Shining Armor

I received this as a perk with my Winter Color Pass box. The very first time I used it, it dried very quickly. After that, drying time has varied--I suspect it depends on the thickness/thinness of the polish formula I happen to be using (and/or how many coats I've had to use).

Its main claim to fame--that it's long lasting--I can wholeheartedly confirm. On me, it lasts a good 7 days, and may even stretch to 10, with minimal wear at the free edge of the nail (no chipping). So far, so good.

However, I suspect the thing that makes this so enduring also leads to a peculiar effect--unless I load a good glob of the stuff on a nail, Shining Armor will pucker along the free edge as it dries. This results in the first two nails I topcoat (my pinky and ring finger) tending to come out fine, as the brush is heavy with topcoat. But as I progress along my hand, my middle and index fingers, along with my thumb, all end up with puckered, sort-of pleated free ends. When I started noticing this I wondered if I was "dinging" my nails, so when I did my mani last night I made of point of having nothing more intense to do after than to eat an already-prepared meal while streaming something on Amazon. I babied my hands for a good hour and a half after top-coating and the puckering pattern still manifested.

I supposed I could just overload the brush for every nail but that would have me burning through a pricey topcoat that much faster. As well, the dark bottle makes it impossible to know how…