Mani Monday
A number of years back, I bought a fluorescent yellow Essie polish (Funky Limelight), not knowing it was a matte finish. I love Essie, but this was just awful. As you know, I’m not an expert polisher, and this particular finish just killed me. No matter what I did, it just streaked and streaked. However, it opened my eyes to the possibility of matte finishes and I’ve been rather enamoured by it ever since. Skeptical about matte finishes though, I vowed not to buy a matte polish for over $10. This Orly matte topcoat fit the bill!
Though it is a matte topcoat, I’d have to agree with other online reviewers that it gives more of a satin matte as opposed to a super flat matte. I’m digging the look though, and so does my mom! In these pics, I tried to give you a fair idea of how matte and gloss finishes compare next to each other. This is what I did:
1. Apply a base coat.
2. Two layers of Joe Fresh polish in Orchid and gave it some time to dry.
3. One layer of Orly Matte top, and let it dry. I found this matte topcoat to be much faster drying than my glossy topcoats.
4. You can end it here, but if you want some glossy designs as well, this is when I apply tape and add a thin layer of a glossy topcoat. Peel tape off each nail immediately after polishing.
That’s it! I’d like to add as well that I really like the rubberized grip on the Orly bottle – plus it comes with more product than a typical bottle of polish – at least 3 mL more!
JOELLE CHAN make-up artist Calgary Canada 
Looks so cool! Would have never thought to use different finishes to dress up my nails. Then again, I have piano nails which are basically stubs so I have little surface area to play with…
That’s ok! That’s why polka dots and stripes are good, or even just blocking off one half of the nail. They don’t discriminate against short nails :) I know, bc I had piano stubs for a looooong time, haha.