INM Out the Door vs. Julep Fast Drying Topcoat

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Hello there. I promised to give a comparison of Julep Fast Drying Topcoat and INM Out the Door (OTD) Fast Drying Topcoat, so here it is. Both topcoats are thin, almost watery (My bottle of OTD is a little thicker because I've been using it longer). They have a similar odor, although Julep's topcoat smells the slightest bit like skunk in the bottle, not on the nail.

The Julep brush holds a lot of polish, so it was necessary to wipe it off several times before applying it to the nail. I have a 2.5 oz bottle of OTD, so the brush is very long and hard to handle. I actually use an old Revlon topcoat bottle for OTD instead, because it is smaller and the brush is a little wider; I think it prevents the topcoat from thickening too quickly too.

Both topcoats were dry to the touch within 2 minutes. OTD seemed to cure against dents slightly faster than the Julep topcoat. The major difference between these two topcoats was in terms of shine. If you look at the pictures above, you can clearly see the window grille reflected in the nails painted with OTD, whereas you can only make out the shape of the window in the Julep coated nails.

Let me show you pictures of my nails after 4 days very tough wear (I actually broke 2 nails over the weekend). If you are sensitive to chippy nail polish, please read no further.

First, a disclaimer, that terribly chipped left middle finger was mostly the result of a silk patch falling off my nail. Overall, the two topcoats performed about equally in protecting the manicure from damage. That said, I will continue to use INM Out the Door Fast Drying Topcoat. If I need a bottle, I can just hop in the car and go to Sally's to pick one up and I love a shiny topcoat.

What is your favorite topcoat? What do you like about it?

My next manicure is China Glaze Optical Illusion. I'm wearing both topcoats again to see if there is any difference with the glitter, but I don't think I'll have anything to report on that front.

Stamped art on Nfu Oh 61 and Julep Renee

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Hello again. Here is another mangled manicure. I was truly smitten with this manicure. I think that Julep Renee is a perfect spring polish. The formula was a little thicker than most, but still super smooth and creamy. I stamped over Renee with Revlon ColorStay Amethyst using bornprettystore's m69. I had some trouble getting the image to pick up and apply completely, but I was pleased with how the two purples complimented one another. The purples brought me right into the springtime mood. I don't have a holographic polish basecoat, so I used essie matte about you as the basecoat. I topped the tip of the nail with Nfu Oh 61. The application was a little streaky and difficult, but I think that it's just a matter of practice to determine how much polish you need on the brush to get even coverage. I then stamped over the join of the purple and holographic polish with bornprettystore's M19.

Here is where I made my mistake. I will not use a topcoat over holographic nail polish again. The manicure looked nice, but would have looked worlds better with the full holographic effect of the polish. As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, topcoat eliminated the purple flash from the holographic polish.

This was definitely a short-lived manicure. After only 4 days, I experienced some significant chipping. I tried to touch up the tips, but the polish just wanted to keep chipping. Normally, when a polish chips so quickly, I don't wear it again except as accents, but Nfu Oh 61 is so spectacular that I will accept it as a one to three day manicure and just enjoy staring at its flashiness for those few days.

What polishes or colors bring your mind to spring? Any favorite holographic polishes?



Head over and take a look at some of the beautiful manicures at the nail files-week 16.

I'll be sharing my TARDIS Galaxy nails next week. I am in Doctor Who withdrawal right now, so I decided to soothe my longing with some nail varnish therapy. Happy polishing.

~Alexis

How to turn your holographic polish into a flat, boring manicure

Pin It . . . Or "Why I didn't follow the instructions of many wise bloggers who know tons more than I do about getting the most out of holographic nail polishes."

I read it on several blogs. "When using a holographic polish, do not use a topcoat." But then I found a single commentary suggesting that once a topcoat is completely dry, your holographic polish returns to its stunning appearance. Lies!

Two facts about holographic polish that bear repeating: 1. Holographic polish chips very quickly. Do not expect to get a week's wear out of it. 2. Adding a topcoat to holographic polish dramatically decreases the holographic effect of the polish.

I figured, given fact number 1 about holographic polish, that the diminished flash of the polish would be worth it if a topcoat increased wear time. Topcoat didn't add wear time. The polish had chipped on several nails by the end of two days. And the topcoat completely eliminated the purple flash from the polish. It was still pretty, but compared with the beauty of the pure polish, it looked like a flat grey. So, please heed my warning. Enjoy your holographic polishes topcoat-free.

I now want to take a moment to thank two wonderful bloggers for nominating me for "The Versatile Blogger Award." Thank you Ria of rialovespawlish.com and Emma of emmas-advice.blogspot.com for really making me feel the love.

There are a number of great blogs out there and I enjoy all of the ones I follow. Here are a couple that I really love visiting:
Nail Polish Anonymous: She makes me drool over gorgeous indie polishes.
Konad & Me: She never disappoints with her creative stamped nail art and her "eye of the day" pictures are beautiful.
Colores de Carol: Her manicures cover the entire spectrum, from elegant and ladylike to whimsical and fun. Tons of inspiration to be found there.

Have any of you found a good way to increase holo wear time? What are some of your favorite blogs?

I will show you the complete manicure pictured above later this week. Despite it's quick chipping and some other little problems, it has to be one of my favorite manicures so far. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

~Alexis

Matte mani without matte polish

Pin It A couple of weeks ago, I went to five shops in search of a matte topcoat. After failing to find it at the fifth shop, I tried to discover if it was possible to gain a matte finish without a matte nail polish. I found advice on The Adventures of Goddess Gorgeous. She suggests that a matte finish can be achieved simply by breathing warm, moist air onto regular nail polish.
I went home to test this method and found the finish to be much more matte than when I did not breathe on the polish. The finish is not as smooth as you get when using a matte topcoat like Essie Matte About You.

These are completely dry swatches of Revlon Midnight Affair; on the left are two coats of polish without topcoat. It is definitely shiny. In the middle, I breathed on two coats of wet polish on and off for about 30 seconds. It has a matte finish, but you can notice along the side, where the breath wasn't as even that there is a little cloudiness. It almost looks like salt stains in the polish. On the far right, the polish was topped with Essie Matte About You. It has a bold, even matte finish.

In my opinion, it is worth it to get a matte topcoat for the very defined matte finish, but if you don't have a matte polish available, you can try out the look by simply breathing warm, moist air over the wet polish for a few seconds.