Battle of the Top Coats: Seche Vite vs Out the Door

So I've been a die hard fan of Seche Vite (~$8-10 at your drugstore) for years.  It is the top coat I return to time and again after straying and trying to find a cheaper yet equally awesome alternative.  There are a few unique characteristics of Seche Vite that I haven't found in other brands. 

You apply it while your polish is still WET and it bonds to the color and smooths out any ridges and leaves a wet shine like no other.  It lives up to its name and dries fast within just a few minutes, and if you leave it to cure for at least ten you won't have any issues with smudges. 

One of the problems with Seche Vite is that the formula thickens up really quickly in the bottle.  I never get more than half way thru a bottle before it's so thick that it gets tossed or needs Seche Restore to thin it out.  So that's another $8 to keep it from getting goopy.  For someone who buys nail color on impulse and usually sticks to the cheapo $1.99 Sinful Colors polishes, I hate shelling out that much for a top coat.  However since I do use cheap ass polishes, they start chipping before even a day is out.  Thus the catch 22.  Use a good top coat to squeeze out a couple extra days from a manicure.

This time a top coat that I'd read from a beauty blog that might compare to Seche Vite was Out The Door.  I'd never heard of it before and was immediately intrigued.  I found it at my local Walgreen's for only $4-5 and had to try it out.  Just to test with some of the most chip prone polishes I own, the color is Oceanside from Sinful Colors.

Upon first application I could see that the Seche Vite side leaves you with a thicker glossier top layer.  All the ridges that happen when a polish doesn't auto level well are nicely disguised and  the color just looks better.  The drying time was very similar though and I didn't have any issues with smudging in the hours after application.  

After 5 days of wear, both showed chipping but there was a definite improved wear on the Seche Vite side.

I would normally change my mail color after 3 days and Out the Door might work in a pinch but Seche Vite still wins the Battle of the Top Coats over all.