Seche Vite mini French Manicure Kit Review and Swatches

For some reason I've been going for a rather toned down look with my nails lately, I've rediscovered my love for the classic french manicure, an easy sophisticated look that goes with every outfit! I spotted the following Seche Vite French Manicure kit (minis version) on amazon recently and couldn't resist. Seche Vite has been my go to top coat for years now, but I hadn't tried anything else from their range of base coats and polishes until now :) Anyway onto the kit:

Seche Clear (base coat) 3.6ml

Seche Porcelain (opaque white polish) 3.6ml

Seche Rose (sheer pink nude) 3.6ml

Seche Vite (quick dry top coat) 3.6ml

mini Seche nail file

13 french tip nail guides

First up: 

Seche Clear Basecoat

Based on the ultra quick dry time of Seche Vite top coat I had high hopes for Seche Clear's dry time, as much as I adore OPI's Nail Envy I have to admit the dry time is a bit too long for my liking, I've been mostly using Nail Teks Foundation II base coat for my recent manicures, because the first nail is dry by the time I finish coating the last nail, speed is always the most important factor of a base coat for me, obviously the prevention of staining and durability of the mani are close seconds :) 

With regards to speedy dry time Seche Clear does not disappoint, I only had to wait one minute once I'd finished applying before I went on to do the tips, I can't comment on staining yet, as I've only tried this base coat with french manis, will follow up on that at a later date! Durability wise this french mani has already beaten any other I've tried with 3 day wear time so far and not a chip in site :) After 1 coat of Seche Clear I went on to the white tips:

Seche Porcelain

I have to admit I absolutely adore mini polishes for french tips, the small brushes really make applying the polish to tips a lot easier, so I havent bothered with the sticker guides, it's a little strange that you get 13 stickers, but I guess as its a mini kit they want to ensure you have enough for one manicure and have a few extra in case of mistakes.

Seche Porcelain is completely opaque in 1 coat, a perfect consistency to apply and relatively simple to apply freehand for the tips. I tend to use OPI Alpine Snow for french tips, and this was a lot easier to apply!

Seche Rose

Once the tips are dry I applied two coats of Seche Rose. I absolutely loved the way this applied, most of my favourite french shades are usually on the streaky side, and you have to be meticulous with application or the end result will be flawed. Seche Rose is an absolute joy to apply gorgeous and sheer positively perfect for a french mani.

Seche Vite

The final step of the mani, I applied 1 coat straight away to the wet nails, and they were touch dry in minutes, I've raved on about my love of Seche Vite enough on this blog, I'll just say its the best top coat in the world if you're in a hurry and want a gorgeous gel like shine to your nails.

A few more photos:

bottle close up

Overall this is the best French Manicure kit I've used to date, the finish on nails is the closest I've ever felt to gel from just nail polish, and the fact that they still look flawless 3 days on is a first for me! I've just nabbed up the full size set from amazon! I'm looking forward to seeing how Seche Clear wears with other polishes :) do you have any recommendations for any other french mani kits?

The Seche Vite mini French Manicure kit was £12.99 from amazon