How to Get the Most Out of Seche Vite (from Pretty Girl Science)

Everyone loves Seche Vite, right? Seems that way. But if you've had trouble getting it to work like the miracle top coat it's purported to be, these tips from Pretty Girl Science will be super helpful.

Turn all of your creme nail polishes into shimmers (temporarily): Review of e.l.f. sheer topcoats

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Collecting a few cheap effects topcoats is a good way to double (or triple, etc.) the number of nail polishes you have available, in a way. I've posted before about using a holo topcoat so that you instantly have as many different colors of holo polishes as you have polishes. Using these $2 e.l.f. shimmer topcoats similarly multiplies your options. If you have a color you love, but have seen a shimmer version of it that you're debating buying, getting the right shimmer topcoat might be a cheaper option (and it can be used with all your other colors, of course). I've included one example below where I was able to dupe an Orly nail polish using an ULTA creme I already had and an e.l.f. topcoat. These shimmers are also just really fucking pretty, so that's maybe enough reason to check them out.

Here are swatches of all the e.l.f. topcoats I own over Revlon Parfumerie Wild Violets. I also included the other glitter and flakie topcoats from e.l.f that I have, for the sake of completeness. The last time I checked, it was hard to find swatches of these shimmers, so I hope this is useful to someone. The only shimmer topcoat from them that I don't have is Twinkle Twilight, which I think is a silvery shimmer. (I want it too.) Each of these is one coat over the dark purple base, photographed in natural light.

Swatches (left to right) of Revlon Parfumerie Wild Violets (alone) and then topped with e.l.f. Summer Solstice, Supernova, Big Bang Blue, Fairy Dust, Love Me, and Enchanted.

More photos below:

Battle of the fairly-quick-dry topcoats: NYC Grand Central Station ($2) vs. Orly Polishield ($10)

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I love quick dry topcoat. So much. I'm pretty sure that discovering Seche Vite is the main thing that enabled me to become a nail polish hoarder.

Okay, maybe I need to rethink my love for it.

But until two or three years ago, I had no idea there was a way to paint your nails without having to sit around completely still for 45 minutes afterwards and then still wake up the next morning with the impression of your pillowcase on at least three fingers. Patience is not one of my great virtues, nor is memory. As in remembering that I just fucking painted my nails and so now is not a good time to anything at all.

The most convenient quick dry top coats that I've tried can be applied within minutes (or even seconds) of the last coat of color, and it will dry to the touch in less than 5 minutes. In less than 10, you can zip your jeans on or off, wash dishes, open beer cans, etc., without any damage. Living the dream. I've tried a shitload of different brands, and my favorite one was Butter London's - but since it is exorbitantly, horrifyingly expensive, Sally Hansen's is a very close second. Poshe is also good. Seche Vite works fast and is very shiny, but causes too much shrinkage, in my opinion. Nubar's Diamont is shitty.

How to make every nail polish you own double as a holographic polish for $6-15

I've posted about this before, but there's no real need to buy holographic nail polish in every shade when you can just buy a holo topcoat and use it to transform any polish you have into a linear holo. It really works. Here's are some examples:

One coat of holo topcoat (shade)

One coat of holo topcoat (direct sunlight)

See? Just buy one bottle of topcoat instead of ALL THE HOLOS. The easiest at-home dupes.

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale: Butter London Topcoat, Basecoat, Polish, and Remover for $24

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So remember how I complained that I like the Butter London topcoat a lot, but it's usually $19? Well now you can get a set with that shit, along with the basecoat, remover, and a bottle of the Thames nail polish (and a file) for $24. It's a small bottle of remover, but they usually sell it for $8. Nordstrom sells the top and basecoats for $18 each, and the polish for $15. The sale goes until August 4.

I wish you could choose the nail color (I really want Two Fingered Salute), but otherwise this looks good. I'm going to have to think about it . . . since I just bought some Sally Hansen topcoat yesterday.

There are a bunch of other deals on fancy beauty shit too.

Sally Hansen nail treatments 50% off at Walgreens this week

You have to have one of their store cards to get the sale price, but then you can get this excellent topcoat for $3.

(Thanks Stephanie!)

Butter London Hardwear Topcoat (a.k.a. Holy Fucking Expensive) vs. Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine Fast Drying Topcoat

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I'm just going to say it: The best topcoat I've used is Butter London Hardwear Topcoat, and I've used a bunch. (I know I said before that the Sally Hansen one was better, but life goes on, minds change. After I used the Butter London more, I realized that this one is shinier and easier to apply, so it has the edge.) The brush is nice and it's super shiny and it dries really quick and doesn't shrink or bubble and it levels and the bottle doesn't get goopy especially fast, etc. It's pretty much flawless. But it is FUCKING EXPENSIVE. $19? Fuck right off. There's no justifying that. I got it magically once in a set that included two Butter London polishes and this topcoat for $15. It was a miracle, never to be repeated. And I have been considering using a $10 Amazon gift card that I have to replace it now that my bottle is empty . . . but seriously, even $9 seems like a lot for topcoat.

I don't think that it is better because it is expensive: I think it's just a fluke. There is probably something just as good out there for less, but I haven't found it. In an attempt to find it, I bought Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine Fast Drying Topcoat, because I read a rave review of it on a popular nail blog. And it's $6 on Amazon. But I'm not blown away.

It dries really fast, which is a must in a topcoat for me. It's shiny. But it bubbles a little. Just small bubbles that probably are only noticeable to me, but they're there, and they bug me. They're unnecessary. The worst part is that even if I wait a few extra minutes before I paint on this topcoat, some of the nail polish transfers from my nail to the brush. I'm not sure why. I have never had that problem with a topcoat before. I don't know if it's the shape of the brush, which seems to flare a little at the bottom, or what. It scrapes off some of the polish, though, usually just from the first nail, and I worry about it getting into the bottle. Maybe I should wait longer before I use it, but waiting kind of defeats the purpose of quick dry topcoat.

Has anyone else had this problem with it? Did I get a bad bottle?

So, meh. I've heard that NYC has a good topcoat for 2 or 3 bucks (not this one), so I'll look for that before I decide if I'm going to cave and get more Butter London. But without a gift card, I would definitely opt for the Sally Hansen topcoat before I would ever spend $19 on clear nail shit. It's a little better, yes, but not enough to be worth its weight in fucking gold.

What's your favorite topcoat? What's the most you'd pay for one?

Four things I didn't pack for my one-week visit to my parents' place in rural Canada

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Well, there are a lot of things that I didn't pack, because I didn't want to check a bag, but these are the only ones I've missed so far.

1. My camera

Avon Speed Dry+ Nail Enamel in Mambo Melon

I wish I could take a good photo of my nails right now. Before I left, I used some of the Sally Hansen Real Nail Polish Strips for the first time. I used the Check Please! pattern, and I wasn't sure if I would like how they looked, since I'm not a big fan of nail art (on my own nails). But I found them surprisingly mod and mesmerizing, as well as easy to use. They advertise that they will last "up to 10 days", so I thought maybe I would get a week out of them. But no. They started to chip the third day, even after I added topcoat a few times, and by the fourth day, I couldn't stand it any longer and peeled them off. That's a day longer than most nail polish lasts on me, though.

Anyway, that's not what I wanted to take a photo of. My mother has a bottle of Avon Speed Dry+ Nail Enamel in Mambo Melon, so I decided to paint my nails with that, and it is fucking gorgeous. Plus the formula is amazing. I'm not sure it dries any faster than usual, but it was really smooth and easy to apply and almost opaque in one coat. Two thin coats was perfect. It's a coral red with pinkish shimmer. Unfortunately, without my camera I had to settle for the webcam shot above, so you'll have to trust me on this one. Imagine it just slightly brighter and slightly oranger. If you like that sort of shade, this is an awesome choice.

DIY matte top coat for your nails (from The Daily Varnish)

Is there anything cornstarch can't do? Check out the instructions here.

Cheapest quick dry polish topcoat yet (but there's a catch)

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I bought this NYC Long Wearing Extra Shiny Top Coat a few weeks ago when I needed to get my drugstore.com order up to $25, not expecting much. It doesn't even say "quick dry". Blah! I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for.

Oh, but it is! It dries as fast or faster than any other top coat I've tried, including Seche Vite. I'm talking less than a minute until you can brush away that fucking hair that's tickling your nose. And it's really glossy. Best part? It's 99 cents.

So what's the catch?

Your Claws: Cheap Gold Flake Look

So, the thing this winter seems to be topcoat with flakes of real gold leaf in it. There's one from OPI, one from Zoya, one from Sephora by OPI, etc. They're pretty, but I'm never going to spend $30 on a bottle on nail polish. I'm probably never going to spend $15 on one. So I found a way to get a similar look for much cheaper.

Your Claws: Hits No Olimpo Hefesto Holographic Topcoat

Holographic nail polish is fucking amazing. Unfortunately, it’s also usually pretty expensive. The stuff at Ulta is around $15 a bottle, I think. Here’s my solution: Hits No Olimpo Hefesto Holographic Topcoat.


Here are my swatches with two coats of Hefesto over various colors of polish:


Pretty amazing, right?