy to use/apply
• Stay on for multiple weeks

Something to note

• Shape might not work for some

Includes: 42 nails, nail prep wipe/pad, cuticle tool, nail buff/file and nail glue

Cuticle Serum

$

16.79

What we like

• Non-greasy formula
• Reviewers note improved nails

Something to note

• Cuticles might feel dry

Size: .14 oz. | Key Ingredients: Cactus flower

The Shop TODAY editors and writers search the internet to find the best products out there. We interview expert sources and use our own personal experiences with the product and brand to make shopping easier for our readers.

Anita Chomenko is a social video producer for Shop TODAY, creating engaging content for TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.