top coat comparison

SALLY HANSEN Double Duty Strengthening Base and Top Coat

Pros: shiny finish, but nothing outstanding
Cons: takes ages to dry

SECHE VITE
Very thick, but distributes like butter

Pros: dries instantly to touch, dries out completely within a matter of minutes, provides the most beautiful glass-like finish, evens out any bumps on th nail. The best top coat ever in those respects.
Cons: unfortuately Seche Vite has three serious flaws: 1. makes polish shrink ( within a couple of hours after the application the polish retracts about 1mm from the edge of the nail and looks quite worn out), 2. contains substances considered harmful for pregnant women and their unborn babies, prohibited in certain states in the US (makes you think, huh?), 3. smells horrible (like this sort of glue degenerate teenagers sniff to get high) .

NAILS INC.

Pros: dries instatly to touch, shiny finish, quite flexible when dry (this prevents chipping a lot)
Cons: none, though the finish is not as beautiful as Seche Vite

ORLY IN A SNAP and POLISHIELD
I can't compare those two separately cause they seem to me quite identical. I would describe them as the same substance sold under different names.

Pros: dry instantly to touch, completely dry in a relatively short time, chip resistant (the most chip resistant of all top coats mentioned here)
Cons: again, none except the fact that the finish can't beat Seche Vite.

NAIL TEK QUICKEN

Pros: dries fairly quickly, especially when followed with fast dry drops
Cons: takes longer to dry than Orly coats or Seche Vite, the least shiny of all mentioned here.

YVES ROCHER French manucure vernis brillantissme

This was part of a french manicure set. Very watery as far as the consistency is concerned, but this actually does not affect its performance. A thin coat dries much more quickly!
Pros: dries very quickly on its own (when applied on dry polish, to refresh the look), but does not have any polish-drying properties.

Cons: doesn't speed up the nail-polish drying period

Disclaimer: I bought the product myself for my personal use and I am not affiliated with any company. I am not paid to do this review and everything I said here is my genuine opinion.