The first lineup consists of OPI Matte Top Coat (a bottle I bought, as the review bottle made its way to Lucy), Essie Matte About You, GOSH Mat Effect Top Coat, and Cult Nails Wax That.
Here they are over black, in the same order as the bottles above (OPI on the left):
The OPI and Essie are truly matte and fairly indistinguishable from each other; if pressed, I'd say the OPI has a tiny edge because it seems to go on a touch more smoothly, but that could be my imagination. The GOSH is pretty darn matte, too. The Cult Nails is designed to give a waxy look, so it being more satin was no surprise.
Here's a side view so you can see a different angle on these:
Next up: Essie (again, as a control), Icing It's a Matte Matte World, Ulta Matte Topcoat (which I've only ever seen in the Nail FX set), and Fing'rs Heart 2 Art My Boyfriend Matte.
On the nail, the Essie shows how the other three aren't really terrbily matte. Though I suppose I can see why Icing and Fing'rs went with matte in their names, as "It's a Satin Satin World" and "My Boyfriend Satin" make even less sense than most goofy nail polish monikers.
As of right now, I do not have any unswatched matte topcoats in my stash (at least not that I came across when I did my big stash sorting several weeks back, but that was focused on colored polishes, not toppers and bases and treatments, so it's possible I overlooked one). I do know that there are a matte topcoats out there I haven't bought, like Orly. Probably I will buy them if I see them, I just haven't seen them yet.
Ahhhhh *swoons* So many pretty matte topcoats. *hugs them*
ReplyDeleteThe Opi one is definitely a winner, but I actually like the look of that waxy Cult one!
ReplyDeletenyc has i pretty decent matte polish as well!
ReplyDeleteThis is very good info. I think a matte should be matte and a couple of those are too shiny for me.
ReplyDeleteI tend to use my nyc
ReplyDeleteI think I may need to look into getting a bottle of Cult Wax That to have a satin option versus a more traditional matte look. Thx for comparing!
ReplyDeleteI really like this matte series :) good comparisons!
ReplyDeleteSalon Perfect came out with a matte top coat, but I haven't tried it yet.
ReplyDeleteI have the China Glaze one, I might have to get the OPI too though :)
I have one from Essence, works like a charm! Just as good as O.P.I. It only cost me €1,79 ($2,38)!
ReplyDeleteI love these comparison posts!:)
ReplyDeleteI just pulled out my Essie Matte About You that had been sitting in my drawer for about a year and it's gone super thick and unusable. Do you think I could try polish thinner in it? Anyone tried that before? That Fingrs polish would be cool if it had an actual striping brush in it.
ReplyDeleteQueen of crap, I bet polish thinner would work on your Matte About You. If you try it & post about it, be sure to let me know so I can link to your findings.
Deleteawesome comparison. i want to buy all the matte top coats lately though i rarely mattify anything. i do like the cult nails wax finish though just cause i really like wax look. i might have the old orly satin one somewhere. i should find my matte top coats and do a comparison one day, too.
ReplyDeletefishgirl, you should! And if you do, make sure to send me the link.
DeleteAs always, great comparisons! :D
ReplyDeleteIn these swatches Opi and essie looks exactly what im searchung for! but my own essie turns out a little more shiny/satin that i like.. Considering if i should buy OPI, but how long does it tuly stay matte?
ReplyDeleteFie P, in my experience, all matte topcoats will turn satin with wear and OPI is no exception. I suppose if I were willing to give up hand lotion, that wouldn't happen, but I can't do that since my hands need as much moisture as I can give them. :)
Delete