Recently I became intrigued by manicures that combine matte and shiny topcoats. I had never tried a matte topcoat until I gave this one from Sephora a whirl, but I really like the effect. It’s not quite totally matte, more like a satin finish, and you can apply it over any normal nail polish to get the effect. I gave myself a pink and red shiny and matte manicure, which I think would be perfect for holiday parties and events. Here’s how I did it.

First I painted my nails with some regular red nail polish.

Then I applied a coat of the matte topcoat.

It dries quickly, and it’s kind of fascinating watching your nails go from shiny to matte.

Next, I used some hole protectors to tape off my tips. If you have actual nail tape, all the better.

Then I did two coats of a shiny pink polish on the tips. If you use one that mentions shine in the title (mine says “Vinyl Shine”), it’ll emphasize the contrast between the two finishes a bit. Make sure to keep the coats on your tips light, so you don’t have too much of a height difference between the tips and the rest of your nails.

Fun, right? Have you ever tried a matte topcoat? What did you think of it?

I want to try something like this next!