Nail Polish Test - Phase 1

I'm forever painting my nails, just to see them chip the next day.  Uber annoying.  So I thought I would conduct some simple tests to see what brands and techniques work the best.

Phase 1 - Top Coat vs No Top Coat

As much as I love pretty nails, I'm over the process by the time it gets to the top coat.  But I'm also impatient when it comes to waiting for them to dry.  So at my last trip to the beauty wholesaler (oh the joys of being a makeup artist - wholesale beauty supplies!) I treated myself to some new polishes and a rapid-dry top coat.  I know they don't last as long as other top coats, but it's the 'something is better than nothing' philosophy.

And just to make things interesting - I painted each nail a different colour.  Which I got so many compliments on, I might do it again in the future!

All nails had no base coat, two coats of polish, and the left hand had one coat of the rapid dry top coat.  I'm very scientific  :)

So - on the left hand we had:

Thumb:  OPI 'Thanks So Muchness' (Alice in Wonderland collection)
Fingers (L-R):  OPI 'Mad as a Hatter' (AIW collection), OPI 'Absolutely Alice (AIW collection), Zoya 'Juno', OPI 'Russian Navy' matte

All had CND Air Dry Fast Set Top Coat

And on the right hand:

Thumb:  OPI 'Merry Midnight' (Xmas 2009 collection)
Fingers L-R:  OPI 'Off With Her Red!) (AIW collection), OPI 'At First Sight', OPI 'Russian Navy' matte, Zoya 'Tangy'

Please excuse the claws :S  what was I thinking????

Anyways, after a jam-packed 24 hours which included a photo shoot doing hair and makeup, 4 hours of driving, cleaning out my kit and having a barbeque, this is what they looked like:

   

So what have we learnt here?

1. Fingers together look much nicer than claws.
2. Glitter nail polish wears pretty badly.  Keep in mind they both had a top coat on.  All the polish came off in one piece.  Which makes me sad, because 'Thanks So Muchness!' is adorable.
3. Top coats do seem to help the life of the manicure, although they all did wear around the edges.  But look at the difference between the 'Russian Navy' nails - that's massive.
4. Rapid dry top coats leave a really dull finish on the nail.  Not a great idea if you want super-shine.
5. Multicoloured nails are quirky and get attention.  This could be my new 'thing'.
6. I'm terrible at painting my own nails.
7. 'At First Sight' is a GORGEOUS nude colour for everyday wear, and it was the most long lasting out of the bunch (and it didn't even have a top coat!  *high five*)

Next step - different top coat.  What different finishes can you get, and how do they last?  Stay tuned...

CB  xx