I'm always looking for a good matte topper! For some reason they seem to be hard to find around here. I've tried e.l.f.'s and it bubbles and is junk once it's a year old. So I have only tried China Glaze Matte Magic. But it doesn't always take all the shine away and takes a century to dry.
So let's see how Barielle fared!
This polish is marketed as a 2-in-1. You can either wear it alone just to give your nails a little protection (that does not include as a base coat), or as a matte topcoat.
This is definitely better solo than as a topcoat. It seems to kind of sink into the nail as a base, so there are zero ridge filling properties, and it isn't completely smooth as a topcoat. As a topcoat, it slightly changes the color of your polish and makes it a little cloudy. It's nothing major, but it does have that effect. Plus, it doesn't take away all the shine (it is only supposed to leave a satin finish though).
As just a nail treatment on it's own, this product is meant to be applied every other day, and it claims that it "provides outstanding strength, conditioning and protection to the nail for greater flexibility". I can't say yet that it has done anything for my nails because I have not been using it long enough, but I do like it a lot on it's own.
This polish does dry extremely fast, though! I didn't really test it as a base coat since it isn't marketed as such, but I did wear it under a few manis. If you're only wearing your manicure for a couple of days, like me, it is fine. If you're wanting something that is long-lasting, this isn't going to work as a base coat for you. It doesn't cause any application problems of the polish on top either.
Matte-inee is $16 on Barielle's website. For a matte topper, that is pretty high. For a treatment, though, that is pretty normal.
*This product was sent for review. All opinions are truthful and my own.
