I finally got my lightbox set up so I’m excited to finally take pictures with it (I was getting tired of taking pictures outside, it’s such a hassle to wait for daylight). So I grabbed my two favorite Nubar polishes from my collection just to test it out. Indigo Illusion is SUCH a gorgeous color & it applies so well. From this angle, it looks green & gold, but when you hold the bottle upright, it looks like a dusty blue/purple color. I’m a sucker for duochromes. The bottle next to it is Nubar 2010, the flakies top coat; perfect accent to any nail polish color.

Idk if many of you are familiar with this…but…

Milani Gems = Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday DUPE.

Maybe even better.

My DL bottle contains a LOT of silver hex glitters; I don’t know if that’s how it is for other people who own it too, but I like a lot more color variety! And when I look at my Milani Gems bottle, it seems like it’s more mixed & not completely taken over by silver. I love it! Plus it’s about 75% less than what you’d get DL Happy Birthday for. I got mine at Target :)

OPI Serena Williams Glam Slam set: Rally Pretty Pink & Red Shatter

Rally Pretty Pink is REALLY gorgeous when you look at the bottle. It’s supposed to be a duochrome, more like a mix of purple/gold/bronze, but when I applied it, it was more gold/bronze than anything. It’s still pretty though, don’t get me wrong, but I wish I could see the duo-chrome effect more. Anyways, I loved the way the Red Shatter was applied. It was smoother than the white & although it looks sheer on the brush, it goes on opaque in just one coat. I can’t wait to try it with other colors!

So I’m going to compare these two very popular fast-drying top coats.

INM Out the Door:
-takes a longer time to dry; it stays sticky ‘til it’s dry
-bubbles appear if it’s too thick
-a bit streaky
-the wear is better
-thinner formula
-doesn’t shrink
-about $5 at Sallys, I have no idea how much at other locations.

Seche Vite:
-amazing shine
-dries quickly
-gets too thick once the bottle’s half empty
-shrinks
-perfect for coating thick glitter polishes
-costs about $8 at certain locations (I get it for much cheaper..if you’re in LA/OC I can let you know where)

I know everyone has different reviews on these two top coats, but I’ve always stuck with Seche Vite. The other day, I bought a huge Seche Vite bottle kit that also comes with the regular size just to refill whenever I run out (it was only $15! I Twitpic’d it here). I have two kids, and with all that’s going on, I always need my nails to dry faster. When I was using Out the Door, my nails got messed up in a couple minutes. I also saw the streaks & it still felt sticky. I often use glitter polishes & Seche Vite seems to smooth them out perfectly, all with a great shine. However with INM you do save more money, no shrinkage & you do get less wear over a few days. I’ll be keeping my INM as back up.

What do you think? What’s your favorite top coat?