The 7 Best Top Coats of 2019

Peek into the kit of any professional nail artist and you'll likely find a bottle of this cult-favorite clear polish. It’s a must-have because it leaves nails with an ultra-shiny, crystal clear finish, and speeds up the dry time of your color polish. With just one coat, your nail lacquer maintains that I-just-had-a-mani freshness for days, without peeling, chipping, or yellowing.

There are over 4,000 reviews online of this top coat, with a large majority of reviewers giving it five stars. Some women claim their manicure looked perfect for 10 full days. It’s safe to say they nailed it with this best-selling formula. 

Anything containing diamond powder sounds like it should be really pricey, right? But this top coat contains the luxe ingredient and sells for less than the price of your morning latte. Why diamonds, you ask? They’re known to be super hard, and, of course, extremely shiny. And those are two qualities you want in your nails.

The ultra-fine diamond powder, made from the dust created by cutting diamonds, adheres to your color coat, making nails super glossy, stronger, and chip resistant for up to one week. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, especially when they come this cheap. 

Sally Hansen usually gets drugstore nail care right with on-trend, high-tech polishes, and products that outperform way pricier competition. This top coat is a prime example. It doesn’t just protect your polish; it nourishes your nails at the same time. It’s formulated with argan oil to hydrate and strengthen brittle, weak nails. But don’t worry, it doesn’t feel greasy on your tips. The oil gets sealed into your dry digits, and your color coat gets a dose of brilliant shine that lasts for up to 10 days.  

We love the idea of gel manicures. Vibrant, high-shine color that won’t budge for up to two weeks. But taking them off (typically with pure acetone) can be rough on your nails. Enter this innovative polish. It’s a gel formula, but it doesn’t require a special UV lamp to harden it. And your polish comes off easily, just like traditional nail enamel. Use it over any regular lacquer and get a chip-free, high-shine mani (or ​pedi) for a week to 10 days. But don’t just take our word for it: This gel coat gets rave reviews, earning a full five stars on Ulta.com. 

Sometimes you feel like high shine and sometimes you don’t. That’s what this best-selling, “Amazon Choice” matte top coat is for. It instantly de-shines even the glossiest of color coats, leaving nails with a velvety-smooth finish. Use it on all your nails for a cool, textured look. Or, you can get creative with the mattifying coat and dull the shine just along your free edge—like a modern take on the traditional french manicure. Another idea: Apply it to just one or two digits for matte accent nails, leaving the rest glossy. 

Let’s face it; waiting around for your nails to dry can be a drag. And, if you’re impatient like us, you almost always end up with a smudge because you just can’t sit still long enough to let your polish fully harden. Fortunately, with this top coat, you don’t have to sit for more than a minute. Seriously. As its name suggests, the top coat dries nails to the touch in just 45 seconds. Your polish is left with a high gloss finish that won’t smudge or smear when you start digging around in your bag.