Essie Stay Longer Ultimate Top Coat

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.

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 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.

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!

Trusty Essie did it again Top coat kept my nails beautiful for longer Kept them shiny, no chips or breaks. Will 100% be a staple in my nail kit from now on

Straight off the bat this top coat comes in a really nice quality embossed box which give it a expensive feel. Now to the formula. While applying the top coat the first thing I noticed was that it didn't have that really potent smell that most nail products have. This was honestly one of my favourite aspects of this product. It claims that it drys quickly which I agree with, it was completely dry within 2mins and was hard like a salon gel manicure which I also loved. It meant once it was dry I could instantly go about my day. And the shine was beautiful. The only part of the claims that didn't quite meet my expectations was that it said it had chip protection for up to 7 days. By day 2 of wearing it both my index fingers had chips on the ends however the rest of the finger did last longer until days 5 and 6 where they started to chip. By day 8 they all had chips. I like to say that this product really got put to the test. I have two small children so am constantly cleaning, hand washing and general rough wear and tear. I would definitely use this top coat again for the fact it doesn't smell awful and it dried down super hard so fast.

I have tried a lot of top coats over the years and this one is great! It arrived in a nice textured box which outlined the product specs, it's in a clear bottle, I did note the large wide brush does not go all the way down to the bottom, but that is pretty standard for nail products, I'd much rather have a large wide brush than a skinny one, as this makes application way easier. Proceeded to do my weekly skittle mani, with a base coat and two coats of polish, then when dry came the time for the top coat! This does smells strong, (but not offensively though) that smell goes away when you cap the bottle, smell does not transfer to the nails. A beautifully wide brush that coats the nail in a few sweeps and I noted the brush did not 'pull' the polish I had already applied, the formula self levelled as described and left my nails with an almost plump look and the shine was lovely! Drying time was good it cured fully in about 10mins. I noted there was a little tip wear on day 3 on my mani, which is super good as my nails are subjected to a lot with my job. Will make this my go to polish top cost for now as it is a really good polish with a great brush and formula, a winning combo if you ask me!

This lived up to its promise maintaining its strength and durability for a solid 5-6 days which is longer than any other brand I have used at home myself. Gave a nice shine and I would say I will likely buy it in the future.

I am someone who is very hard on their hands and have tried a few top coats that claimed to help protect your nail varnish and help it last longer. I found the Essie Top Coat does exactly that! After 4 days, it still looked great. It is easy to apply and does what it says it does. Very happy with this product and will recommend to all, especially those like me who are hard on their hands.