Fun top coats

I am a nail varnish/polish freak. As a result I have amassed a huge collection and of course, it doesn't last for a very long time, so I do try to keep the amount I have down to a reasonable number. One way of doing this is with different top coats. With a couple of different top coats and a few colours you can get so many unique looks. It's also useful if you're bored of a colour and feel bad that you no longer wear it. Neglected nail polishes, this is your friend!

My two current favourite top coats are Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Hidden Treasure and Model's Own in Indian Ocean. These are both pretty famous products, so I'm definitely not breaking any ground here, but I thought I'd talk about them anyway.

I know Sally Hansen was limited edition but I just bought a couple more bottles of this the other week in a cheap shop in town, so it's still around!


The Model's Own Indian Ocean is more readily available in Boots.


Both of these polishes are duochrome which may be my one true love. I love duochrome lips, eyes (MAC Club!!) and nails. If I could work it into blushes and foundation.. well, I probably wouldn't. But I'd be tempted.


Because they are both duochrome they add a lot more depth to what would just be a plain single-colour polish. Sometimes I like that, but sometimes it's good spice it up a bit in the nail department.

Indian Ocean has blue, purple and gold colours
 and looks different in different lights

I've found that both of these last a long time on my nails. I normally plan to put a proper, clear top coat over the top of them, but always forget. Luckily these last. I would say I get 3-4 days with no chipping and up to a week of acceptable wear out of them. I'm a bit fussy about chipped nails though, so for someone who isn't bothered by it could wear it for a lot longer. 


I haven't tried to wear Indian Ocean on its own, mainly because I saw swatches of how many layers it needs to become opaque (it doesn't ever seem to reach a good level of opacity), and I just don't think Hidden Treasure would look good on its own. However, they are worth owning simply to layer over colours. 

Hidden treasure is mainly a gold colour
 but it also has some green in it

On a negative note, I have read that Model's Own Nail Polishes contain 'The Big Three' (formaldehyde, toluene and DBP) which isn't great, I guess? I'm not a scientist so I won't pretend to know that I know a lot about this as I have not looked into it enough. But if these things freak you out (and maybe they should? I don't know) then give Model's Own a miss. They do sell a Big Three-free line, but why can't all of their products be free from horrible chemicals?


SWATCHES:

Model's Own Indian Ocean

Model's Own Indian Ocean layered over the top of Revlon Lilac Pastelle

Model's Own Indian Ocean layered over the top of Technic Pretty Pastels (no other name given..)

I've only Indian Ocean with purple colours but I think it would work on all sorts of other colours, especially blues. One coat is quite subtle and wouldn't clash with any colour underneath. I think it could look really cool over black.

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure:

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure layered over Nails Inc. Powder Pink 
(exclusive to this month's InStyle magazine)

Hidden treasure is SO GOOD over a nude colour. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that, but I am not exaggerating the absolute beauty of those two combined.

I can't pick a favourite out of these as they serve different purposes. Well, I use them both as a top coat to make the colour underneath look more interesting, but one's cool toned and one's warm. So they're completely different? If you want something to make your nails look a little different, these two are perfect!