What is it: A signature mani from the pros at Beverly Hills nail salon Olive & June — which we’re going to try not to ruin five seconds post-application
Who tried it: Features Editors Kate Hogan and Alison Schwartz
Level of difficulty (from 1 to 10): 6 — It’s all fun and games until someone chips a nail doing the dishes.
It’s a rough day at work when you have a nail technician come into your office to give you a custom manicure during lunchtime. But we decided to put ourselves on the line this week, opening our doors to Olive & June founder Sarah Gibson Tuttle and her amazingly talented troupe of estheticians.
That was the easy part.
If you’ve ever left a salon only to notice a chunk of polish is missing off your thumb five minutes later (you know, because doors are hard), we/our fingers feel your pain. That’s why we asked Tuttle for guidance on keeping our mani perfect and pretty all week. As the old saying goes: If it works for Jessica Alba and Drew Barrymore … (but seriously, check out their Instagrams from their visits to Olive & June).
Tuttle’s advice? Reapply a clear topcoat every other day after your mani (this can double your polish’s lasting power). Then use cuticle oil around the edges of your nail bed every day (even twice a day — live on the edge!). Tuttle says the skin on the sides of your nails are prone to becoming dry quickly, which doesn’t mean you need to rush to your salon for another mani — just some hydrating oil will do the trick. She might have also said something about not doing the dishes or any domestic labor that could interfere with our mani … or did we dream that one up?
Alison Schwartz, Associate Features Editor: “Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead,” Adele sings in “Someone like You,” and I’m 99 percent sure she’s talking about her manicure. You mean you don’t consider a chipped nail as heartbreaking as, say, a breakup? After the Olive & June ladies hooked me up with the kind of manicure you can’t help but Instagram, I debated leaving work early. What?! I couldn’t risk typing at my computer and potentially ruining my freshly minted oxblood, gold and glittery statement nail.
Alas, I soldiered through the day careful not to type too fast. I even did the dishes when I got home and opened doors and completed other ordinary tasks that seem somehow insurmountable when your thumb is painted the most lovely shade of gold.
I’m happy to report my gold thumb and I made it through that first day — and five more after that. Freshening up your mani’s topcoat and laying on the cuticle oil is way better than crying in your room to Adele over a chipped pinky, not that I have done that before.
Kate Hogan, Staff Features Editor: I’m really great at messing up a manicure about 30 seconds after leaving a salon. The good news is that after my Olive & June manicure, that didn’t happen. The bad news is that I definitely chipped more than one nail (not copping to how many) later that night after cooking dinner and cleaning up the kitchen.
Thankfully, the sparkles on my nails are doing a great job of concealing the places that are missing a bit of polish (good fact to file away for future manis). And using top coat and cuticle oil, as Tuttle recommended, have kept my existing polish looking totally fresh. A quick dab of dark blue on those few messed-up tips tonight, and I should be good to go for the weekend.
The Verdict: If you’re in L.A., get yourself to Olive & June stat, and then follow Sarah’s advice. Bonus points if you skip the dishes for your mani.
