CND Effect - Copper Shimmer

Another older polish from my collection today, this time from CND.  Copper Shimmer is an Effect polish which means it's a top coat essentially, that you layer over other colours.  I'm not sure if CND have stopped making the Colour and Effect line because I can't see it on their web page to link to.

 

Copper Shimmer pretty much does what it says on the tin, it adds a shimmery copper tone over the top of your polish (mine is Nails Inc Caramel from the other day), just the thing to jazz up a manicure for a second day if you're easily bored like me.

 

This is just one coat and it give a really nice effect, I think it would be more obvious over a contrasting base but over the caramel it just adds a hint of shimmer and interest.

 

 

Stockpiling

I have a bit of a bad habit, when I see something on special offer I tend to get the urge to buy it so that I can save some money and / or get a bargain, which a lot of the time works quite well, but sometimes leads to things like this happening...

 

That's 16 bottle of No7 Quick Dry top coat.  Even with it being one of my Top Coat Heroes 16 bottles seems a touch excessive.

 

Part of the problem is that when I get No7 vouchers I feel the need to make the most of them and so I do tend to stock up, this time around the vouchers combined with a Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price deal which meant that by using one coupon I could get 2 top coats for £6 (plus an additional 10% using my advantage card) so it seemed silly not to stock up.  £2.70 for a top coat which rivals ones 3 times the price, who could refuse?

 

This makes me feel a little better too...

 

Nine empty bottle of the same top coat, most are in the old style bottle but fear not the product is the same.  So at least I'm stockpiling something I will use, although it might take me some time to get through 16 bottles even at the rate I use it!

 

But it led me to thinking, is this something everyone does or am I alone in my obbsessive collecting of things when I see them on offer (sadly it's not just top coat I do this with), do you like to stock up when you see a good offer?

Seche Vite

Ever since I got back into doing my nails I have been hearing rave reviews about Seche Vite, so when I saw it reduced to £5 on Urban Outfitters, along with free P&P this month on all orders, I knew it was time to try it out.  I ordered two bottles, figuring that at only £5 even if it wasn't as good as I'd been led to believe I would still get use out of it, I can't pass up a bargain!

 

 

It's sold as a fast dry top coat and gets great reviews for drying time, chip resistance and a lovely shiny finish so I was looking forward to trying it out.  I recently did a post on my favourite top coats and I do credit fast dry top coats with properly fuelling my nail varnish obsession, without them I wouldn't have the patience to wait for my nails to dry and would definitely paint them less.

 

My initial reaction to the polish was it's fairly strong, strange scent.  It's not horrendous but it's noticeable and quite different from regular polishes I have.  I applied one, relatively thick coat over newly painted nails. 

 

I was obviously a bit too keen to see how quickly it dried and managed to put a massive smudge in my polish when I check after about 30 seconds to see if it was touch dry yet.  I was slightly disappointed at that stage as I know that if I'd done the same to my No7 or Sally Hansen top coats there would have been a slight finger print mark at most but when touching the Seche Vite a huge blob of colour stuck to my finger and lifted right off.  However, I decided to persevere and I'm glad I did as the results got much better after a little while.

 

5 minutes later my nails were all touch dry, and not just touch dry but properly solid.  On top of that they were seriously shiny and smooth feeling, they really did look almost like gel polish.  I think my initial mistake was to assume the polish would be dry in 30 seconds or so, it's not, but it doesn't take too much longer. 

 

I think part of the reason for that is that Seche Vite apparently soaks through all the layers of your polish and then sets them hard rather than a regular top coat which just sets hard on top of the other layers.  I must have touched my nail just as the formula had soaked through all the layers which is why a tiny touch caused such a big hole.  On the plus side, I whacked on another layer of colour, another layer of Seche Vite and 5 minutes later it was good as new.

 

I've heard some reports online of shrinkage when using Seche Vite but so far I haven't noticed this.  A tip I picked up was to make sure you leave a little space all round the edges of your polish and to then cover that space with the Seche Vite, so if it does shrink at all it just pulls into the area where your polish is rather than shrinking the polished area (does that make any sense?!) meaning you can't see any shrinkage even if it's there.

 

I would definitely recommend this top coat from my initial use, it's fast drying, super shiny and seems to make my polish last really well.  I'd also recommend you don't test your nails to see if they're dry for a good 5 minutes after application, or you may end up making a hole like I did.  5 minutes isn't long to wait and it's definitely worth it for the finish!

No7 Stay Perfect Top Coat Comparison

As I mentioned previously No7 have recently re-packaged a lot of their products, including their quick drying top coat which is one of my favourites and a definite staple in my collection. 

 

I've always identified the top coat as 'the one that says touch dry in 60 seconds on the front' and the new bottle doesn't have this so I was keen to pick up the new bottle and check if it was the same product inside or whether there had been a cheeky change of formula too.  After a lovely friend sent me her spare No7 voucher, I decided to pick up a bottle and test it out.

 

Here are the two bottles, side by side:

Left: New Bottle, Right: Old Bottle

 

The new bottle does still have 'touch dry in 60 seconds' on it, it's just been moved to the back of the bottle.  The bottles are a similar shape and the same size (10ml), the only major change, other than shifting some of the text around, is that the new cap is white rather than black.

 

 

The brushes are also very similar, the newer style looks a tiny bit more rounded and possibly slightly plumper but there was no difference in how the top coat applied using the new brush.

 

Left: New Brush, Right: Old Brush

 

Formula wise I would say this is the same top coat formula, I've used it a couple of times now and really can't see a difference in application, drying time or wear.  It seems like it's purely a new bottle from No7 to fit in with their re-branding. 

The only difference I noticed was that the new bottle seemed to be a very slightly runnier consistency, however that could be due to it being brand new and me comparing it with an older bottle that I had been using a while which has no doubt thickened up a bit with use.  There really was no difference once it was applied to the nail and I suspect with time it will also thicken up a bit like it's predecessor.

 

So, excellent news for me and anyone else who was a fan of the top coat in it's previous incarnation it looks like the formula is just as it was, No7 obviously know not to mess with an already winning formula.

 

My Top Coat Heros

Choosing the right top coat can make a huge difference to how your nail painting experience goes.  Nobody wants to sit about for hours on end with wet nails trying to avoid chipping them only to put a huge obvious dent in one as soon as you feel brave enough to move.

 

For me, quick drying top coats totally changed how I felt about doing my nails.  There is no way I would change my polish as often as I do if I hadn't found a top coat (or three) which really make a difference to drying time while still giving my manicure great protection and an ultra shiny finish.

 

So, for today's post I thought I would introduce you to the top coats I use and love:

 

Sally Hansen Insta Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat

Kiko Gel Look Ultra Glossy Effect Top Coat

Boots No7 Stay Perfect Top Coat Touch dry in 60 seconds

 

The first quick drying top coat I found was Sally Hansen Insta Dri, I was amazed when I tried it as it actually did dry really fast!  Previously 'quick dry' top coats I had tried were never really up to much and certainly weren't touch dry within a few minutes.  With Insta Dri your manicure really is touch dry within a few minutes, it also leaves a lovely glossy shine on your nails.  I find the wear time with this top coat really good, although it is prone to tip wear at times, especially if you type a lot like I do.  I would say this is my favourite top coat although it's not my most used, simply because it can be quite costly if you go through as many bottle as I do!

 

The second top coat I tried was another I didn't really have high hopes for initially.  I first tried Boots No7 Stay Perfect Top Coat when I had a £5 voucher that needed using up and I had run out of nail colours to use it on.  With a voucher this top coat comes in at £2 which is a great price for a product which really does work.  The bottle says 'touch dry in 60 seconds' and it actually lives up to it's promise!  This is the top coat I use most often nowadays, simply because it's easy to get hold of, it's a great deal when the Boots vouchers are on and it really does work.  My nails dry fast, the polish lasts well and they look shiny and glossy just like you'd want.  Of the three this would be my top pick, for the money it just can't be beaten (although I wouldn't pay full price (£7) for it).

 

Finally, a recent edition to my collection, Kiko Gel Look Top Coat, this was sold to me as being the same finish as you'd get with a gel manicure cured under UV lights, never having had a gel manicure I can't really comment on how similar the finish is but what I can say is that this is another fast drying, ultra glossy look top coat which I really like.  The one issue I have had with it was that it tends to bubble slightly in the bottle meaning tiny bubbles can be carried onto your nails which then leave little holes and imperfections in the polish.  I've only had this issue when it's been a lot warmer, never at home in Scotland, so it's really only worth mentioning if you happen to live somewhere where heat may be an issue, not the UK then!  If you live in cooler climes then this one is definitely worth trying out.

 

I rarely experience shrinkage with any of these top coats, the worst offender is the Sally Hansen and even then it happens very, very rarely so it isn't something I would highlight as an issue at all with any of these top coats.  I also find they all work well over my stamping manicures and don't tend to drag the polish or smudge and smear my stampied images.  If I'm using them over stamping then I tend to apply a thicker layer and sort of float it over the whole nail rather than dragging the brush through the stamp too much, but even when I am less careful applying them I've never had much of an issue with them dragging or smearing my work.

 

With all of these top coats you can still dent or smear your polish, they aren't rock solid immediately but they dry fast enough that if you have to you can have 3 coats of polish and the top coat on and dry well within half an hour which for me is good enough.  I'm sure they are often dry sooner but 30 minutes is the minimum amount of time I tend to leave myself.

 

A good top coat will definitely make the difference but I still like to allow as long a time as possible to make sure my nails are properly set, for this reason I tend to paint my nails in the evening while watching TV so they get a good chance to set before I go to bed or have to go and do anything.

 

The major benefit for me with all these top coats is the shiny, glossy finish and the extended wear time of my polishes combined with knowing that if I did have to do my nails in a hurry I would have a good chance of getting out the door without them all being chipped within 5 minutes!

 

What top coats do you use?

Kiko Gel Look Topcoat

While I was in Kiko this visit I decided to try one of their topcoats to see how it fared in comparison to my current favourites.  I decided to try their Gel Look topcoat as an assistant had given me a demonstration of it on a previous visit and it seemed both fast drying and nicely shiny.

It was 4,90 euros in Spain and is available on the Kiko UK site for £4.90 - here.

Here's what Kiko have to say about it:

Ultra shine and fast-drying gel top coat.

A professional formulation to set and prolong the polish's hold, with a special "acrylic nails" effect and an extra-shine result.

Thanks to the professional flat brush, application is fast and easy.

Gel Look is formulated without adding abrasive ingredients such as Toluene, Camphor, DBP or Formaldehyde.

Hypoallergenic = formulated to ensure minimum instance of allergic reactions.
 

I was pretty impressed with how quickly the topcoat dried and it does leave a nice glossy finish on the nails, my polish lasted really well while I was wearing it too which is always a bonus, even though I was in and out of the sea and pool regularly.

The one small criticism I have of this top coat is that it seems prone to bubbling.  As you take the brush in and out of the bottle it seems to create small air bubbles in the polish which are then transferred onto your nails, although you can remove most of these by sweeping them off the nail any that remain end up leaving a little circular hole in your polish which really doesn't look good at all.

Although this didn't happen on every finger of every manicure it did happen fairly often which disappointed me a little, I was careful with application after I first noticed the issue so I don't think it's due to my technique.

It may however be due to weather, the heat in Spain seems to make polish much harder to work with - I often find colours don't apply quite so well while I'm out there as they do when I get them back to cool, damp Scotland - so I am keen to try this topcoat out now I'm back in the UK and see if the bubbles are heat related.

Overall this is not a bad topcoat at all, bubbling aside, but I'm not sure I would buy another bottle when Sally Hansen's Insta Dri is available for a similar price.