Quick Dry (Sinful Colors)

Consumer Reports recently performed a best buy study of nail polish brands out there and in a surprising win SinfulColors won. However, one of the only complaints was that SinfulColors didn't dry as fast as some of the other brands. I found this surprising, as I rate it comparable to China Glaze's drying time, and of course it depends on the polish type- textures dry faster than mattes which dry faster than shimmers which dry faster than cremes which dry faster than jellies.

It is important to note though, that SinfulColors has their own solution to this problem with Quick Dry. I didn't expect much from this product. As a faithful Seche Vite user, l stay critical of quick dry top coats. I was unexpectedly proved wrong. This product does as advertised.

It's not something I could swatch since it dries the polish but maintains the finish. I've tested it on mattes and textures, it just dries the polish without affecting it's finished look which is absolutely perfect. It is not a top coat- doesn't fix/hide minor flaws in applications, doesn't add a glossy shine- but it is a true quick dry.

The consistency is thin and oily and glides easily on the nail without marring the mani. True enough, nails dry quickly and you can touch them or brush them on fabrics, though I'd still be wary of bumping them against sharp or hard surfaces. A great buy, especially for the price.

Matte Me Crazy (NYC)

Matte Me Crazy (NYC)
Price: $1.24
MSRP: $1.99

I feel like I haven't done a good enough review of Matte Me Crazy. It's publicized as a top coat with matte finish. So instead of making your nails glossier, it makes them matte. Which is pretty cool and gives a lot of flexibility. It's easy to apply and needs only one coat. The difference is pretty immediate and like most matte finishes it dries really quickly. A steal at less than two bucks for something you can use with all your other polishes.

glossy

matte 

While matte doesn't work for every polish in my opinion, it does interesting things to some polishes, especially glittery and shimmer polish. The pics above are Deep Purple (Sally Hansen) with Cheatin' (Pure Ice) glitter. As you see, matte is still shiny and can attract flash but it's just not glossy.

I will note that I haven't ever used Matte Me Crazy as a long lasting top coat, so I don't know what that may mean for it as one. My recommendation is that you use your normal top coat as usual, then place the matte finish over it (and remember to wrap!) as the last coat. To get back to a glossy shine, just use a non-matte clear polish over it! Simple as that!

Here's a side by side:

 

Left (glossy); Right (matte)

Foundations: First Base (Essie) & Out The Door (INM)

First Base (Essie)
Price: $6.50 (ebay)
MSRP: $8.00

First time buying a base coat!


I'd always thought that I didn't need them, especially since I never kept my color on for too long before I changed it so I never saw any deterioration of a particular polish. I'm going to try it now just to see what it does for strengthening my nails and reducing the staining that might happen from a dark color. I chose Essie since I figured that this could be one I could splurge a little on (just one coat an application!) and hope for quality.

It applies incredibly smooth and dries pretty damn quick. I've found that polish is easier to apply when I use First Base and even the color looks better sometimes (especially the metallics).

And for the top coat:

Out The Door (INM)
Price: $4.99
MSRP: $5.49

So far so good.

It's not goopy like other top coats I've tried and its brush works great with it. It's easy to apply and unless you don't have any amount on the brush, there's no damage to your other coats and that's the second best thing about this top coat.

The best thing is that it does actually dry pretty fast. Obviously, if you ding your nail polish hard against something without give, it'll be damaged but if you're looking to avoid the basics, like when you brush against clothes, this should do the trick.

Also, cheaper than Seche Vite; third best thing.