Glossy.

For the longest time, I've been using essence cosmetic's Quick Dry Top Coat to set my nail polish. I just keep buying it because, well, it's relatively cheap. For the most part, it does its job- it coats and fairly dries quickly. It has a thin consistency and it's easy to apply. It's a good budget top coat but my main issue with it is that it takes a while for the inside to dry up. On the surface, it's smooth and dry but when I bump my nails accidentally, my supposedly dry polish will smudge and dent and it annoys me because sometimes that causes me to repaint the ruined nail and the whole process will repeat over again. It's petty to stress over something as small as this so I thought it's best to move on and find a replacement top coat ASAP. 

After looking for top coats in Shopee, I settled for the H&M Pure Gloss Top Coat. I've seen this product before while I was browsing the beauty section in H&M in Singapore but I never thought of picking it up. Since I needed a new top coat, this product seemed interesting, plus it was definitely affordable. So, I gave it a try. And I'm SO glad I did!

You all know how much I LOVE the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat right? Up until now, I haven't seen a good replacement for it. But I gotta say, the H&M Pure Gloss Top Coat is a good close alternative to that one. They're not the same, per se, but I'm pretty sure the H&M Top Coat is the best one among the non-Seche Vite top coats I've tried. This product offers high-shine finish, quick drying time, and instant polish protection.

Can I just start by saying how much I love the bottle of this top coat? It just looks so chic and clean! The top coat comes with a wide brush with quite soft and flexible bristles, a dream to work with! I just hate it when polish bristles are so stiff and too narrow and thankfully, this one has the opposite.

Its formula is thin but not too watery which means the top coat won't spread out too much and pool at the cuticles. But for me, the main highlight is how it keeps its promise of quick drying time and instant protection. Whenever I use this, I seem to never have dents and scratches on my polish anymore! Once it sets and dries, it sets and dries the whole way through, not just on the surface. It's really quite impressive! Plus, that high shine it gives to my nails? C'est magnifique!

I can honestly say that this can be Seche Vite's more affordable alternative. If you have more money to spend, then by all means, go for Seche Vite because that one's worth every penny. But if you're like me who's on a budget, the H&M Pure Gloss Top Coat won't let you down. It delivers on giving a high-shine effect but most of all, it really is quick drying and makes sure your polish stays intact for as long as possible. Now that I think about it, I think I only experience polish chipping after, what, 5-6 days? IKR. 

Guess I have a new go-to top coat!