I was running out of my favourite to coat Sally Hansen Insta Dri and it was only available on Amazon India for an exorbitant price which I felt was absolutely unjustified. So I thought I'd look around for another top coat. Since I read such good reviews of this top coat on Nykaa's website, I thought I'd give it a try.
Formula &Application as a Top Coat
So when I first tried this top coat, I was absolutely underwhelmed to say the least. I was so used to quick dry top coats, I foolishly applied this over semi-wet polish. Furthermore, the consistency of this top coat is rather thin, so it doesn't glide over your nail like Sally Hansen or Seche Vite does, and I ended up transferring the colour of my polish to the brush.
The formula is great though, as you can see from the pictures, I've almost emptied this bottle and let me tell you, it did NOT get goopy at all. Still a breeze to apply.
Then came the second issue. This top coat did not try super glossy like the other ones I usually use. Nor did it dry with a thick, glass like finish.
Finally, it did not help with the wear time of my manicure at all, compared to my other top coats.
So I pretty much gave up the thought of using this as my go to top coat. Now as I had this bottle just lying around, and was wondering what to do with it, when I thought, why not just use it as a base coat!
As a Base Coat
Now I know base coats are formulated differently, and you can't use a top coat as a base coat yada yada yada! But this particular one worked quite well for me. I don't use a base coat every time I change my polish. I will only use one with polishes that I feel wouldn't last as well without a base coat. So I tested it as a base coat and it worked like a charm.
- As I mentioned, the consistency of this top coat is thin, so it's better suited as a base coat rather than a top coat.
- It dries fairly quick. not as quick as a quick dry top coat, but quicker than regular polish.
- It creates a very smooth finish on your nail, basically a smooth canvas to paint your polish over.
- I also found this one helped prevent staining to a certain extent, my old base coat was absolutely rubbish at that.
Longevity
Used as a base coat, I do feel it prolongs the life of my manicure. Not by much, but probably a day or two more.
Final Thoughts
As a top coat, I really wouldn't recommend this one. I pretty much use it as a base coat or a secondary top coat to bring back a bit of shine after wearing my manicure for a couple of days. So how you feel about this product definitely depends on how you use it. I'm definitely getting another bottle just to use as my base coat :D.
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