Julep Hayden, while tedious to apply, is well worth the payoff. A bright neon, orange-y peach, is perfect for summer. This color makes even the lightest hands look tan. The first thing the girls at work said to me when I wore this was, "Oh, I love your nail polish. It makes you look so tan!".
I would definitely consider this a neon polish, so you need two coats for full coverage and to even it all out. I did find that it chipped rather quickly even though I used my normal regimen of base & top coats. I would venture to say this probably dries matte-ish without a top coat, but I am never patient enough to find out. I always put on top coat while my polish is still tacky.
Also, like with most neons, my camera had a hard time capturing the brightness of this polish. I mean, this is bright. It looks like it would glow in the dark. Not quite as bright as some of the neon yellows out right now, but pretty close.
Here's 1 coat Orly Bonder, 2 coats Hayden, 1 coat SV.