My nail looks are incomplete without a topcoat. I always use a fast drying top coat as it allows me to use my hands almost instantly and it keeps my nail polish on for a longer time. I used to use Seche Vite and loved it. However, since it got too gloopy I decided to try a new one and I went with the INM Out the Door top coat. Which one of these is my favorite and why?

The two nail polishes together…

Before I delve into this review, there are a few things you should know. I polish my nails once a week, usually on Sunday as that’s when I have the most time on my hands. My nails are incredibly weak and brittle due to years of nail biting. It’s gotten a lot better over the past year, but still my nails tend to tear and bend more than the average person’s. A top coat can then not prevent your nail polish from chipping. To prevent tip wear as much as possible, I paint around the tip of nail with both one layer of color and a layer of top coat. This also makes the nail polish last a lot longer. I instantly notice a difference if I happen to forget to wrap my nails. OK, now on to the comparison.

Seche Vite

As you can see this bottle is almost gone. I stopped using it because it became gloopy, almost glue like, in consistency after using it for nearly a year. This is one of the things Seche Vite is known for and you can buy a special thinner to prevent it from going thick. I really liked using this top coat. It’s a fairly thick coat you get, but it stays on nicely and drying time is super quick: within 5 minutes your nail polish is dry and you can use your hands normally again.

One downside to this top coat is the smell. Nail polish never smells very good, but this smells horrid. Like turpentine x10. As I said earlier, the polish becomes thick like glue after a while, making it difficult to use unless you buy an extra product. Also, with this top coat it appears that the layers of nail polish you apply underneath it will adhere to the top coat. This makes for the disadvantage that your nail polish becomes easy to peel off after a few days. Not only by your, but also if you bump your nails.

INM out the door

I’ve been using this top coat for 6 months now and I really like it. I heard some good reviews on it and decided to try it. It still doesn’t smell like roses, but it’s a lot better than the Seche Vite. It has a very thin consistency and you only need a thin layer to make it work. Also it doesn’t have the peeling problem that Seche Vite has if you make sure your top coat is thin enough. If you apply a thick layer though you will still have the same problem.

What I dislike about this top coat is the drying time. INM does take a little longer to dry: it’s more like 10 – 15 minutes, rather than 5. However, that again depends on how thick your layer is. I do find it difficult with this top coat to always get an equal amount on each nail so one nail will be dry quicker than another.

When it comes to staying power I like this one better than Seche Vite though. I don’t know whether it’s the state of nails, but it will certainly contribute to it, but I find that my nail polish stays on a lot longer. I don’t get any noticeable tip wear until 3 days after applying my nail polish. Chipping starts about 5 days after application, but mostly on the weaker nails. The nails on my left hand usually only show some major tip wear unless I do something that causes my nails to break.

So there you have it: INM Out the Door definitely takes the cake. The only reason why I would reconsider buying Seche Vite is the drying time, but overall the INM top coat beats it hands down. It takes a bit of practice to get it right, but once you do the results are far better.

I did not include any pictures of how it looks on my nails, because whether or not my nail polish stays on is dependent not only on the top coat but also other factors. I go through phases where my nails are a bit weaker than other times. Using one topcoat on one hand and the other on the other is no option either as the nails on my right hand are a lot weaker than the ones on my left hand and it would not make for a good comparison. I do hope that writing down my experience with both these top coats was still helpful to you.