Five Below has become one of the top discount stores in my life. Every time I visit Houston, I make a point to stop by and check out all the new nail stuff they have. Over a couple years, I've managed to acquire a variety of nail supplies, from dappen dishes to nail decals to nail polish. I'll try to do a more collective Five Below blog post in the future, because there are some true gems that I absolutely love that are exclusively(I think) at Five Below!
When I recently visited, I came across the Ultimate Manicure System. It is a set that includes a cleanser, base coat, two nail polishes, and a top coat. I've never tried a system like this before, and I know popular ones from Formula X and Deborah Lippmann can be pretty pricey, so I figured I'd give it a shot.
Each bottle is labeled with the number step it is and the back of the box explains what to do with step by step instructions.
Front packaging
Back of the package with instructions.
Now, first off, I totally noticed the poor labeling, but I shrugged it off, as I only paid $5 for it. The rest of the packaging was ok. The best part is the holographic cardboard background!
Step 1 is the cleanser. You are to apply the cleanser to your nail beds and allow to dry. The application was good and it dried in no time. Basically it just stripped my nails of oil and moisture, nothing out of the ordinary or special with this step.
Step 2 is base coat. It applied smoothly and dried reasonably quickly. It also dried slightly sticky, which helped with the polish application. So far so good on this nail system journey!
Here's where it starts getting dicey. Step 3 is the nail polish. Again, not much expectation on these, but I figured they might be decent. Pictured below is two coats of both polishes. The first is a basic white creme and the other is a light baby pink.The white was like any other run of the mill white, a bit patchy, but it evened itself out after drying. This is definitely a polish that I would hold on to for nail art in the future as a base coat. Now, the pink polish is a totally different story. Not sure if you can tell on my pinky finger in the photo below, but there were some random black flecks that came out of the polish and were deposited onto my nail. I don't know if it was residue from the brush, or what exactly it was. Another issue that you might be able to see on my ring finger are these clumps of red pigment coming out of the bottle. I had to use the brush to get them off my nail, but it got to the point where I was scraping the polish off my nail.
Here is a close up of the bottle with the red flecks throughout the polish.
Now, onto the last step: The topcoat. An even bigger disappointment than the pink nail polish was this travesty in a bottle. I feel like maybe I've been so spoiled by the likes of Seche Vite or even a newer quick-dry topcoat from Sally's that has made me dislike this top coat. First the brush is slightly frayed with a few stray bristles. Second, it NEVER dried! I applied a normal amount on top of the nail polish, but it just dried to a sticky consistency and ended up smudging. Even if it dried properly, the fact that it didn't dry FAST would be an issue for me; I don't think I would reach back for it unless I was completely out of my other go-to topcoats.
For the final test, I decided to do a quick dry marble nail art and test out the durability of the base coat and cleanser. This is what my nails looked like after seven days of wear. I did kind of accelerate the chip on my pointer finger. I saw it starting to lift and I picked at it lol. But it faired pretty well. There was no bad chipping and low wear on the tips. I think it's safe to say that the first half of the system is pretty decent.
Polishes used for the dry marble: Look at My Bow! and Super Cute in Pink from OPI's Hello Kitty collection. Topped with INM Northern Lights.
Overall, I think you're getting exactly what you pay for: low quality, cheaply made products. The main thing that drives me away from using this whole system is the smell. All the products have this glue/plastic cheap smell that just is not good. The nail polishes don't smell like normal polishes. Now, even though the first two products were decent, the other three bottles were very disappointing. I look at it as buying a cleanser, base coat, and a white nail polish for $5, which still isn't bad, compared to other name brand systems. I am still actively using the cleanser before I do my nails, and I think it has made a difference in the staying power of my mani. I would probably recommend this for a nail beginner or a younger person looking to venture into giving themselves manicures. It is a low risk way to get all the nail essentials without spending too much money. However, if you are already in Five Below, I would recommend picking up the Fresh Paint or Funky Fingers polishes to replace the two in the package.
Final Grade for Ultimate Manicure System: C-
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