Review of the 4 New Nicole by OPI Top Coats and Treatments

 *Sent for review*

I always love to try new top coats and treatments, so I jumped at the chance to review Nicole by OPI's 3 new top/base coats and cuticle oil. I've been testing them out for a few manis now and think I'm ready to give a verdict. Were they as good as my current holy grail combo? Let's see.

In accordance with my new mani method, I started by applying Nicole by OPI Oil To Go cuticle oil to my nails and cuticles. I love the idea of a cuticle oil in a to go package. My cuticles get very ragged when I'm traveling and maybe this will help prevent that. The consistency of Oil To Go is much thicker than that of an actual oil. But it does seem nicely moisturizing, probably more so than my old standby China Glaze oil.

I then applied one coat of Nicole by OPI 3-in-1 Base, Top Coat & Strengthener. This is the product I was most interested in, because I love the idea of a 3-in-1 product, but I feel like sometimes they don't deliver. Either they are not good as a base coat/top coat and your mani chips quickly, or they do nothing to strengthen your nails. As a base coat, this works as well as my old standby Nicole by OPI Base Coat Plus. I was already really happy with Base Coat Plus and this seems to have all of the same staying power and stain prevention. I probably need some more time to really test the strengthening aspect of this product, but I can say that my nails did look healthier when I removed the couple of manis I did with this so far. They also felt really strong while wearing the product, even though it is very cold and my nails tend to fall apart in the winter.

After applying my polish, I added another coat of the 3-in-1 Base, Top Coat & Strengthener, and then finished it all off with a coat of Nicole by OPI Quick Dry Top Coat. This top coat is definitely not as fast drying as the gold standard Seche Vite, but I did find it to dry all the layers of my mani fairly quickly (maybe about 3 minutes for dry to the touch and 15 for dry all the way through). I prefer this top coat to Seche Vite for several reasons- it has no disgusting smell that makes me feel like I'm getting cancer, I got absolutely no shrinkage with this top coat (I get HORRENDOUS shrinkage with SV), and much better wear time (I get less than 24 hour wear time with SV, this wore nicely for 4+ days).

Here is one mani I did with these products. The Quick Dry Top Coat is nice and shiny, as you can see, so that's another great plus! This mani was done with the 3-in-1 as a base coat, two coats Nicole by OPI Tink's In the Pink, one coat Nicole by OPI Confetti Fun, one coat of the 3-in-1, and one coat of the Quick Dry Top Coat.

I was also pretty excited to try the Nicole by OPI Matte Top Coat. You'd think by now I'd have enough matte top coats, but noooo, I love mattifying everything!! I am always looking for another great, inexpensive, and readily available, matte top coat. This one happens to be an excellent choice! One layer of this mattifying potion is enough to take out all the shine from your typical mani. Below you can see my Tink's In the Pink/Confetti Fun combo with one coat of Nicole by OPI Matte Top Coat.

A lot of drugstore matte top coats are really more like satin top coats. They leave behind some level of shine. As you can see, this one does not. I am in love with this matte top coat. Nicely done Nicole by OPI!

*Sent for review*

Overall, I think I have found a new set of favorites to use under and over my manis. I'll definitely be using the 3-in-1 as a base and top coat, and the matte top coat is my new go to for matte manis. The 3-in-1 and the Oil To Go will also be staples in my travel bag for sure. If I am in a serious hurry, I may still use Essie Good to Go over the Quick Dry top coat, as I think it dries a hair faster. But overall, I am very pleased with these products.

These treatments will be available January 2014 for $7.99 each at retailers including select CVS, Target, Walmart, Kmart, Duane Reade, Kroger, H-E-B.  In Canada these treatments will be available for $10.99 each at select Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart Canada, Jean Coutu, Loblaws and London Drug.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!