Julep has introduced a new Top Coat and included it in, I believe it was the February Maven Boxes. I’m not usually picky with top coats, but this one intrigued me. It is supposed to be fast drying with a gel-like shine and incredible durability. The top coat is, like all Julep polishes, 4-Free, which means it does not contain formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toulene, or DBP. Since I wanted something that would help my polish dry quicker, I decided to give this a try.
My main interest was the drying time of the Julep Freedom Polymer Top Coat. I don’t think anyone wants to wait for polish to dry and I am also tired of thinking my polish has dried, going to bed, and waking up with marks all over my freshly painted nails. So I painted on the Freedom Polymer Top Coat and waited a few minutes before gently touching my nail to see if it was still tacky. It wasn’t! It felt completely hardened! I will say that it will smear or dent if you are really tough on the polish at this point, but you can pretty much go back to normal daily activities without worrying about your polish being damaged! I was so impressed and could not have been happier to find a top coat that really does dry quickly! No more waiting 40 minutes to touch anything! J
The drying time alone was enough to sell me on Julep’s new top coat, but the shine is also quite impressive. I’m not usually too picky about having super shiny nails, but it does make certain colors look much better and gives your manicure a more finished and professional appearance. The Freedom Polymer Top Coat claims to have a gel-like shine without the need for curing lamps and special products. Since I have never had a gel manicure, I can’t really say if that is true or not, but from what I have seen in photographs, the shine is not quite as vibrant as a gel manicure, but it is still a great shiny top coat. I would say it is somewhere between a standard top coat and what I think a gel finish looks like! J It is certainly quite shiny, but doesn’t quite look the same as gel. And certainly, nothing other than the polish on the brush is needed to create the nice shine! J
Julep's Freedom Polymer Top Coat on middle nail only.
(Please excuse the horrendous condition of my nails!)
| Julep's Freedom Polymer Top Coat on middle finger only. (Please excuse the hideous condition of my nails! Yuck!) |
Overall, this has been an excellent top coat and I’ve used it religiously since I received it! I love how fast it dries and the shine is beautiful. It removes easily and does not require anything special to dry it which is a huge plus for me. I have enough polish to store; I don’t need to add lights and special removers and what not! J I feel like my nails have been in better condition since I’ve started using this top coat as well! If nothing else, it seems to seal any damaged areas so that they don’t continue peeling, flaking or chipping, allowing the rest of the nail to grow and the damage to slowly disappear. My only complaint about the polish is actually the bottle! It is in a black bottle, so you cannot tell how much remains and I feel like I may run out any day now because I use it all the time. It is also a relatively small bottle at 8mL/.27 fl oz, and it does thicken as time goes on. I suspect this can be remedied with a polish thinner, but I haven’t tried it yet. Overall, Julep has created an amazing formula for their Freedom Polymer Top Coat and I would highly recommend trying it!
Julep’s Polymer Top Coat can be purchased through Julep here, or can be found at Sephora stores. If you are a Julep Maven, or would like to become one, you receive discounts on this and all other products sold on Julep’s website! To join the Julep Maven Program, click here.
Disclaimer: I have not been compensated for this review and all products were purchased by me. This post contains an affiliate link.