Essie Stay Longer Ultimate Top Coat

Cute looking bottle but completely overwhelmed by the strong smell as soon as partially opened. I tried on naked nails initially. It has a nice wide brush, it dried quickly and gave a nice shine. I used in the evening and then washed my hair the next morning and could see bits flaking off while drying my hair. By mid morning I could see that it had pretty much disappeared from the top half of my nails (and spent most if a very boring meeting picking at the loose bits!). It came of nicely with very little remover and I tried again over a pale pink polish but the experience was the same - smelly, shiny, quick drying, chipped quickly.

Not for me but may work for others!

I struggle to find the time to do my nails at home, mostly due to busy schedules but also because I find that my nails chip so frequently that I'm always needing to re-do them! I was super excited to try out this new top coat to see if it could help keep my nails fresh and looking good for more than a couple of days at a time. Overall I was impressed - this top coat performs much better (2-3 days longer wear) than my usual top coat, and holds up to daily wear and tear (and a lot of typing at work!) without chipping or cracking much better. I also love the shiny gloss it gives my nails, which also seems to last longer without dulling, too! I'm looking forward to putting this top coat to the test a couple more times, but I would consider purchasing this again and would recommend it to a friend.

Time after time I have seen well known nail polish brands make claims that just don’t stick, however Essies Stay Longer Top Coat lives up to its word. Working in a job that means my hands are in water often and dealing with cleaning products I was shocked to see the top coat actually lasted 6 days. I definitely feel this product is salon quality and provided good protection in order to stop the polish from chipping. The product dries quickly and leaves a nice finish - I would recommend this product to anyone looking to prolong their nail polish life!

I tested this on three polishes, an actual Essie colour (For the twill of it) a Chichi Purple Holographic and a random Kmart one. I put the same colours on left and right, and put the two coats of top coat on my right hand since it is the one that gets the most chipping. I picked the colours I did because I know how long I usually have until they look crusty. The holographic usually chips and peels a bit within a couple days but it was looking good after 5 days. I had a couple chips off the end after that. The Essie one for some reason usually looks dull after doing the dishes etc, that one stayed looking good too. The Kmart one was a write off, pretty colour but it cracked and chipped off so probably not very helpful for longevity on crappy cheap polishes. Was very pleased that it also dried pretty quickly compared to some other brands I have tried and I hate waiting for coats to dry. I gave it to a friend who loves nail polish to try too and she has kept the rest of my bottle.