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April 25, 2013

Seche Vite - A Love/Hate Relationship

I admit, only recently have I been getting more involved with my nails. I don't always have the patience for nail polish, so a good quick dry topcoat is needed.

With the many reviews out on the blogosphere about Seche Vite, I decided to give it a try. Even if some people needed to use a thinner halfway through the bottle.
Seche Vite was used on the accent finger. Only with these "Sand" polishes have I not had any problems with Seche Vite

First thing I noticed was the smell. Oh.My.Gosh. It smells like something out of my dad's garage. Bf says some sort of very strong glue - one that he'd used when building his kit cars. Joked that this is what they're referring to when talking about kids sniffing glue. Seriously, don't use this in a small unventilated area.

Once applied, it dried very quickly. I'd say within about 2 minutes you're safe to do some typing or other light stuff. Within 5 minutes you're pretty safe to carry on with your day without any worries (probably even sooner, but I don't like to take chances). It also gives a nice shine.
When it starts to lift & peel, it'll either take off all the polish or only a part of it, as well as part of the topcoat

Now, the not so pretty side of this (other than the smell). If you apply more than one layer, it does seem to make the polish shrink quite noticeably. Within about 2 days (or less sometimes), you'll notice that your lovely manicure is starting to lift or peal at the edges. The peeling will do one of two things: It'll either remove part of the polish underneath and also some of the topcoat from the rest of the nail or pull off the entire manicure. I have actually successfully removed polish from all 10 nails just from pealing/lifting it off. And the damage to your nails afterwards when this happens! It's horrible.
If you tend to pick at your polish when/if it lifts, this is the damage that Seche Vite leaves behind

This happened regardless of the base coat and polishes used.

This was about $7.99 and in my eyes, not worth it if you're looking for a somewhat long term solution. It's only good if you're in a hurry to get out of the house for an event and didn't really have the proper amount of time to do your nails (so 1 day/night only).

I'm still on the hunt for a quick dry topcoat and I would not purchase this again.

*hugz*

-Sam

5 comments:

  1. Have you tried the Sally Hansen Diamond Shine ? I love this stuff!

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  2. we love revlon's top coats. you should give them a try. They dry really fast and their finish is amazing!

    http://mkstyleramblings.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. I've been hearing lots about the Revlon top coat lately. I think I'll be picking one up. Any in particular you would suggest?

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  3. I've been over the moon about my current one, Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Fast Dry Top Coat... it's in the black bottle. At my Shoppers it was $8.99 but it's probably cheaper else where. It's a thin formula and your nails look seriously shiny and dry in a minute. I'll be doing a post on it later this week, I'm in love :P

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  4. I have the same problem with Seche Vite if I allow the polish to dry too long before applying. Seche Vite has to be applied to wet, wet polish (as in, within seconds of applying) to bond with it, otherwise it'll just sit on top, dry out and peel, taking the polish with it. It also works best if you've applied a fairly thick layering of polish (I'd say three coats, plus base coat) and if you go right onto the skin with it and wrap it around the tip of your nail to avoid shrinkage. I hated Seche Vite until I learned these few tips and now it's my favourite top coat, and my polish doesn't start chipping for 5 or 6 days and looks presentable for a week in most cases. Unfortunately, there's no way to avoid the odour (borderline "fumes"). It is pretty nasty stuff in that way.

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