New product launches make me yelp, but new nail brands are even better! I think it is safe to say that The Manicure Company have pretty much won over most of us nail lovers since they launched in 2016. I most definitely was skeptical in the beginning. Mainly because I knew nothing about the brand and I was loyal to the brands I already used. But of course I needed to see what all the fuss was about. I started with seven gel polishes and I now have more than half the entire range with plans to purchase the rest!
So what are my thoughts on the brand overall?…..
The shipping was exceptionally fast. Any order I have ever placed arrives the next day. The shipping is free over €50 which is also a huge bonus. The customer service is also great in my opinion. I have had no issues whatsoever!
The first thing I did notice about the bottles was that they are quiet small compared to what I was used to. These are 8ml bottles. At first I thought the brand was really inexpensive but when you compare it ml for ml against other brands it’s pretty much the same price and in some cases slightly more expensive. I do quiet like the smaller bottles. They are really neat to store. A lot of the time nail techs will only use certain colours regularly. The others will sit on the shelf and only be used every now and then. The smaller bottles work great for this as it allows you to have a wider range of shades for a similar price tag.
For my first order I choose my colours by looking at the website and the Instagram page (@the_manicure_company). When I swatched the colours I did notice a variation in the shades against the website and in particular Instagram so just be aware of that when ordering.
The pigmentation of all the polishes I have tried are really great. They only need two light layers for full opaque coverage. They are really easy to work with and to manage on the nail. These allows you to create very thin looking coats leading to very elegant, beautiful nails. I also have no issues with the shriveling or shrinking.
The consistency of the polishes are thin but still pigmented. This means they work great over acrylic and gel enhancements too. There is nothing worse than thick looking nails in my opinion! I have also encapsulated them under both gels and acrylics with no issues.
Over and under gel and acrylic these polishes will last as long as the enhancement does. On strong natural nails you will get 2-3 weeks before having any issues. The only concern is around weaker nails. Weak nails find it hard to hold on to any gel polish so I wouldn’t necessarily say this is an issue for the brand. Be sure to prep the nails really well and cap the free edge. Because these polishes are so pigmented I would recommend a strong lamp for curing. I tend to apply hardening/protein base coat on weak nails if using these . If you don’t have one of these a thick layer of normal base coat will do the job.
The usual soak off time of gel polish applies to this product too.
My favourite thing about the brand is the range of colours and different finishes they carry. You are sure to find everything your client needs. Best of all, with the smaller bottles it’s nice that you don’t have to spend serious cash to build up your collection quickly.
The glitter gel polishes in the range are amazing too. When I use glitter I want to only see the glitter. I don’t want gaps where too much clear polish was added. This leads to too many layers and bulky nails. The glitters from The Manicure Company are one of the best I have tried.
These gel polishes are curable under both LED (30secs) and UV lamps(2mins).
The base coat is just ok, it isn’t my favourite. It smells odd and to be honest this turns me off it. At the beginning I found it difficult to get used to the No wipe top coat because it is so thick but I absolutely love it now. It is so glossy!!!! Something to note though, when you take the nails from the lamp after the top coat leave it to cool for 10 seconds before wiping or applying oil, otherwise you will loose the shine.
I do have one other bone of contention with this brand and other nail brands in general. From my experience with ordering from the brands website it doesn’t seem that you need to provide proof of your nail qualifications before purchasing from the company. For me this is a complete no go area. Firstly, because I don’t think it is fair to qualified nail technicians who provide clients with a good service and work hard to achieve their qualifications to have non qualified people be allowed purchase the same products as them. Secondly because it is unsafe for non qualified people to use professional products without supervision.
It does say that these are for professional use only on the bottles but I don’t see any restrictions from ordering them. I am not saying that this is the only company that does this. I know others do too but I just needed to point this out for people who have similar views to me. Just to note this wouldn’t be the same when buying from a salon supplies wholesalers because you would need proof of qualification to get your trade card.
The packaging is nice. I have had issues with one of my top coat bottle.It seems the thread on the lid isn’t working so it won’t close correctly. Hopefully this is a once off as none of my other bottles have this issue. I do however love the fact that the lids have the colour on them which makes it very easy to find the colour you are looking for.
On a more positive note I do think this brand offers a large variety of high quality products to the nail industry. I am happy to use these products on clients and in particular over nail enhancements with confidence that the service will be as high quality as normal.
The Manicure Company are 100% Irish owned with their products manufactured in the Far East and Europe. I want to point out that although some of the products are made in China they are not tested on animals. They are fully tested in Europe meaning they are safe to use on human nails.
Have you tried anything from The Manicure Company? Are you going to try them now after reading this post?
I would rate these gel polishes a 4 out of 5 loosing a point for my two concerns above. How would you rate them?
For a full list of stockists you can click here. The products are also available directly from the website.
Thank you for your time.
Anita XXX
8 Comments
Betty Coote
August 28, 2017 at 3:02 pmVery good review very informative. I do not use nail polish but have seen some lovely work d using the manicure company products x
Anita
August 30, 2017 at 7:24 amThank you. I am delighted you found it informative. They have some great products xx
Emma
August 28, 2017 at 3:45 pmLove the post. Very clear and honest as you know I love the colours but it’s so good to see you go through all the points. Well done hun x
Anita
August 30, 2017 at 7:24 amThanks hun. The colours are pretty fab. I am delighted to hear you thought it was a clear post. I really wanted to make sure I covered all aspects. xxx
Vicky
August 29, 2017 at 7:48 pmGreat post Anita. Totally agree with you…they are great quality!
Anita
August 30, 2017 at 7:23 amThanks so much Vicky, they really are great quality. xxx
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