Essence Ultra Gloss vs RdeL Young Gel Rose // Top Coat Reviews

Hey!

I haven’t done a product battle in a long while, so it was time to do it again! If you’re new to my blog, I like to do product battles in which I review two products from the same product and price category (like nail polish top coats) and see which one is better. Today I wanted to compare the Essence Ultra-Gloss top coat to the RdeL Young Gel Rose top coat. Which one is better, and is there any difference between the two?

Quick talk, but you can skip it if you want to: do you have a preferred posting time, or do you enjoy receiving/sharing a new post whenever you feel like it? Recently I’ve been publishing new posts at 7:30 (by my country’s time) and it has removed some of my blogging anxiety. Last week I shared five blog posts, and I feel like changing the upload time helped me tremendously!

If you want to see more makeup battle posts, give this post a like and leave a comment on which product battle you’d like to see next! Also, check out my Instagram @xocaligo for more beauty, lifestyle, and cat content. 🙂

Essence Ultra Gloss Top Coat

 8ml // 0.27 fl.oz. //  ~2,19 €

Manufacturer’s claims:

Glitter, shine and gloss are your thing? Then the ultra gloss coat is perfect for you. This top coat is simply applied on top of the finished manicure to give the look an extra portion of shine and instantly protects the colour nail polish underneath. For a long lasting wow effect.

INGREDIENTS

ETHYL ACETATE, BUTYL ACETATE, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, CELLULOSE ACETATE BUTYRATE, SUCROSE BENZOATE, PHTHALIC ANHYDRIDE/TRIMELLITIC ANHYDRIDE/GLYCOLS COPOLYMER, CAMPHOR, DIMETHICONE, MEK, CI 60725 (VIOLET 2).

Source: https://essence.eu/

• Cruelty-free product and brand.
  
• Makes the nails extra shiny and helps them look that way for the whole wear time.
  
• Works with one coat, though I suggest applying quite a lot of product. Ideally, you’d apply enough product to create a thick shell on top of the nail polish underneath.
• Good formula, not too thin or thick.
  
• It dries down and completely hardens within 25 minutes, though you can touch your nails without ruining your manicure after around 10 minutes. Of course, the drying time will differ depending on the thickness of all coats you’ve applied, the formulas of the nail polishes, etc.
• It doesn’t crumble, break apart, or create those weird marble-like cracks. Even after lots of handwashing and cleaning, the nail polish mostly wore off the tips, with very few bits breaking off throughout the days it was on.
• Lasted for ~2-3 days before I noticed any wear off the tips, but it only started chipping around the 5-7 day mark after I cleaned my kitchen gloveless. The polish I used looks gorgeous on the nails, but it has a horrible formula that makes it chip away after two days.
• It comes off with most nail polish removers and a cotton pad. If you’re wearing glitter or shimmer nail polish, it will take some effort to take them off, but overall this top coat doesn’t require special products to remove it.

• Takes a while to dry down, especially if you’ve applied a thicker coat.

✨ 6 day wear test ✨

As you can probably tell, I experienced some chipping on the pointer fingers, and the polish wore off the cuticles within a few days. However, the nail polish I was using has a horrible formula – it applies unevenly and chips away within a few days. I also did some cleaning without wearing gloves, and it didn’t do too much damage to my manicure. Overall, this is one of the best top coats I’ve used, so I’m rating it a 9/10!

RdeL Young Gel Rose Top Coat

 9ml // 0.3 fl.oz. //  ~1,69 €

Manufacturer’s claims:

Nourishing nail polish that highlights the natural color of the nails. It lends it radiance, nourishes the nail bed and neutralizes any jaundice.

INGREDIENTS

BUTYL ACETATE, ETHYL ACETATE, NITROCELLULOSE, ACETYL TRIBUTYL, CITRATE, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, ADIPIC ACID / NEOPENTYL GLYCOL / TRIMELLITIC ANHYDRIDE COPOLYMER, MEK, ACRYLATES, COPOLYMER, DIACETONE ALCOHOL, BENZOTRIAZOLYL DODECYL, P-CRESOL, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, CI 60725, RED 33 LAKE / CI 17200.

Source: https://kremmania.hu/

• Cruelty-free product and brand.
  
• Makes the nails extra shiny.
• Works well with just one thick coat.
  
• Nice formula, isn’t too thick or thin.
  
• The rosy tone could help colour-correct yellow nails, but it’s invisible once you’ve applied it on top of any coloured nail polish.
• It dries down and completely hardens within 20 minutes. I’d say you still have to be gentle, but I usually do my nails a few hours before bed, and both of the top coats I am talking about today had hardened by that time.
• It doesn’t crumble or break apart easily or create those weird marble-like cracks.
• The first chipping occurred after about three days. The nail polish started to chip badly in a few more days after I deep-cleaned my apartment and forgot to wear gloves.
• Extends the wear time of nearly all nail polishes by at least a few days, even if you regularly wash your hands or handwash dishes.
• Comes off with most nail polish removers and a cotton pad.
  

• Doesn’t dry down as quickly as I’d like.

✨ 8 day wear test ✨

The taupe and mustard nail polishes have pretty decent formulas, and I usually don’t need to wear a top coat with them. However, the orange nail polish is a pain to use: it looks nice, but the formula usually chips away in a few days! This manicure lasted on my nails for about eight days, and I’m impressed with how it held down the orange shade. Unfortunately, it didn’t prevent chipping or wear, though in its defence I have to reiterate that I deep-cleaned my apartment without wearing gloves. My rating is 8/10, would recommend trying it!

✨ final thoughts ✨

In my opinion, the Essence top coat worked better than the RdeL Young one. I’ve used both since taking these photos, and the Essence top coat offers more shine and lasting power, even if the nail polish I’m using underneath is real bad. That being said, I think both of them are good options, especially for the price point.

#QOTD: Have you tried either of these top coats? If so, what are your thoughts? Leave me a comment, let’s chat!

Until later,

xoCaligo

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This is not a sponsored post; all opinions are my own. I am not being paid to promote anything. Prices may vary from country or seller.