Product review: Essie matte nail polish

Okay, so I don't do this very often, but every once in a while I find a product that I really love, so I decide to share it with you. Today I'm talking about Essie's matte topcoat. (Later this month, we're gonna be talking lip stain. Woohoo!) Anyway, I realize I'm a little late on the matte nail trend, but better late than never, right? Right.

So you can buy actual matte nail polish in a variety of colors, but I say, why limit yourself when you can buy the topcoat and make EVERY nail color you own a matte color? The Essie topcoat is called "Matte About You." I think you can probably buy it in drugstores, but I got mine on Amazon for about $6. And I can tell already that I'm going to go through it fast. Here's what it looks like over OPI's "Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine!":


I love how smoky and sultry it is! And it makes my nails feel silky smooth. A coworker suggested I try it over hot pink, so I grabbed a suuuuper old Wet & Wild shade I had lying around:


Also pretty rad. Now, let's break it down:

The Pros
- It. Looks. Awesome!
- It dries super fast.
- A little bit goes a long way, so even if I'm constantly using this, the bottle should last a decent amount of time.

The Cons
- It's prone to chip. A friend suggested a workaround, but...
- It's time-consuming. So I basically have to paint a base coat, two color coats (although looking at those pink nails I think three would have been better), a clear topcoat, then the matte topcoat. And then every other day, I reapply the top coat. (Otherwise, the matte rubs off and the color gets glossy again.) This protects takes forever, because you have to let each coat dry. And adding extra layers on top means the polish gets pretty thick. But with this method, I can get chip-free matte nails for about a week.

The Verdict
Yes, there are a few minor inconveniences to this matte topcoat. But honestly, I'm thinking they'd apply to any matte topcoat, and overall, the end result is just too cool to pass on. I give it two matte thumb(nail)s up!

Please note that I was not paid, perked or otherwise compensated to do this review. Essie did not ask me to write it. I just really like this polish and wanted to share it with you all!