You’ll hardly catch me without a manicure. And I’m very much a DIYer. Painting my own nails is relaxing, and it’s fun to admire your handiwork for a week.
Although I’m a patient person, when it comes to the dry time, I’m rooting for the Usain Bolt of nail polish! “Quick dry or die!” is my motto. Okay, that was slightly dramatic, but you get the picture. I don’t like slow-drying polishes that have higher chances of getting nicked or the dreaded sheet marks.
That’s why I always use and highly recommend the Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine Topcoat. It’s Ole Faithful!
Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine Topcoat Pictures
Claims: TRUSTED
√ Seals polish for extreme wear
√ Non-yellowing (has UV protectors)
√ Fast-drying
√ High-gloss shine
√ Chip-resistant
Key Notes
- Name: Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine Topcoat
- Amount: 15mL
- What I Paid: $4.50 CAD (bought from salon-supply store)
- Where to Buy: eBay & some nail-supply stores
Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine Topcoat Review
Whenever I paint my nails, this top coat is a must not only because it extends the wear of my polish for days, but it adds a beautiful shine that enhances whatever color I’m rocking.
My previous favorite was Seche Vite, but that formula gets goopy too fast and it always seems to shrink my polish immediately after I apply it. Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine top coat, on the other hand, has never caused shrinkage for me.
What’s shrinkage? Sometimes when you put on a fast-drying top coat, it dries the top layer of the polish and pulls it back so it exposes the tips of your natural nails. It looks very much like tip wear (i.e. your natural nails peeking through after you’ve been wearing polish for a few days).
I’ve had impressive results using Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine top coat. Without a hint of exaggeration, I’m telling you that I can easily wear the same color (chip free!) for at least 6 days. If I don’t get bored of the color, I can often wear the same one for 1.5 weeks! With Seche Vite, my average chip-free record was only 7 days (still good, but not as good as Nubar).
The formula’s on the thinner side, which I usually prefer. The only time this is a downer is when you have gritty polish textures (think glitter disco-ball finishes) that require a thick coat to smooth out the roughness.
And because it’s clear, you can layer this over any hue without drastically altering the color. If anything, you enhance it and make it look better. Try it layered over even a suede or matte polish to bring out some oomph!
As for the bottle, I think it has a very sleek, sophisticated shape. The handle is flared near the bottom, which makes it comfortable (and easier) to grip. And I love the size of the brush – wide, but not too wide for my smaller nail beds. It delivers just the right amount of product so you don’t have to go dipping in multiple times for a single nail.
This top coat dries fairly quickly, although I’ve never purposely pressed my nail to see if it’s dry or not. You see, I tend to paint my nails a few hours before I hit the sack so my polish has a longer time to cure, and while it’s drying, I’m extremely careful not to touch it. When I wake up in the morning, I don’t get sheet marks, so that’s a good sign!
(Update: Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine Topcoat is no longer my favorite since they’ve changed their original formula. Read my Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat review to see why I’ve gone back to it.)
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 10/10
As far as I’m concerned, this is a beauty must-have. If I were stranded on a nail-polish island, this is something I would have to bring! It makes giving yourself manicures so much easier, and it preserves your hard work for longer. It’s a very small investment that makes the biggest difference.
Are you going to give it a try? What nail-polish top coats are you currently using?
nice!!
Thanks!!
Thank you so much for such a wonderful review. I’m using the 0-60 Speed dry Top Coat by Color Club and It’s brilliant too. I got 5 days, then had to take it off because I hit one of the nails really hard, so nail polish chipped. And I am really hard on my nail, I must say.
Don’t you just love quick-dry top coats? Without them, I don’t think I’d paint my nails nearly as often. They’re one of the great cosmetic innovations in my opinion.
I’m always on the lookout for new top coats from other brands that perform well. Thanks for bringing Color Club to my attention, Alex! Never tried it.
Lately, I’ve been taking a break from Nubar Diamont Seal & Shine Topcoat (even though I really love it) and going back to Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. It’s the first quick-dry top coat I’ve ever used. When my bottle got goopy and I didn’t have Seche Restore thinner on hand, that’s when I dabbled with Nubar. But now I’ve been revisiting Seche Vite to see if they’ve improved the formula during the years I stopped using it. I’ll be reviewing it soon after I test it out some more.
hi
just wondering which salon in canada you got this from?
thanks!
It’s this place called Fernanda’s that sells beauty and spa supplies. Normally you have to be a salon owner to get the discounted price, but they made an exception because I placed a large order. Hope that helps.
Thank you so much for testing this top coat. I’m actually right at this moment deciding between Seche Vite and Nubar Diamont BUT I’m looking specifically for a top coat to use with my super rough fabulously glittery polishes. So far I’ve tried several that require 3 coats and still aren’t perfectly smooth. Do you have a recommendation for me?! I’ve been asking around and searching all of these fabulous blogs but so far no one can give me a name. Please help! Thanks so much!
No problem, Allison!
This is an awesome top coat…if you get the old or the 2nd reformulated version. If so, the consistency should be thicker. If you get the “bad” batch, the polish is thin, very runny, and doesn’t dry your nails as fast as the original Diamont.
If you’ve never tried it before, you may not know whether or not you got the “good” or “bad” version…so…to be safe, I suggest getting Seche Vite (if you don’t mind the Toluene in it). That has a thicker consistency that I find works wonderfully over thick glitter. Seche Vite is pretty much what I use all the time these days. It provides awesome shine, dries polish soooo quickly, and helps my manicures last a long time.
The important thing to remember when using Seche Vite is that it CAN cause shrinkage. To avoid this, when you’re painting your nails with your base coat and base color, you should wrap your tips – i.e. paint the free edge of your nail, too. If you don’t, Seche will pull your polish and give you tip wear almost instantly, which sucks. Also, even though people say to use Seche over wet polish, I actually find that I get the worst results that way. I usually wait 5 or so minutes after my final coat and then put on Seche Vite. It works for me, but you may have to experiment to see what works best for you.
If you want to compare the Nubar Diamont review with the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat review, you’re in luck because I’ve also reviewed Seche Vite: http://www.swatchandlearn.com/seche-vite-dry-fast-top-coat-review-pictures/
Hope this helps!
I haven’t come across this topcoat before, but if it has your manicure lasting a week than it is worth a try (mine seems to only last about 3-4 days). Do you think acrylic top coats last longer, and what about the new gel polishes? Are they worth spending the money on a curing lamp?
Thanks for the help. I am a DIYer to, and I am always looking for ways to make my manicure look more professional.
Hey Sasha!
Seche Vite is actually the fast-drying top coat I use nearly all the time these days. 🙂 Nubar’s good, too, especially because it’s Big-3-Free.
I’ve never tried gel nail polish or acrylic top coats, so I can’t say how good (or bad) they are. I’m a little wary of using UV lamps, though (and have never used one), so don’t think I’ll ever try gel nail polish. Heh, plus I change my manicure so many times – wouldn’t want one colour to last 2 weeks!