Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I always paint my toenails, but I rarely paint my fingernails because I wash my hands so much that they tend to chip in a day or two, and it's just too high maintenance for me to keep them up. I did try gel polish once that was applied by a professional manicurist, and though I liked the results it creeped me out that the polish had to be professionally removed. I also thought my nails looked like the top layer was stripped off and had an unhealthy look afterwards. While I don't know the answers, I've also read articles raising safety questions about professional gel polish, and the UV curing process in particular. So I was really interested to try Essie gel polish as it's supposed to last up to two weeks according to Essie customer service, and there's no UV curing process. Also, Essie polish is free of formaldehyde, toulene and DBP. I wasn't sure how to even apply it, so I called customer service and was told NOT to use a base coat and instead to apply two coats of the gel polish (step 1) followed by one application of Essie's top coat for gel nails (step 2). The top coat is sold separately. essie Gel Couture Nail Polish (Step 2), Top Coat, 0.46 fl. oz. When it's time to remove it, you just use your regular nail polish remover. This gel polish in the "Looks To Thrill" color has a nice brush, and the polish is thick and smooth- it's surprisingly easy to apply and forgiving as to mistakes. With two coats of gel color and the top coat, this summery orange shade looks bright and glossy. I think it's a really pretty, fun color that looks like a medium coral or melon shade on me. So far, I love everything about this gel polish, though I don't know yet how long it will last, or how my nails will look when I remove it. For now, I'm giving it 4 stars, but I will update my review and star rating after I know how long it lasts and see if it strips my nails like gel polish cured at the salon. 6/19/2016 Update: Day 6 and Looks To Thrill still has no chips and a beautiful high gloss shine. I've been rough on my nails with housework, constant hand washing (without gloves), using my nails to open big boxes, etc. I've never had polish last on my fingernails more than a couple days, so Essie gel couture polish seems vastly superior to me. I did just remove the polish from one thumb to see if the nail looks unhealthy like it does with salon gel polish, and I'm happy to say it looks good. This polish already surpasses my expectations, so I'm upgrading my rating to 5 stars. I love this polish so much I've placed an order for the "Dress Call" shade and can't wait to try it. 6/22/16 Update: At day 8, a few nails started to chip, while others still looked quite good. This polish could easily last longer on someone who isn't as rough on their nails. I could also see nail growth, so I decided it was time to remove the polish with Bamboo Towelette 3-in-1 remover I bought on Amazon. The polish was easy to remove, and my nails still look healthy. I'm now wearing "Dress Call" that I ordered outside of the Vine process, and it did not come with the top coat. It's a beautiful light purple. I love this gel couture line- it's the first polish to last long enough on my fingernails to bother to paint them. 7/25/2016 Update: I painted my toenails with Looks To Thrill on July 3, and the polish still looks shiny and fantastic over three weeks later. I'm amazed and am only removing it due to nail growth. I've received numerous compliments on this color- which I think will also be pretty for the Fall season. Love it.