butter London’s Matte Finish Topcoat

Take a look at the picture over on the right. Do you see a difference between the middle nail and the two nails on either side of it? While my poor photography skills suggest otherwise, there actually is a visible difference between that nail and the other two. The middle nail has been treated with the butter London’s Matte Finish Topcoat and, in person anyway, it doesn't have the same degree of shine and shimmer that the untreated nails have.

According to button London, this shine-free topcoat “Turns any colour matte, flat, and utterly beautiful.” Based off my repeated experience with this product, I would phrase that claim like this: “Turns any colour matter, flatter, and utterly beautiful.” In other words, this product definitely works but the degree to which it “flattens out” a colour really depends on how shiny/shimmery/sparkly the base polish is.


Take the polish in the photo for example. It’s a new line from Revlon called Chroma Chameleon Limited Edition Nail Enamel (it will be getting its own review later this week) and it’s a very shiny, duo-tone polish that also has some fine, but clearly visible shimmer to it. While the topcoat didn’t completely eliminate that shine or shimmer, it did tone it down while not really impacting the original colour of the polish.

What I like about this product is that is basically doubles your options when it comes to shiny/shimmery polishes. You can wear them as is or slap on this topcoat and have a toned-down version of that polish that's maybe a little more work appropriate.

I also like how easily and smoothly this topcoat went on. It didn’t increase drying time or have any kind of unexpected or negative impact on my nails. Unfortunately, I don’t think it helped to extend the life of my polish but then butter London never said it would help out in that area. 

Would I buy this product again: Yes!  Since most of my nail polishes are shimmery and/or shiny, this topcoat allows me to almost double my collection.

Should you buy this product:  If you enjoy matte nails then yes, pick this item up. At just over $20 a bottle, it’s certainly not a cheap nail product but it is one that works and likely one that you'll get a lot of use out of.