Olive & June’s New Nail Kit Gave Me A Salon-Perfect Pedicure (& I Did It Myself)

It's likely that you've mastered the (reluctant) art of transforming your nails into tiny canvases of art at this point in 2020. But, even for us die-hard self-manicurists, the at-home pedicure remains an elusive chanteuse of DIY beauty treatments. That is, until today. Fresh off the launch of the chicest holiday collection in nail history, Los Angeles-based Olive & June is closing 2020 on a high note with its most requested product drop to date: a 12-piece kit that contains every tool, product, and environment you need to flawlessly paint your toes from the comfort of your own stay-at-home space — fittingly named, The Pedi System. "I would dare to say it’s the most requested item since we’ve launched the Studio Box," Olive & June founder Sarah Gibson Tuttle exclusively tells Refinery29. "When we were able to give the community everything they needed for a salon-perfect mani in a box, they were like, 'Now I need everything I need for a salon-perfect pedi.'" Dare I say, they've nailed it once again? "Our motto has always been, 'everything you need, nothing you don’t,'” Gibson Tuttle adds. "I don’t want to make a product that the customer doesn’t need; I only want to create exciting, new, innovative versions of products that have never existed before." Below find a full breakdown of Olive & June's new dream nail system: including everything from a sneak-peek at what's inside to what sets it apart from other DIY-pedicure kits on the market and also how my very own at-home experience went using the goods.

As for what's inside The Pedi System: silicone toe separators custom-designed to be more comfortable to walk around in (no more waddling with wet toenails); XL clippers; a buffer block; file; metal pusher; dishwasher-safe (top rack!) foot file to remove dry skin on the heels or the ball of your foot; a bottle of Foot Serum (the below the knee answer to their new Hand Serum); a cuticle remover to exfoliate excess skin around the nail with no cutting required (best leave that to licensed pros.) But, best of all, it comes encased in a truly game-changing container called The Posey — it's almost insulting to call it a box, and you'll see why below.

"I firmly believe that one of the biggest issues [with at-home pedicures] is the angle of your foot — and that’s how The Posey came about," Gibson Tuttle tells us of her patent-pending, ergonomic foot rest-slash-storage container. "It's like, how do you create something that’s never been created in this world? That’s so important to me." In addition to holding all of your nail tools and goodies, the genius of The Posey is that it can be used one of two ways to achieve the perfect angle to comfortably lacquer your toes: the first way is the put the top half (aka the lid) on a flat surface and use as a ramp-style rest; option numero dos is what you're seeing in the picture below, where you can flip the lid back onto the base, secure it, and get the extra height for ultimate precision. As someone who needs glasses or contacts to function, I appreciate all the help I can get.

I'm pretty good at painting my own nails since I already did them myself quite often pre-quarantine. My feet, on the other hand (heh), have always been something I've outsourced to the pros! Even as a beauty-loving gal I am, admittedly, a bit lazy when it comes to pampering my tootsies (and do not enjoy hunching over my feet) — but Olive & June's Pedi System cut through the noise by sourcing me everything I need to show my feet some love in one succinct and actually usable kit. In addition to being easy (and fun!), nothing brought me more joy than fawning out all the glistening pedi products, queuing up the latest episode of The Great British Baking Show, and jumping right into the doing the damn DIY-pedicure thing. The silicone toe separators were a major upgrade from the cheap foam ones I've used (and kept for too long) in the past. The double-ended metal tool was a quick fix for gently pushing back my cuticles and effortlessly removing any dirt or product around my nail beds. The best part? Sealing everything in with the foot serum — it practically made my feet gleam. And, the glossy top coat resulted in polish that looked fresh AF for days. But, none of this would have been remotely possible without the thoughtfully designed foot stand (aka box) that gave me a salon-quality angle right in my own living room. It seriously helped me hit all the right pedicure points without making my body feel like a hunched-over, contorted ball — long story short, my back was saved and my toes looked divine!

Similar to The Studio Box, there are three pricing tiers to nab the Pedi System. If you're already overflowing with polishes and only require the tools (and Posey), then that'll run you $60. From there, it's $70 for the tools plus a top coat and one polish of your choice. For the big spenders, you can get the tools, topcoat, and six polishes of your choice for $100. While yes, those price points aren't necessarily a casual impulse buy, the quality and quantity of the tools (not to mention the novelty and innovation of the Posey itself, which trust, is a saving grace for your back) are fair for the price. "We knew how many tools [the kit] needed to hold, and pedicures are inherently more expensive because more goes into them," Gibson Tuttle explains. "I really wanted something where people feel like they’re getting a lot of value."

With salons in various stages of reopening around the country, just because you can go in for a spa pedi doesn't mean you're necessarily comfortable doing so. (Which, understandable!) So while Olive & June's foot-care-in-a-box has been over a year in the making, the timing truthfully couldn't be better; "My pedicures make me like my feet," Gibson Tuttle says. "It’s exciting to spark joy and confidence. You’re giving people the feeling of being put-together and ready during a pretty uncertain time. It’s empowering people to feel like they can totally do this on their own."

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