Battle of the Fast Dry Top Coats: "Seche Vite" vs. "INM Out the door"

So I was a late nail bloomer.

I always did my Nana's nails, but a life that revolved around constant working out, Martial Arts, playing guitar, and piano did not bode well for having pretty nails.

Now that a disease has caused me to have less fine motor skills and makes guitar playing too painful and weight training and martial arts impossible I started to let myself grow my nails out.

I have amassed what I think is a great base of colors to start me mixing and matching and hopefully having some pretty nails.

But the long asked question I had was, how to keep my manicure fresh?

My Nana used the long stand by Hard as Nails "Hard as Wraps" by Sally Hansen in the round bottle. she was the super patient woman who would put on her base coat and color, let it dry while she watched her nightly shows, then put her Hard as Nails "Hard as Wraps" on before bed and sleep with her arms crossed across her chest like a vampire corpse.

Only to rise with a lovely long lived manicure.

I was never that patient.

So I bought my Hard as Wraps to use as a top coat when I did my french manicures but still looked for the dream top coat.

Enter the debate. First came Mega Shine top coat by Sally Hansen. But I found that it puckered around the edges and pulled at the nail enamel!

I read from many reviewers that this was to be expected. Then I noticed that within a few weeks my bottle began to get really thick in consistency and hard to get the product out.

I had enough by then and gave the bottle to a friend of mine who said she wanted it.

Then I went online and read everyone raving about "Seche Vite"

If there is one thing to know about me its that if EVERYONE is telling you to use something, I am bound and determined to resist.

SO I went to my local beauty supply store where my friend the nail tech worked next door and asked her what she used. She pulled out a JUG and I mean a HUGE bottle of "INM Out the door" Fast dry top coat.

I Immediately went next door and bought it.

I loved it. It dried in seconds, provided a chip free shiny finish, I had the bottle for 2 months before it started to get a little thick. My nail tech friend told me to clean the bottle neck with Nail Polish remover and put a few drops of thinner in the bottle and it would be good as new.

I noticed no puckering, and I could reapply a coat every three days to extend a really fantastic manicure.

On my birthday my fiance gave me 40.00 to spend on whatever I wanted at the Beauty Supply store.

I was just about to pick up my trusty bottle of "INM Out the door" when I noticed they were offering "Seche Vite" for the same price.

So in the name of science I picked up the bottle and decided I would do a comparison.

First thing I noticed "Seche Vite" is thick right out of the bottle. So I am concerned that it is going to get thicker the longer I have it.

It went on easily enough and smoothed out over my nail polish. It gave a really glassy shine too!

I actually got a lot of compliments on my birthday manicure.

But one thing I have noticed is that "Seche Vite" tends to pucker my polish and pull it away from my tips.

I am careful to pull polish almost over and under my tips to kind of protect them and the "Seche Vite" seemed to almost pull the polish in.

For Shine I agree it is fantastic. And I took a beating on my birthday nails and was amazed they woke up in suck great condition. But the puckering at the tips raises an eyebrow since the regular price is more than "INM Out the Door"

I am going to do a left had vs Right hand challenge later this week.

But do you use Seche Vite or INM? Which one do you like better?

KJ