In case you may not have noticed...I am mad for nail polish and I really love doing my nails. I own way too many bottles of polish (I will do a post with my polish stash someday) and nothing relaxes me quite as much as the simple, repetitious task of painting your nails does. There's something quite therapeutic about choosing a colour to reflect your mood (or in some instances, influence your mood), and then spending a few minutes painting your nails...as it's quite a mindless task, it's an opportunity to let your brain rest, or it's also something you can do while watching television or talking on the phone (what can I say, I love multitasking)!
Now, I always, always stress to use a good quality basecoat and topcoat. Basecoat is important as it prevents your chosen nail colour from leaching into your nails and staining them, while topcoat adds shine and prevents undue wear on the polish, helping add longevity to your manicure. Here's a quick tip from me, if you want to keep your manicure looking as fresh as the day you applied it, I suggest adding topcoat every 2 days or so, as it adds shine and prevents the tips from wearing or chipping!
I used to use OPI basecoat and topcoat, but my topcoat was starting to get a bit gluggy, so I took the opportunity to order the Poshe topcoat from Crush Cosmetics not too long ago, during one of their regular sales. I love Crush as they have great sales from time to time (add them on Facebook so you'll never be left out) and they have great customer service. They occasionally throw in a great freebie too, which is always a win (check out a previous haul from them here)! Truthfully, I was having trouble deciding between Poshe and Seche Vite, but after some research online I decided on Poshe as SV has a reputation for causing shrinkage at the tips.
I put in an order for the Poshe topcoat and also a bottle of the Seche Vite Restore (to restore polishes which become a bit gluggy with time) and imagine my surprise when a bottle of the Poshe basecoat showed up instead! I gave Crush a quick call to explain the situation and they were fantastic, and fixed the problem immediately. They'd accidentally received a shipment of basecoat instead, and hadn't actually realised it until I emailed to tell them of the problem, so they kindly allowed me to keep the basecoat while they waited for a new shipment of topcoat to come in. They did offer a replacement from another brand but I was happy to wait for the Poshe topcoat, which they sent me within a couple of weeks.
I'm completely in love with both the base and topcoats (but more the topcoat, and more on that in a minute)! What's more, both the basecoat and topcoat are big 3 free, which means free of formaldehyde, toluene and DBP. The base coat comes with a white lid while the top coat comes with a black lid, as shown from the photos below (taken from the Poshe website). The darkest colours don't get through the basecoat and my polishes apply oh-so-smoothly on top! The basecoat dries within seconds and really helps create an even base for the polish.
The topcoat gives polishes a fantastic shine and prevents chipping and wearing for absolutely ages! I only applied a single layer of topcoat once, and it left my polish looking intact, without wearing or chipping at the tips, for about six days with an OPI polish. And what's even more amazing, is that applying the Poshe topcoat to wet OPI polish left me with dry nails almost immediately! That's almost unheard of with OPI polish! Any nail polish addict knows the pain of painstakingly applying each layer of polish, waiting for it to dry (and then doing pretty much everything to make sure it's bone dry), before going to bed only to wake up with pillow print on the aforementioned nails! Well, ladies, I guarantee that you will NOT have a problem with this if you use the Poshe topcoat!
I only have one wee complaint about these products, and that is the writing on the basecoat bottle is actually quite hard to make out (white on transparent, never a good idea), but the colour of the cap does mean that you won't run the risk of mixing the bottles up (I did mention it was a wee complaint, but it has to mentioned for the sake of an honest review).
I have long been a fan of OPI Drip Dry Drops (review to follow shortly, and which I tend to never let myself run out of), but dare I say it, they might actually be redundant now that I have this absolutely fantastic topcoat in my polish wardrobe! Out with the old, in with the new?
Trust me, you have to try it to believe it. It's also the only topcoat that would actually work with the Milani polish I posted about here. The Milani polish, while stunning, is pretty gritty and has a matte texture, and it practically swallowed any topcoat I put on top, with the exception of the Poshe topcoat which added a whole other dimension to the Milani manicure!
That's all from me, folks, I hope I've convinced you to at least think about the Poshe topcoat the next time you're in the market for one, as it's truly a one-of-a-kind product! Look out for more NOTD posts coming from me, now that I have this in my arsenal!
Much love,
MM.
x
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