Thursday 13 March 2014

Top up your nails with different effect top coats

The easiest and most affordable way to change a look or an outfit completely, is to wear a different nail polish and speaking for polishaholics all over the world, I'm so grateful that there are so many nail polishes available to feed our insatiable craving. It's not just all the colors of the rainbow that appeals to me, but also the wonderful range of different effects that you can get e.g. matte, opalescent or glitter. The only downside to that is that my nail polish collection just grows and grows with every new color and effect that I get and storing them all will eventually become a problem, but there is a solution. There are quite a few top coats available that will let you create the same effects but on any of your ordinary nail polishes and today I'm showing you four of my favorite top coats for different finishes. To help illustrate the effects I have used two amazing polishes from the modern classic that is the Barry M Gelly Shine (£3.99) collection; Dragon fruit - a lovely warm barbie pink, and Grape - a vibrant electric blue. So let's have a look at the top coats and the looks that you can create.
 
The first top coat is the Avon Nailwear Satin Nail Top Coat (£4.50). During the winter season we saw some very interesting matte nail finishes, and with this top coat you can achieve that matte look on any of the nail polishes you already have. It's a milky looking top coat, that you apply over your chosen color and although it first looks like a slightly pink shimmery during application it dries into a great matte look. For this effect the brush isn't quite wide enough for my liking, so to avoid having to do two coats (which I had to do with the blue shade, and if you look carefully in the photo you can tell that the coverage was uneven), I would recommend that you make sure that you get a generous dollop of the top coat on the brush and then spread it out. At least that way you'll get a nice and solid matte finish, as you can see with the pink shade.

After that we have another product from Avon, the Avon Nailwear Opal Top Coat (£2.50) which I have mentioned previously. One of the nail effects that I have liked the most during the past year is the Moon Candy look, and with this top coat you can get the same effect on any nail polish without having to buy the Revlon duo kits unless you want to. It's a clear top coat with fragments that look like a crushed opal, which create a beautiful luminous prism effect. Again the brush isn't very wide, but with this top coat, it's not necessarily a bad thing since it's easier to place the opal looking fragments where you want them. With one coat, you get a nice and subtle look, that would work for any occasion to add something a little different, but if you want an even more iridescent and lustruous effect, apply a second coat - and wait for the compliments to roll in.

Moving on to a more traditional glitter look, we have Rimmel's Rock Your Colour Glitter Top Coat (£1.99) in Disco Gold. This is a beautiful glittering top coat, with very fine and tiny gold pigments for a luxurious and delicate finish. It's a great option if you want to wear something sparkly, but that's not too dramatic or flamboyant. The brush is quite narrow so even though you get a decent amount of product on the brush, you'll probably need 3-4 strokes to get an even distribution of it across the nail. Because the glitter is so fine, you'll be glad to know that it's very easy to remove from your nails without having to use any nasty acetone. Unfortunately it looks like this pretty top coat no longer is available in Boots or Superdrug, which is a real shame since it's a lovely discrete glitter polish, but luckily there are loads of them on eBay for a very low price.
From left to right:
Barry M Dragon Fruit
Barry M Dragon Fruit + Avon Nailwear Satin Nail Top coat
Barry M Dragon Fruit + Avon Nailwear Opal Top Coat
Barry M Dragon Fruit + Rimmel Rock Your Colour Glitter Top Coat in Disco Gold
Barry M Dragon Fruit + Ciaté Confetti Nail Polish
From left to right:
Barry M Grape
Barry M Grape + Avon Nailwear Satin Nail Top coat
Barry M Grape + Avon Nailwear Opal Top Coat
Barry M Grape + Rimmel Rock Your Colour Glitter Top Coat in Disco Gold
Barry M Grape + Ciaté Confetti Nail Polish
 
The last top coat isn't strictly speaking actually a top coat and it can be worn on its own for an amazing lustruous look. Ciaté's Confetti (£9) is a gorgeous glittering polish, rich with with silver colored holographic sparkles that create a fabulous radiant finish and ecause there is so much glitter in the polish, it's easy to get an even spread of it across the nail. When you use this as a top coat, one layer is more than enough for an eye catching effect but if you want to use it on its own, you definitely need at least two and maybe even three coats for an extravagant party look. Despite being very rich in glitter it's very easy to remove the polish and there's no need to use tin foil or whatever trick you've got up your sleeve to get remove stubborn glitter polishes. 
 
Using different top coats is an affordable, fun and easy way to create a particular effect without having to buy lots of new colors, and if you can't decide which one to go for there are enough top coats to choose from that you can probably get a different effect for each nail. 

59 comments:

  1. I love that Avon opal topcoat! I have to get my hands on it, looks really beautiful. Those colourful holographic specks <3

    Blu Button Box

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    Replies
    1. Since I love, love, LOVE the candy look this is perfect for me and it goes with any color :o). Xx

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  2. Replies
    1. Oh yes and some of these are subtle enough even for the most conventional jobs :o). Xx

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  3. love all the glitter :) i couldn't choose which is the nicest !
    love the barry m gellish i have a couple of them aswell
    Melissa | TheInkedBlonde

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    Replies
    1. The Gelly formula is great and I will definitely pick up some of the new pastel shades too :o). Xx

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  4. The Avon top coats give really cool effects! Glitter top coats look so good on bright nail colours xx

    Mapped Out | A Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle Blog

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    Replies
    1. I agree with you, it's as if the contrast and effect is at its best :o). Xx

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  5. What a lovely selection of polishes, hows a girl to chose? x
    Deborah
    moonstoneandmay.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. Vad fint det matta topplacket var på det rosa :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jaa, det blev mycket bättre än på det blå :o). Xx

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  7. Replies
    1. It's a great subtle every day touch of glam :o). Xx

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  8. I really love the Barry M "Dragon Fruit" colour - not me at all, but I just love it! I've also been looking at the Avon satin coat for a while now and I think I'm definitely going to have to grab one of these :o)

    Hellbent for Lipstick

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    Replies
    1. The satin effect is lovely, just don't get worried when you see that it's pearly and pink, it does dry very quickly into a matte look :o). Xx

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  9. Replies
    1. It's gorgeous, and I'll definitely repurchase it :o). Xx

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  10. I love a good sparkly topcoat

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a fun and easy way to mix it up a little :o) Xx

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  11. Very nice selection of nail polishes!

    Keep in touch on BLOGLOVIN

    Love,
    FASHIONHYPNOTISED

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  12. That Avon Opal is gorgeous! - really love your blog, such good advice.
    Mine is here if you wanna take a peek (I am a nail fanatic but I do beauty bits too :) )
    http://pawsandclaws101.blogspot.com/

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    Replies
    1. Hiya Abigail, thank you so much for visiting and for your lovely comment - you've really made me smile, and love the name of your blog :o). Xx

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  13. My favorite top coat effect is probably a matte top coat and I love how that matte pink turned out. Gorgeous!

    katespitz.blogspot.com

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    1. Yes it turned out better than with the blue and I think it's because I was careful to only use one coat, but with lots of product :o). Xx

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  14. Absolutely love the first colour and glitter!

    Char | Char's Insights

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  15. I've wanted that Avon Opal polish for so long! I'm sure it was £6.00 when it first came out, so now it's £2.50 I think I'll be picking it up. I love the opal look on nails, especially when it's applied over a dark polish. :D

    http://theremightbecoffee.wordpress.com/

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    Replies
    1. Pretty isn't it - and so practical that you can use it over any color :o). Xx

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  16. I really like the effect of the matte polish on the pink.
    Maybe Its Megan Leigh

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    Replies
    1. It's lovely and I think it turned out better than with the blue shade :o). Xx

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  17. love all the colors :)
    xx

    http://losaway.blogspot.com

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  18. I LOVE glittery top coats, I just wish they weren't such pain to remove!

    Mademoiselle-Lala.com

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    Replies
    1. I completely agree - this top coats with fine glitter aren't so bad, but the coarser versions of it from e.g. Barry M are a nightmare... :o). Xx

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  19. I totally agree with Lala, I love them too but they are a PIA to remove ;-) But nevertheless great idea sweetie.
    xox
    Lenya
    FashionDreams&Lifestyle

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    Replies
    1. And it's a fun and easy way to glam things up :o). Xx

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  20. wow you have a great collection ;)
    very nice blog by the way :)

    kisses from Russia,
    Juliet
    RUSSIAN DOLL

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  21. Such a gorgeous collection, you always have the most stunning nail varnishes!! :-)xxxxxx

    www.stylapetite.com

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    Replies
    1. That's so sweet of you - thank you very much :o). Xx

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  22. Would love to try the matte top coat! The ciate one also looks amazing xx

    Abby | http://teenagelovesxo.blogspot.co.uk/

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    Replies
    1. I really like that you can use it on any other polish. It's not a look for everyone, but I LOVE it :o). Xx

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  23. Great post!! I will try one of this :)
    xx

    Serenity by Gemma

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    Replies
    1. Good luck with it, hope you like the results :o). Xx

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  24. Great post - I love thr Barry M in 'grape' and having seen it here I think I'm going to invest. I know what you mean about the polish collection growing and growing - it gets a bit OTT at times doesn't it?!
    http://thirtysomethingoap.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And still I can't stop buying more.... I should see someone about that :o). Xx

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  25. Love the Rimmel glitter topcoat Charlotte! x

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    Replies
    1. It's a lovely, subtle way to do every day glitter :o). Xx

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  26. Avon opal top coat looks great! :)

    Laura
    Pink Frenzy

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    Replies
    1. It's a great effect - the Revlon moon candies really got me hooked on this :o). Xx

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  27. I've added a bit of sparkle onto my nails this week! I love doing an accent nail.

    Victoria
    FlorenceandMary.com

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  28. I really digg glitter and have tons of polishes with glitter but now I'm ready for something different. for spring.

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    Replies
    1. I know what you mean, maybe the new scented polishes from Revlon? :o). Xx

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  29. I love matte top coats! Not so crazy about glitter top coats, haha :)
    http://lipstickandlightening.blogspot.ie/

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    1. They can be difficult to remove :o). Xx

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  30. Those pinks are so pretty and with that glitter top coat added perfect :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's incredible to see the difference in effect that just a different top coat can create :o). Xx

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