Top Coats - Part Three

Purchased By Me

Tonight I have the 3rd installment of my Nail Care Series. We are going to tackle top coats today. As I stated in my other installments, I want to remind everyone these are just my preferences. Everyone reacts differently to products, and I can not promise that everyone will have the same positive experience with these products as I do.

TOP COATS

My Current Favorite combination to date that I use most often is:
 NYC Grand Central Station and Seche Vite.

Grand Central is a pretty impressive fast dry top coat that I apply under my Seche Vite. It is very inexpensive and works perfectly for what I need it to. It can be purchased at most drug stores.

Next is Seche Vite. Now, you may be asking yourself why I use BOTH. Why do I layer NYC Grand Central under my Seche Vite? Reason: Seche Vite is one of those top coats that has crazy behavioral problems. Mainly it causes what is called 'shrinkage'. This doesn't occur in all users, but it does with me.

Shrinkage: When the top coat causes the nail polish below to shrink ,so to speak, and pull away from the nail edges. It's most evident on the free edge (tip of your nail). The best and easiest way to describe it would be: It makes your nails look as if the polish you have on is worn out like tip wear.

Seche Vite is infamous for shrinkage. You can prevent shrinkage by thinning the polish with Restore or you can layer it over another top coat, and that is what I do. It may seem like a waste to use another top coat underneath, but it is very worth it. To date I have not found a better top coat than Seche Vite.

POSITIVES:
 *Self Leveling
(levels everything better than any other top coat)
*Best Shine
*Fastest Drying Time

NEGATIVES:
*Causes Shrinkage
*Needs to be thinned CONSTANTLY

Keep in mind if you would like to use Seche Vite you have to decide if the extra steps are worth it for you, and for me they are. Seche Vite can be purchased at Sally's Beauty Supply.



Next up is Posh. A lot of people that refuse to use Seche Vite tend to use this as an alternative. It does not seem to have the shrinkage problems that Seche Vite has. It is not without its faults as well. To me this tends to be too temperamental for me.  Some times I have great luck with it and others I do not. I have had polishes where it wrinkled the finish completely and I had to start over. It does not dry as fast as Seche Vite and it is not as shiny. The times it does work, it is a nice top coat. I have not decided if I'm going to purchase this again once I finish off this existing bottle.This polish also needs thinner regularly to keep it from getting too thick.  Posh can be purchased at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Next is Good to Go by Essie.  This top coat I LOVE. It does not dry as fast as Seche Vite, but it is very shiny. It does not require the thinning that the two others above do, and it does not cause shrinkage. Unfortunately, it does not have that beautiful self leveling property that Seche Vite has that I really love and think is very important in a top coat. This can be purchased at Walgreens.

(*please note that both the Good to Go and Posh do not have a normal faint pink coloring, this is because I used them on red polishes that caused the discoloration).

The next two polishes I use occasionally, they are both also popular favorites with the nail blogging community. Sally Hansen's Mega Shine and Insta-Dry. Both of these polishes can be purchased in any major drug store. I know many nail bloggers that swear by these two top coats. I like both, but to me they lack the self leveling power, shine, and drying speed that Seche Vite has.

Many will argue that they are better than Seche Vite, so I believe it is a personal preference. I think it's bet to try each, until you find the one that really wows you. 

Another top coat that I use often is Seche Vite UV. There are times when I have ZERO time and need my nails to dry yesterday.  This is when I turn to this.

This can be purchased at Sally Beauty Supply and is an absolute MUST for me at times. This does require the use of a UV LAMP/LIGHT. After applying this I place my hands under the dryer, and in minutes my polish is dried solid. I can be washing dishes and cleaning within 20 minutes or less. I swear by this stuff and if you can afford to purchase a light, this is a must have. I will go into more detail on my light in my last and final installment of this series, so stay tuned for that.

Another must have top coat for me is Glitter Food (aka Fix a Flat) by Nail Pattern Boldness. Glitter Food can be purchased HERE. This is a must for the glitter junkies out there like myself.  If you want a really smooth finish to a normally bumpy glitter... this is this answer. I apply one or two coats of this and then finish it off with Seche Vite. The reason I finish it off with Seche Vite is Glitter Food does dry matte, so add your favorite top coat to bring back the shine. I have had the bumpiest of all glitters feel smooth as glass after applying this.

Last in my arsenal of must have top coats is MATTE top coat. Everyone should own at least one of these. I have tried both China Glaze Matte Magic and Hard Candy's matte top coat.

I prefer, by far, Hard Candy's. It applies much easier for me and is much more affordable. Unfortunately, Hard Candy just discontinued this when they introduced their new line recently. It was pretty heart breaking for me because I will have to search for a new brand. I was smart enough to raid my local Walmarts and collect up as many as I could find before Hard Candy switched over to the new line.

These should last me for awhile. I will have to face it eventually, just not any time soon :)

I hope the following information was helpful. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below and I will address them as soon as I can! Thanks for visiting.

Purchased By Me

Happy St. Patrick's Day

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Today I have a fun post. I did some long anticipated stamping! Yes, you heard me correctly.....I stamped! 

I used Zoya Sharon and Maya Cosmetics Envy. Both polishes were the perfect colors for St. Patrick's Day. I added in some striping tape and rhinestones, and came up with this design :)

The Zoya Sharon is a Limited Edition polish that Zoya was kind enough to include in a recent promo. The Promo: When you made a purchase of 20$ or more, you received Sharon as a free gift! How amazing is Zoya for offering this?!  This is now my new favorite orange. Orange polishes, similar to yellow, tend to be thick and difficult to apply. This orange was not at all like most of my others. This formula on Sharon was very easy to work with, was not clumpy or streaky. I will be using this as my go to orange from here on out. You will be seeing this again here at ThePolishHoochie.

The Maya Cosmetics Envy is a new release. This formula was on the thick side. It is so packed full of glitters, it causes it to be extremely thick. I did not thin this polish and wish I had. It's has beautiful sparkle and is unique in my collection. Even thought it was thick (which I know is fixable) I really love the look of it overall. This is a keeper for me.

The stamping plate I used is an older no frills plate that was included in a set of 6 plates. I purchased the set HERE. The set now sells for UNDER 5$ USD. I recently ordered all three sets of Bundle Monster plates, so I figured I better start stamping. This is the first time I have stamped in over a year (maybe longer).

I usually do not do these type of manicures, so I thought it would be fun for St. Patrick's Day.

I used striping tape from THE BORN PRETTY STORE for my middle finger, I was going for a plaid look. I'm pleased with how it came out.

Use code EPL91 to save 10% on all orders from The Born Pretty Store.

I used Konad Special Polishes in both White and Green for the stamped Shamrocks. 

I love how this all came together. I hope you guys had just as much fun with your St. Patrick's Day Manicures as I did. 

Did you do a St. Paddy's Manicure this year? Please link yours in the comments if you did, I would love to see them!!!

Google Reader going away so here I come Bloglovin'!

It seems Google is getting rid of GOOGLE READER which is how most of us follow blogs here at Google/Blogspot. This will take effect July 1st, 2013.

I have done my best to provide a bunch of alternative ways of following me instead......

Ways to keep connected to ThePolishHoochie: (click the icons below)

I have also seen many of you using BLOGLOVIN' to follow, so I created a bloglovin' account as well.  I only recently subscribed so I have NO IDEA what I'm doing there yet lol. I will add a bloglovin' link to the page sidebar as soon as I can figure it all out. For now click below!

(Edit) I have also added Google +. The link is in the right side bar.

Milani Texture Swatches

I wasn't able to track down the Mailani Texture polishes in my area stores, but I was able to order them online. I am so glad I did! 

Tonight I have swatches of all 6 colors of the new Limited Edition Milani Textured polishes, and they are FABULOUS!!

 

When I originally saw these new 'textured' polishes I really wasn't a fan at first, but like everything else nail related I at least had to give it a try. I took a chance and ordered this entire collection, and I have no regrets. These polishes are so pretty and it's LOVE for me.

This set is Limited Edition set, so you should grab it while you can. If you are not able to find it in your local drugstores you can still purchase them online HERE.

ON TO THE SWATCHES.....

AQUA SPLASH:

This was one of my two favorites of the collection. The formula was easy to apply on this one. Not all the formulas where the same, and this was the best of my bottles. All the polishes were difficult to apply at first, but once you get the hang of it, it became very simple. I used mostly 2 coats and sometimes 3. You don't want to make it too thick. I noticed the polish would remain shiny if you layered it too thick. It was best to do this in thin coats and wait for each layer to completely dry, before you moved to the next coat. This way you got the best matte textured finish. 

I know this may look like a scratchy sand paper nightmare to some, but it was totally fine for me. It did not feel bad at all. It didn't snag clothing etc, and felt only like there was a slight difference to the surface of the nail versus regular polish. How gorgeous is this. It's like sugar coated nail!!!!

PURPLE STREAK:

This one is so super pretty. It's a bold purple and really worked good with my skin tone. The formula on this was also great. My Hubby's fav color is purple, so I love this one.

I really didn't want to take this off to swatch the next color. That was the most difficult part of swatching these. Once they were on, I did not want to take them off.

YELLOW MARK:

This was my absolute favorite. I LOVE LOVE this color and with the combo of the texture is is now  one of my ALL time favorite polishes in my entire collection now. The formula on this was a little tougher, but usually yellow polish is a bear to work with in any brand/finish.

I can not get over how much I love this one. 

This polish reminds of flock nails but way neater to apply and more textured.

TAINTED IN RED:

This one is a super neat tomato red. I loved the color of this one. The formula on this was easy, but almost too watery. I had a few issues with it running into my cuticles. You have to be really precise with this one. If you get this on your cuticles, it's tough to get off.

SHADY GRAY:

This was another favorite in the collection. This formula was great and easy to apply. I loved the look of this. It looked like a freshly paved road lol. I thought it looked so amazing.

 

 If you love gray polishes do not miss this one, it;s a must have for all gray lovers. 

SPOLIED IN FUSCHIA:

This was probably my least favorite of all the polishes. I am a pink lover, but this formula was blah to me. It was way watery and so tough to keep off the cuticles. I think it was that it made my fingers look to pinkish and everything looked kinda blah. You can see how I got some on my cuticle of my ring finger and it still there. I'm so glad I swatched this last because it was hard to get this pink off. It was a stainy type for me. Is stainy a word? lol

It still is a pretty polish and I don't regret having it.

I hope you guys enjoyed these. I'm anxious to swatch the other textured polishes I have. 

What do you guys think? Is this polish YEAH or NAY for you? I would love to hear your thoughts on these. Leave your comments below.

Maya Cosmetic New Release

I have some really pretty polishes to share with you all tonight. Check out these new beautiful polishes that were just recently released by Maya Cosmetics.

              Left to Right: Daydreaming, Cupcake Violent and Paramour.

DAY DREAMING

This is a Sheer sky blue base with blue shimmer and white, teal, purple, and pink satin glitter. As you can see it's very buildable in 3 coats. This is a fantastic color for the Spring. The formula was very easy to work with. I only had to thin it slightly as I do most of my Indie Polishes.

I took a lot of pictures of these, but they are pretty spectacular and it was hard not to.

A full size bottle retails for just $9.50 USD. The glitters suspended in this are so delicate and pretty. This color screams Spring for me.

VIOLENT CUPCAKE

This polish has the most amazing shimmer. I loved this, it's a lavender base with holo micro glitter, silver glitter, scattered holo pigment, and violet shimmer. 

The holo glitter is fantastic in this. This is 3 coats alone, very buildable and opaque.

Again, the formula was great for me. I did have to thin this a bit more than most, but it was perfection to apply after that. I like my formulas super thin. This is my favorite out of all Maya Cosmetics that have tried to date.

PARAMOUR

This is a pale pink base with rose pink and black glitter. BAR GLITTERS TOO.

LOVE THIS ONE! For those that follow my blog you all know how I have a soft spot for bar glitters. I am probably one of the few that love them. I feel they are highly misunderstood lol. 

To me they give the polish a very unique look. This reminds me of a Barbie Doll pink with a kick. This is 3 coats alone. Very Jellyish. Is that a word? lol.

Do not fear the bar glitter!!! :) Another great formula and easy to apply.

These polishes can be found at Maya Cosmetics Online store HERE and retail for $9.50. These are beautiful fun Spring colors. 

(*these polishes were sent to me for my honest review)