Artsy Wednesday: Inspired by graffiti and OPI Matte Top Coat review and comparison

I had a lot of problems getting inspired by this week’s theme of graffiti – I looked through hundreds of amazing examples of graffiti art, but I couldn’t work out how to translate the look onto my nails. Eventually I gave up and ended up with this design, which I matted using OPI’s newly released Matte Top Coat.

OPI came a bit late to the matte top coat scene, but as you’d expect from a company who released some of the most talked-about matte shades back in 2009, this doesn’t disappoint. Here’s a comparison of my long-standing favourite matte finish top coat, Rimmel Lycra Pro Mattifying Top Coat, with OPI’s new one. I painted Pretty Serious Tux on my nails (more on this gorgeous polish later!), let it dry overnight, then added the top coats. 

Some people have told me that I have a fluke bottle of the Rimmel top coat, and their results aren’t quite as good, so keep this in mind! 

Rimmel:
– more satiny, smooth-to-the-touch finish 
– doesn’t self-level, application is a bit tricky
– cheaper ($9.95 for 12 mL) 

OPI:
– rougher, duller finish
– self-levels, easier application
– more expensive ($19.95 for 15 mL) 

I prefer the OPI mainly because using the Rimmel version is a bit of a pain, especially as the bottle thickens up near the end (I frequently end up with ridges running down the length of my nails if I don’t apply it fast enough). The Rimmel is a bargain in Australia at retail prices though (especially when it’s on sale – it’s much harder to find discounted OPI!). 

Whichever one you choose, a matte top coat is one of the things I’d definitely recommend as one of the nail polish essentials – it’s a quick and easy way of changing up a manicure (plus you can choose to matte the whole thing, or just a French tip/dots/stripes/ruffian/whatever!), as well as making too-shiny glitters a bit more wearable.