Nail topcoat

[KanyesVest]

I want to start painting my nails again, but with two small children and the washing up toil of daily life, chips and flakes happen pretty quickly. I don't want to go for gel/three week manicure finish (can't remember what it's called) because it ends up feeling really thick on my nails, which I don't like. I presume I need a good top coat to protect them - can anyone recommend something idiot proof for a novice?

Watching with interest

YES!!

The holy grail of top coats is called Seche Vite. You put it on quite thick and leave it for about a minute and it dries your nails rock solid. It is awesome stuff! Smells quite different to ordinary polish, almost like fibreglass. Gives a lovely finish, almost like gel, and is a dream to remove just with ordinary polish.

You can get it in Boots or if you can wait a couple of days you can order from eBay and get it a bit cheaper. It is fairly pricey but well, well worth it!

Sorry I should have read through that before posting, was just too excited to share my find!! It is a dream to remove with ordinary polish remover.

No 7 top coat is fantastic, dries 2 coats of varnish in seconds and only a fiver!

Absolutely recommend Sally Hansen top coat! The one I use which I think is called Acrylic No Chip Top Coat can't be found on the boots website for some reason, maybe it's been discontinued as I've had it that long! I found this which looks like it could be the replacement. Has over 50 5 star reviews
m.boots.com/h5/cat_hub?path=/en/Sally-Hansen-Insta-Dri-Anti-Chip-Top-Coat_1038032/&unCountry=uk

God, how didn't I think of Sally Hansen? I think that acrylic one is what I used when I last had time to think about my nails. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll have a look at them and see if one works.

Seche vite

Seche vite dries amazingly quickly but is no better at preventing chips/tip wear than other topcoats.

It's not really a brand that's properly advertised as such though, is it? So it's easy to forget!
I haven't used any other top coat for years though, it does the job for me and isn't expensive

I'm using Essie Good to Go at the moment and I like it. Quick drying and shiney.

I second Sally Hansen in the red bottle, it can sometimes be found in tk Max. Or if you are lucky sometimes they stock the 'out the door' topcoat which is also really good. Seche vite is terrible!

Also, if you can/want to spend a bit more the cnd vinylux polishes are excellent as long as you use the top coat from the same range with them. I get at least two weeks out of them xx

Eye candy gel wrap system is also v good. And it dries much more quickly than the Sally Hansen Hard As Wraps one.

I'm a nail polish addict and by far the best I've used is Essie.

I'm also a fan of matte nails and like the Barry M colours but just this week I've found a matte top coat for a quid at my local beauty outlet thingy which is proving to be very good.

Painted nails with an Essie colour and then it the cheapy matte top coat on on Monday and there's not a single chip in sight

The Dior Abricot is my favourite. I think Seche is good at being super-fast, but I always found it made the tips of my polish shrink.

I picked up a Rimmel top coat in the chemists a few weeks ago fully intending to repurchase sally hansen but the revlon one is just as good. And half the price.

My only problem with seche vite is the brush doesn't hit the bottom of the bottle and for that price, I want every drop.

I use Essie, Barry M or Topshop polishes with a Revlon base and top coat and the Revlon quick dry oil.

I'm a hairdresser, hands in water all day long, and I get a week out of a well done home manicure.