The Best Fast-Drying Top Coats, According to Celebrity Manicurists
By Marianne Mychaskiw, InStyle.com
Someone call Vin Diesel, because when our top coat doesn’t dry fast, we get furious. There aren’t enough numbers to count the amount of times we’ve messed up our nails after we thought the lacquer had set, so to end the struggle once and for all, we asked top manicurists Kimmie Kyees, Elle, and Millie Machado to reveal the very best fast-drying top coats they rely on for their star clientele who don’t have time to watch paint dry before a big red carpet appearance. Considering that the Seche Vite Top Coat ($10; ulta.com) is a usual suspect in our annual Best Beauty Buys, it almost didn’t surprise us that both Kyees and Machado swear by the product. “It is the best and only top coat I use,” says Kyees, who has painted up the famous fingers ofRihanna and Katy Perry. “It’s durable like a shield, has a nice consistency that isn’t too watery, is super shiny, and dries super-fast.” Millie Machado, who has worked with Natalie Portman and Miranda Kerr echoes the sentiment. “It really does make the polish dry fast, and I find that it helps the color last longer. It’s a double win!” she tells us.
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Elle, on the other hand (pun completely intended), put her top coat to the time test and found that Dermelect’s Memento Manicure Extender ($16; dermelect.com) made the under 10 minute mark. “It dries all of your nail polish in 8 minutes, or under 8 minutes in my experience,” she says. “I’ve been able to put polish and this top coat on celebrities like Lena Dunham and Hilary Swank, then put them in gloves and shoes right after, and it doesn’t smudge. It also helps the nail polish last up to 10 days!” The formula is also infused with a generous dose keratin, so your mani can shine on without compromising the health of your natural nail bed.
