Matte Topcoat Comparisons, Part 10

**NOTE 23-Feb-2015: This was originally published as Part 9, but as kind reader Drew of Mo' Manis Mo' Problems pointed out, I'd already done a Part 9. I added that link at the bottom. Ooops!**

A while back, I got an email from Dr.'s Remedy that worked just the way I'm sure the marketing person who wrote it hoped. It said they had a matte topcoat that I could get for free if I'd just buy another polish, so off I went to their website. By the time I was done, I'd bought three polishes to go along with the free mattifier, since that way I'd also get free shipping. I haven't tried the polishes yet, but today I am resurrecting my ongoing but dormant since last spring series of matte topcoat comparisons to see how the Dr.'s Remedy stacks up against some others. In addition to the Dr.'s Remedy Matte Top Coat, I grabbed the Zoya Matte that was a gift with purchase at Ulta last year, Hollish This Is Matteness that my friend Trish grabbed for me, and OPI Matte Top Coat for a control, since I know that one is good and matte.



I put on my go to Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme and then added the toppers in the same order as the bottles above. The Dr.'s Remedy behaved nicely, drying almost as matte as the OPI. With a regular price of $17.50, it had better behave. I was very surprised to see the Zoya forming cracks as it dried; it had a nice matte finish, true, but I'd be really upset if it did this cracking thing on a mani I'd spent time on. I'd seen this sort of thing before with the elf matte topper but didn't expect it from a brand like Zoya. The Hollish, contrary to its name, was not matteness. Maybe this is a bad bottle, maybe the formula broke down in the months it sat waiting to be swatched, maybe it was supposed to be called "This is Satin Finish". I'm not sure. The OPI, of course, was its usual reliable matte self.





I was so confused by the behavior of the Zoya (and to a lesser extent the Hollish, though that did change the finish evenly, just not as much as I'd hoped based on the name) that I took off all the polish and started over, thinking maybe I'd somehow messed up the application. The results were the same. I then decided to try a different black creme for the base, grabbing Sally Hansen Insta Dri Black to Black. I trusted the OPI would be fine, as I've yet to have it misbehave, so here are the other three, in the same order as above. The Zoya liked this base much, much better, but I still saw some slight cracking along one side (you can just see it along the left side of my middle nail in the photo). Shame, because the finish otherwise is gorgeously matte.



It might be that the Zoya behaves perfectly over Zoya colors, but I want a matte topcoat that's not so fussy. The Dr.'s Remedy is nice, and perhaps better for keeping one's nails in good condition what with the tea tree oil and other good stuff they put in their products, but I'm not sure it's $17.50 nice. The Hollish is not matte enough for me.

Links to all the episodes in this series (so far):

Part 1: OPI, Barielle, China Glaze, Sinful Colors, Butter London, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
Part 2: Revlon, NYC, Essie, Claire's
Part 3: OPI, Essie, GOSH, Cult Nails, Icing, Ulta, Fing'rs
Part 4: Orly, Salon Perfect, OPI, Sally Girl
Part 5: OPI, elf, L'Oreal
Part 6: Nicole by OPI, OPI, Sally Hansen, Formula X for Sephora, Deborah Lippmann, Dolce & Gabbana, Nails Inc., Nina Ultra Pro, Illamasqua
Part 7: Fresh Paint, OPI, CK One, Wet 'n' Wild
Part 8: Glitter Guilty, Rescue Beauty Lounge, H & M, Kleancolor, Wet 'n' Wild, OPI.
Part 9: Paul & Joe, OPI, Wet 'n' Wild

*****
On another topic, congratulations to the winners of the Sally Hansen/SinfulColors prize packs in my recent giveaway: Tara from Ohio and Emelie from Sweden! Both of them got back to me right away when I emailed, which I much appreciate.

Dr.'s REMEDY Holiday Hues

As I teased yesterday, I received the Jolly & Joy holiday collection from Dr.'s REMEDY and wanted to get these swatches posted today before the special pricing of $14 on three of the colors expires.

(Image courtesy of Dr.'s Remedy.)

Because it's a holiday collection, I decided to do Christmas skittles with ESSENTIAL Emerald and REVIVE Ruby Red. Essential has very small silver shimmer particles in a true green base; I used three coats. Revive's shimmer is tone-on-tone, with red shimmer in a deeper red base; it's got a lot of depth to it even with just the two coats I used. When I was applying these, I was afraid they were going to be brushstroke-y, but they settled out pretty nicely.







I tried PASSION Purple with an accent nail of RESOLUTION Red Glitter. Both of these were three coats, and I added topcoat to the glitter to smooth it out. Passion is a plummy purple with a subtle shimmer (but not so subtle it disappears in normal light like some do). Resolution is a rosy pink, not what I would have pictured from the "red glitter" appended to its name.







I saved the best for last: SERENE Silver Glitter. Based on the press release, I wasn't especially excited about this one; I have plenty of silver glitter in my stash already. (I know, I know—what can't I say that about?) Once I had the bottle in my hands, though, I was intrigued. It's not just silver glitter; there are pops of frosty blue and bright pink in there as well.



I think we've all had polishes that look good in the bottle but which don't translate to the nail; this is not one of those. I liked it so much on my nails that I was making plans to order my own bottle before it dried, which wasn't very long as I only used two coats plus topcoat.







Here it is blurry; still pretty:



And here it is in low light, all sparkly:



Thanks to an onset of winter-like weather consisting of clouds and snow flurries, I was not able to get any sun shots of this one. I bet they would have been super sparkly, though. I can't think of another polish I have that's quite like this one.

As mentioned yesterday, SERENE Silver Glitter, RESOLUTION Red Glitter, and ESSENTIAL Emerald Green are on special for $14 a bottle through end of today on the Dr.'s REMEDY website or by calling 1-877-323-NAIL to order (if you're ordering over $50, the code HOLIDAY should work for free shipping; I couldn't get that part to work on the website.) Dr.'s Remedy is on Facebook and Twitter, too.

Dr.'s REMEDY Fall Fever Collection

Today I've got a brand to share that I've never tried before: Dr.'s REMEDY. Their fall collection consists of three colors: BALANCE Brick, DEFENSE Deep Red, and NOBLE Navy. (Capitalization as per the labels.)



I started my swatching with Balance.



I know it says Brick right there on the label, but it pulled a lot more red on me than the rusty orange color I think of as brick. No matter, it's a nice red that covered in three coats.



One of the selling points for this polish line is that it was created by two podiatrists with an eye toward making a healthy alternative to traditional nail polish. It's not just free of the Big 3 chemicals, it's enriched with stuff like tea tree oil.



Defense came next; it's described as deep red, and it certainly is. So deep it tends to look black in some lights. I used three coats of this one as well, though I probably could have done two if I'd made them thicker.





I saved my favorite of these colors for last: Noble. It's a navy blue, not as deep blue as Defense is deep red. I used two coats of this one.





These polishes are available at the Dr.'s REMEDY website for $17 per .5 oz. bottle. Right now through end of the day tomorrow, November 18th, they've got three of their holiday polishes on special for $14 a bottle (SERENE Silver Glitter, RESOLUTION Red Glitter, and ESSENTIAL Emerald Green) and you can get free shipping for orders over $50 if you call 1-877-323-NAIL to order and use the code HOLIDAY. (The three polishes are priced at $14 on the website as well, but I couldn't get the free shipping thing to work online.)

As I was getting ready to post this entry, the holiday collection arrived in the mail; I'm going to to my best to swatch those and share them tomorrow before the special pricing on three of them ends. Here's a bottle pic so you can see the lineup:



Because I'm going to send these along to Lucy, they don't get to stay in my stash, but I'm strongly considering getting my own bottle of Noble. You know I love blues.

The polishes shown in this entry were provided to me for free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider.