I’m probably the last person in the (nail polish) world to try Seche Vite. This must truly be the most popular fast drying top coat on the internet. I never bought it because I was happy with my other topcoats and it is quite hard to get (and expensive) over here. However I suddenly saw it at my local drugstore, so it had to come with me. I’ve used it now approximately 10 times, and I think I have quite a good feeling of how well it works.
The first thing when I opened the bottle was the smell. This top coat smells like nail polish from 10 years ago, it definitely brings back some memories! A quick look on the package shows a chemical called Toluene is responsible for this awful smell. Many nail polish used to contain toluene, but nowadays most nail polishes are 3-free or 5-free which means they don’t contain toluene anymore.
The second thing I noticed about Seche Vite is the brush. It is super small and comparable to the brush of INM Out the door. However, it works quite well with the formula of Seche Vite! Seche Vite is quite thick, but because the brush is this small it is quite easy to get the right amount and to distribute it over the nail.
The third thing I noticed is the reason why everyone loves this polish. The shine is incredible! I wouldn’t say that it has the same shine and “thickness” as a gel polish, but it is one of the topcoats that comes very close. Also when I bumped into something after only two minutes of painting on this polish, my nails weren’t ruined! I was quite surprised that it is almost immediately dry to touch. It still takes a little bit longer for the underlying nail polish to dry, so you can’t do everything immediately. But it is definitely the fastest drying topcoat I have ever used!
Are there any downsides to Seche Vite? Yes there are a couple. Sometimes when I used Seche Vite over a darker color, it would shrink my nail polish. It wasn’t with every nail polish that I used and it wasn’t too bad, but especially with darker nail polishes it looks a little bit ugly.
The other downside of Seche Vite is that it apparently becomes thick quite fast. I’m already noticing that my bottle leaves more bubbles on my nails then when I first bought it. Normally I would just poor some thinner in my topcoat, but Seche Vite needs special nail polish thinner that contains toluene. It is too early to judge if I’m going to need it, but I’ll keep you posted!
I definitely understand why Seche Vite is this popular. I’m not really sure whether I’m going to buy a second bottle or not. There are other good topcoats out there that maybe do not dry this quickly, but also do not smell this horrible. I’m definitely glad I’ve tried it and experienced what the hype was all about!
