Review: NYC Matte Me Crazy! Mattifying Topcoat

I admittedly am not a pro at nails. My hands aren’t really steady enough to do the awesome nail art that I’ve seen on some people – let’s go ahead and blame that on my caffeine intake – so I’m usually a one-color-on-all-fingers girl. The past year or so though I’ve been wanting to branch out a little, so I’ve bought some colors that aren’t pink/red(!) and I’ve tried some different finishes. One of the more interesting ones I’ve seen is matte topcoat. Matte finish nails may be a fad that will pass – maybe it already has – but surely adding a topcoat is something that even I could do, right? With that in mind, I picked up a bottle of NYC Matte Me Crazy! Mattifying Topcoat to see what this no-shine thing is all about.

The bottle is pretty small – .33 fl oz vs the more usual .5 fl oz – but at $1.99 I think that’s a pretty fair amount. The formula is pretty thin, spreads easily and levels itself well. The brush is really nice – a bit flatter and wider than I’m used to, but very easy to use.

As for its mattifying effects? There’s a very noticeable difference in shine. I used a coat of the crazy glossy Seche Vite to dry my polish, because honestly who has two or three hours to wait for four coats of polish to set? Then about five minutes later I applied one coat of NYC Matte Topcoat. While it does still reflect some light (the laws of physics still being in full force), it considerably cuts down on the gloss. I haven’t compared it to other matte finish topcoats yet, so I can’t judge whether it’s the mattest thing out there.

NYC Matte Topcoat vs Seche Vite

It dried pretty quickly – enough for me to go about my usual business within about 15 minutes. One of my favorite things about the polish is how it feels once it’s dry. Not quite rubbery, but very smooth and almost a little bit grippy. Kind of like an extra-smooth version of NARS makeup packaging.

In Short: This is a great and inexpensive way to add a little variety to your manicure.

NYC Matte Topcoat over Butter London Artful Dodger

NYC Matte Me Crazy! Mattifying Topcoat is available at Wal-Mart and Target.