My friend, Nina, gave me the idea of doing a mani with black and gold and matte top coat on it, and this mani is one of the ideas I got – I have another idea in mind that I might do soon. And truthfully – I’d forgotten how AWESOME black polish looks with matte top coat! So thanks for reminding me, Nina!

For the fun of it, I used Seche Vite as top coat this time instead of my trusted Essie Gel Setter Top Coat, and while these two are very similar (read my comparison here), sadly, I was reminded why I’ve stopped using Seche Vite. I did the mani just yesterday, and today the tips and sides are already really worn because the top coat ‘pulls’ at the edges of the polish. Such a shame, because I really love the look of this mani. Guess I’ll just have to do it again soon but with another top coat!

Also, I did two coats of a nude polish (OPI – Bubblebath) first and that looks really pretty matte – it looks like my natural nail, but more perfect. I might try very just that combo once.

Polishes used:

• OPI – Bubblebath
• Depend – 39
• Sally Hansen – Bold Gold
• OPI – Matte Top Coat