Okay, so let’s talk about these essie quicke drying drops. I’m always doing my nails, like, all the time. But waiting for them to dry? Ugh, the worst. Seriously, I always smudge them. Always. I’d seen these drops around and finally decided, okay, let’s give this a shot. Maybe it’ll save me some frustration.
Getting Started
I picked up a bottle during one of my usual drugstore runs. The little bottle looked pretty straightforward. Glass, with a dropper thingy. Seemed simple enough. No crazy instructions, just basically “put your polish on, wait a minute, then drop this stuff on top”. Alright, challenge accepted.
First Try – The Actual Process
So, I sat down to do my nails like usual. Did my whole routine:
- Cleaned my nails.
- Put on a base coat. Let that dry a bit.
- Applied my first coat of color. Waited a couple of minutes.
- Applied the second coat of color. This is usually where the trouble starts because I get impatient.
- Okay, now for the drops. The instructions said wait like 60 seconds after the top coat. I actually used a top coat too, because, you know, gotta seal the deal. So, polish, top coat, then waited about a minute, maybe a minute and a half just fidgeting.
Then I grabbed the essie bottle. Unscrewed the top, squeezed the dropper bulb thing to suck up some liquid. It looked kinda oily. I carefully aimed and squeezed one drop onto each nail. Tried to get it right in the middle so it would spread out. It did, covering the whole nail surface pretty quickly. It felt a bit greasy, not gonna lie.
The Waiting Game… Or Not?
The bottle says “quicke,” right? So I expected magic. I sat there, trying really hard not to touch anything. After maybe another minute or two, I gently tapped the surface of one nail with the pad of my finger from the other hand. It didn’t feel sticky! It felt kinda slick, probably from the oily stuff, but the polish underneath didn’t move or smudge.
This was promising. Usually, at this point, I’d definitely leave a fingerprint or mess it up somehow. I gave it a few more minutes just to be safe. Then I got bolder. I tapped a bit harder. Still good. It really did seem to set the top layer super fast.
The Verdict After Using It Awhile
I’ve used it quite a few times now since that first try. It definitely helps set the surface of the polish quickly, which is great for preventing those annoying smudges you get from lightly touching things too soon. It doesn’t make the polish underneath instantly rock hard, mind you. You still gotta be a little careful for a while, don’t go digging in your purse immediately. But does it drastically cut down that initial “wet paint, do not touch” time? Yeah, it totally does.
The oily feel disappears after a bit, or you can just gently wash your hands after about 10-15 minutes. I found it doesn’t mess with the shine of my top coat either, which was something I worried about.
So yeah, it’s become a regular part of my nail routine. Less waiting, fewer smudges. For someone as impatient as me, it’s a win. Simple as that. It does what it says on the tin, mostly. Just don’t expect miracles like instantly cured polish all the way through, but for surface drying? Thumbs up from me.
