Really effective top coat for nail varnish?

[DamnItsSevenAM]

Can anyone recommend a top coat that really works to protect against chipping, please? My nails always look scruffy after a day or so.

The only one I have had any luck with is seche vite. It's expensive but honestly I can get five days no chip out of it. Dries in a flash and looks like gel nails

No7 top coat. Apply straight on to varnish don't wait for it to dry first and it dries rock hard. A fiver I think.

I love the Nails inc one.

I like either Seche Vite or Leighton Denny Crystal Finish.

Def seche vitae. I have painted my toenails and then needed to go out (in trainers) half hour later and not smudged or anything!

Holo Taco. Cristine is meticulous about her nails.

I’ve moved on from sèche vite to nails inc Kensington as recommended on here.

I have a sensationail gel set and use it with regular nail varnish. I use my regular varnish and then use the gel as a top coat to set it. It definitely lasts longer than regular varnish.

I thought the thing about Seche Vite was that it made the polish dry super fast (hence the name), but at the expense of longevity. It definitely dried and hardens the polish quickly, but shortens the life of the manicure in my experience.

Seconding the Leighton Denny

China Glaze Fast Forward

Just get a gel nail lamp. I do mine once a fortnight.

Seche Vite is unbeatable in my opinion. But you have to put it on while the varnish is still 'wet' - i.e. only a few seconds of drying time (a lot of people seem to miss this). That makes it stay on for ages; I'm currently on day 10 of my OPI + Seche Vite combo and it looks perfect, except the regrowth.

Also make sure you put the Seche Vite on all the way down to the cuticle - otherwise it may cause some 'shrinkage' of your colour layer.

Essie Good to Go - dries polish fast and I get 6 days at least from my polish. I prefer it to Seche Vite.

Sally Hansen insta-dri or seche vite, I usually get around 5-7 days without chipping

I use Super Shiny by CND.

I use Eye Candy Gel Wrap System - www.amazon.co.uk/Eye-Candy-London-Wrap-System/dp/B00CQM6VKI?tag=mumsnetforu03-21, but I can get it in Tesco. I find a manicure with this lasts a good week.

I'm another one who only uses Seche Vite BUT I always find that it goes really gloopy once I've used half of the bottle. Is there anything to thin it out again?

Sally Hansen insta-dri for me too.

Seche Vite. Hands down.

@TattiePants Seche makes a thinner specifically for the top coat.

Oh and I'm really liking Essie Speed Setter at the moment

I came on to say Seche Vive, then saw all the posts saying Seche Vite...are they 2 different things? I just checked my bottle and it definitely says Seche Vive. Lasts longer than any other shiny top coat I've tried.

The Essie matte top coat also lasts a long time, but it's a very different look which isn't everyone's cup of tea, and looks best with v dark or v light polishes, IMO.

I have tried them all. I really don't rate Seche Vite.

Hands down for me is cheap old Sally Hansen Hard as Nails. I use it for both the base and topcoat. My nails last around 10 days. I only re-do them because of the growth at the base.

@CinnamonSweet73 thank you, I'll look for that although I have just bought the Nails Inc Kensington Caviar recommended above to try.