Topping it off: Finding the perfect topcoat Part 2

It's been awhile since I did a blogpost on my continued search for the perfect topcoat, in which I review and share my thoughts on topcoats from all different brands and in all different price ranges to help you find the best one for you. All opinions are just that, opinions, I am basing them on my experience with the product and nothing more. If you read part 1 you know that NYC in New York Minute in "Grand Central Station" ($1.99) emerged the clear winner in terms of price, formula, drying time, shine, and helping the polish achieve staying power on the nails. Will it hold up to these new brands? Read on to see.  Please Click here to read part 1

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat: $4.99

The first topcoat is my second favorite topcoat of all time. Second only to my beloved NYC in a New York Minute in Grand Central Station. The two topcoats are almost identical in terms of formulation and staying power. They both have an almost gel like consistency, dry solid in five minutes, set wet polish, and leave a glossy mirror like shine. Both ensure that I can wear my polish for 7 days with no chips (although this will vary according to your lifestyle and the health of your nails) even with the most inexpensive nail polish underneath. For me the difference between the two really comes down to the price. The NYC brand is only $1.99 vs $4.99. I had a manufacturers coupon for $1 off so I only paid $3.99....but still. Although you get more product with the Sally Hansen brand (.45 fl oz vs .33 fl oz) I still found that I used up the bottle in roughly the same amount of time as the NYC brand. That being said I would still highly recommend this brand if you cant get the NYC for any reason where you live. You will be more then pleased with the results. click here to purchase

Essie "No Chips Ahead" $8.00

I should preface my thoughts on the Essie "No Chips Ahead" topcoat with the fact that Essie is definitely my salon brand of choice. I feel their formulation is very easy to work with, opaque, and is very high quality in terms of wearability. With that being said I was terribly disappointed in Essie's topcoat. I found it extremely watery and difficult to work with, but more importantly I found that it took a ridiculous amount of time to dry. I painted my nails with this about 6 pm and then went to bed about 12 am and when I woke up in the morning there were pillow marks and smudges on my nails. I was NOT happy to say the least. So much so that after two uses I gave the product away. This is NOT worth $8.00 and I was glad I only paid $3.00 for it at Ross. Boooo! I love Essie but I would not recommend this one.

Nutra Nail Speed Dry Topcoat: $4.99

This was my first experience with the Nutra Nail line, I had been hearing alot of good things about it on Youtube so I decided to try out their Speed Dry Topcoat with Green Tea Antioxidants. It retails for $4.99 at Rite Aid and CVS but I bought it on sale for $1.99. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I would rank this product #3 in my favorite topcoats just below the NYC in a New York Minute topcoat and the Sally Hansen Insta Dri. The formula was quite similar in consistency to these two brands but I found the (comparatively) small brush a bit more difficult to work with since it covered less of the nail and required more strokes of the product for full coverage, increasing the risk of bubbling. Also this product took a bit longer to dry then the other two, about ten minutes to dry completely. But once dry the overall results were amazing, leaving my nails with a smooth glassy mirror like shine. I'm not sure I would have loved the product AS much as I did had I paid the regular price for it, and the fact that it retails for the same amount as the Sally Hansen Insta Dri makes me want to recommend it less. However for the price I paid for it I was thrilled! It also contained more product then Sally Hansen (.50fl oz vs .45 for the Sally Hansen brand) so I would still recommend this if you are having trouble finding the Sally Hansen Insta Dri because I think the results are still pretty great. click here to purchase

LA Colors Rapid Dry Topcoat $0.99

I don't have alot to say about this product. I purchased this recently at Dollar Tree and decided to try out the LA colors brand topcoat since it was only $0.99. I have only used it once on my toenails and the results were so poor I think I am actually going to throw this one away. I painted it over my pedicure and  it smudged after TWO HOURS. Most fast dry topcoats I have tried, even some of the slowest drying ones are usually totally dry after one hour. This was not, I repeat NOT worth the money. 

NYC Matte "matte me crazy" topcoat $1.99

Matte nails are not really my thing, as you might have guessed from my reviews so far I am really looking for the topcoat that is going to give me the shiniest, glossiest finish possible. However I have used this product in a few nail looks and I will say that if you are going for a matte finish this product gets the job done with one coat and a minimum amount of drying time, although it is not a fast drying topcoat. Some nail polish colors (namely neons) leave a matte finish however even if you are using these colors I would still recommend a coat of this mattifying topcoat since matte colors are notorious for chipping quickly. Other nail polish lines have mattifying topcoats (namely china glaze and OPI) but at $1.99 vs $8.00 for those products why spend the extra money when the cheaper product does the job just as well with just one coat. The formula is very easy to work with, it is the perfect consistency, not too thin not too thick, and the NYC polishes have a flat, wide, brush that makes application incredibly easy. If you like matte nails I would recommend this product. click here to purchase

Army Topcoat (purchased in Thailand) $0.65

The last topcoat is one I actually purchased in a recent trip to Thailand to see my family. I ran out of my beloved NYC topcoat and decided to try out one of the local brands. This brand is sold everywhere on the streets quite inexpensively (about 20 baht or $0.65). I was actually pretty impressed with it. It is not fast drying but the drying time was not bad at all, it was totally dry in less then an hour. The formula was a nice consistency and was very easy to apply. The brush was a wide thick brush that covered the entire nail in a couple of strokes (minimizing bubbling) and it helped my polish last at least 6 days with no chipping. The only thing I felt was a bit lacking was it did not leave my nails with alot of shine even in the beginning so I found that by the end of the week, when most topcoats start to dull a little, that my nails had almost no shine on them. But for $0.65 I was pretty happy with it and would repurchase it again on another overseas trip. This brand is obviously available in Thailand but I'm not sure if it is available in other Asian countries or not, but it is worth keeping an eye out for :) 

So all in all I still did not find a topcoat to beat out my favorite NYC in a New York Minute in "grand central station" but I did find some close runner ups. I hope this blogpost is helpful. Let me know if you have a favorite topcoat that you use and I will try to test it out for Topping it off: finding the perfect topcoat Part 3! In the meantime I hope this was helpful. Thank you for reading and have a great week!