Tip Your Hat to Matte

Gelish’s new Matte Top It Off combines top coat properties to provide a new formula that seals and protects the nails from chipping and peeling. It cures in 30 seconds in the Gelish 18G LED light and in two minutes with a UV lamp.

Many nail techs are using the matte top coat to create textured nail art. “We’ve been using Gelish’s Matte Top It Off with a layered technique,” says MaeLing Parrish, a Hand & Nail Harmony educator. “We put regular Top It Off down, cured it, and cleansed it, and then put strategically placed drops of Matte Top It Off over it to create non-glossy 3-D polka dots.”

Parrish created another textured look by polka-dotting a nail with colored gel-polish and using Matte Top It Off just for the background. She then embossed the dots with regular shiny top coat.

“I’ve never been able to create that sort of texture before,” she said. “The great thing about matte designs is that to clients they look difficult to make because the completed work is so artistic and impressive, but it’s actually fairly easy with matte top coats.”

She did caution that Matte Top It Off is more viscous than regular top coat, so less is needed when creating designs. She also suggested flashcuring each nail for about fi ve seconds in an LED lamp and 30 seconds with a UV. “This freezes the gel in place while you’re doing the other fingers so the design stays crisp and the polish doesn’t start self-leveling,” said Parrish.