Extreme Beauty Testing: Gel Top Coats

There is nothing quite as annoying as chipping freshly painted nails a day after you've slicked on a coating of glossy polish. In fact, we've actually had a chip a mere hour after painting before.

Gel top coats, however, promise longer chip-proof wear. But do they actually work? We put Revlon's Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat to the test against a general top coat. Two coats of red polish, one layer of top coat. Here's what happened over a 5 day period:

Testing: normal top coat

Five days after first painting her nails, Lucy's polish has chipped considerably.

Testing: Revlon Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat

At the end of the week, Lucy's nails were still perfectly in tact - in fact, they lasted a whole 8 days before a chip appeared!