Your Claws: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

Here is a list of the quick dry top coats I have tried in the last 6-8 months:

• Seche Vite (of course)
• INM Out the Door
• Poshe Super Fast Drying Top Coat
• Julep Fast Dry Top Coat
• Butter London Hardwear Top Coat
• Wet N Wild Fast Dry Nail Color Top Coat
• Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat

Of these, the Sally Hansen is BY FAR my favorite. I’ll be sticking with it. It’s doesn’t harden all the layers as instantly as Seche Vite, of course, but it’s dry to the touch in a minute or two, and hardens pretty well in about 15 minutes, in my experience. I wouldn’t recommend any serious hard labor for an hour or so after you’ve applied it, but you can pretty much go about your business after you finish that episode of Parks & Rec. The major advantage it has over Seche Vite is: NO FUCKING SHRINKAGE. (This is when the polish on the nail contracts as it dries so you end up with a sliver of your nail projecting past the end of the polish, which looks kind of sloppy and also makes it peel/chip more easily. Yes, I wrap the tips. No, It doesn’t help.)

It makes your polish dry nice and quick, makes it super shiny, and (again) no fucking shrinkage. It’s also really chip/wear resistant and keeps its shine for days. Wins all around. It’s not super cheap (usually $5-8), but you can get it at pretty much any drugstore/big box supermarket, so there are always sales to be found. It’s the best.