Beauty Talk : Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat vs. Seche Vite

It's another Beauty Talk Tuesday!

See, I'm ADD so having topics and some kind of editorial calendar in my mind is really...well a joke. I'm really trying though! Tomorrow is A Girl and Her Money Wednesday!! Get excited folks. Get excited.

So anyway, if you follow me on instagram, or know me in real life, you know I love me some nail polish and I love painting my nails. Sometimes a few times a week. No joke my mother at one point told me my boss was going to think I had too much time on my hands. I personally don't think my boss gives a whip what I do at home on my own time, but whatever. I also work in a somewhat 'creative' field. So blue hair, and neon nails with polka dots are cool here. Seriously today I have earrings on that go to my shoulders.

ANYWAY (see...ADD)

I love to paint my nails, but I hate that it takes forever for polish to dry. I also don't like if my nails feel bumpy (i.e. with glitter polish) so for awhile now Seche Vite has been my go to top coat. That stuff makes your nails INSTANTLY dry, and it also creates a perfect, smooth, glassy finish over your manicure. It's amazeballs. It has its downsides though. It has a completely awful chemical smell. It funks up the whole room. I don't use it anywhere NEAR Boomer or the cat. It also gets thick and gooey halfway through the bottle so you have to buy the Seche Restore drops. I wouldn't use regular thinner, it just didn't do well for me. Once it starts to get gooey like this, shrinkage becomes a huge issue. Basically you paint it over your mani, and as it dries it starts to pull away at the edges making your nails look like they have tip wear. Ick. Also...if you troll YouTube like I do you know there is much discussion about the chemical content and whether it can cause health problems, birth defects, ect.

So...as my last bottle got goopy, I went ahead and bought some Sally Hansen Mega Shine. It was on sale.

It also dries fast, but not as fast as Seche Vite. You get a nice super shiny finish, but it doesn't have the glass like quality that Seche does. It made my mani last for a full seven days though, through work, hair washing (mine and Boomer's), dishes, laundry ect. Although keeping my nails the same manicure for a week was a STRUGGLE.

Mani Day 1

Mani Day 7

Verdict: I don't think I can quit Seche. So I'll be buying some of the Restore drops. Only for mani's with glitter though, or that have multiple layers that need smoothing. (i.e. nail art) For 'regular' manicures though, I'll definitely be subbing in Mega Shine.

Anyone have a holy grail top coat they recommend?