Kokoist: Stain Barrier Non Wipe Top Gel Review

Unlike base gels, which can be dependent on an individual's skin chemistry, the performance of a top gel is usually a little less subjective in its performance. Kokoist has become a very accessible salon level brand for all soft gel enthusiasts especially at a very reasonable price point, but I've found their base gels to overall be pretty easy to work with, but have terrible wear and retention across all the different types (unfortunately). While this review is not about their bases, it's generally accepted that to get the best performance out of gel products, it's best to use the same brand. However, salons typically mix and match brands, and from my own personal experience, I find that most Japanese soft gel brands tend to work well together without any issues, so there's not a huge issue here. 

For Kokoist, most of their top coats only come in bottle form (sans their Super Shine Top Gel), with their Glossy Top Coat as one of the best selling non-wipe top coats in Japanese salons. The downside of non-wipe top coats is usually that you can't do two coats of it, and also that it's a little squishier and softer compared to wipe top coats, but this comes down to personal preference. Softer formulas usually mean they're more resistant to scratches and dents, but have a little less strength compared to harder formulas. 

Stain Barrier Non-Wipe is however, unique in the line up of top gels. Compared to Glossy Top, which is quite viscous, Stain Barrier is almost watery in consistency, and is one of the runniest, thinnest formulas across all the soft gel formulas I've tried. It also has a tendency to split, causing patches instead of even coverage, but if you apply more and are not careful, it'll run straight into the sidewalls/cuticles. However, compared to other non-wipes, the resulting consistency is actually relatively hard, (it's classified as a semi-hard, which is slightly harder than hard gel formula) which I like, and the non-wipe aspect is also nice. As it's called 'stain barrier', I have to say that while this doesn't quite resist stains, any stains incurred will be very easily wiped away with a light touch of alcohol/acetone, which is a major plus. This works for inks to hair dye, which is fantastic. It was originally only offered in a 7ml bottle (which is what I purchased), but it is now available in a 15ml bottle, and also is available in the 100ml refill bottle. 

Personally, I think Stain Barrier is an exceptionally difficult top coat to use, especially if you're just starting out with soft gels. The formula is unique and I haven't quite tried anything similar to it, but it's definitely more of  complimentary addition to my clear gel line up, rather than something I'd start out with. However, I enjoy using non-wipe tops which lend a little more strength to the nail, but this is a great formula which just gives me a quick, easy and thin non-wipe top over a wipe formula, which saves me time from having to wipe. I don't think this is a must have, and I don't think I would repurchase this, but I will certainly finish using this bottle. 

For context: For soft gels, I typically use Leafgel's extreme clear base and Glossy top coat in a bottle, and typically use Pregel, Kokoist, Leafgel and Ageha colors.