What is your favorite base/top coat for nails? Does it change? What works best?
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I pretty much use Zoya’s Color Lock System for everything, but I do like Seche Vite’s shiniest as well as Nubar’s Diamont top coat.
Thanks to Christine (not me!) for today’s question!
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My Claire’s, Icing Anti-Chip Top coat/Base coat 😀 its cheap and works every time!
OPI top+base coat!
I have those and I hate them… but I’m going to force myself to finish them before buying a new set. I find the OPI base coat makes my polish peel around the edges… and the top coat is just okay but I would prefer glossier/shinier.
i’m trying really hard to find a top coat that doesn’t make me itch due to allergies but it’s so difficult! i think i’ve tried everything including the ones without the big 3 chemicals. arghh! anyone have the same problem and suggestions?
I think camphor is a common allergy? I know Nubar Foundation (base) & Diamont (top) are a popular option if you are.
Or maybe you’re chemically sensitive the ethyl acetate? If you go to a health food store they might have some water-based base and top coats.
I recommend checking out this post from ALU: http://www.alllacqueredup.com/2009/04/celebrate-earth-day-check-your.html
Wow, there are so many to choice from..currently I’m using Sally Hanen’s Hard as Nails, Xtreme Wear 01 Invisible..it works and serve it’s purpose.
I agree: Zoya is excellent and Seche Vita is great for quick painting. However, when Seche Vite starts to peel, it seems to peel my nail off too…
Also, how do keep from getting bubbles in the nail polish? Any tips would be much appreciated!
To prevent bubbles, I apply thinner coats and let them dry a bit n between. I think my polish bubbles the most when I try to put on a thick top coat, so I try to be careful about the top coat. I let the color dry well first and do a thin top coat.
Some polishes are just bubble-prone as well. I’ve got one ds polish that seems to bubble even though I apply it the same was as my non-ds ones! But I do think that thinner layers in general and proper dry-time will help as K pointed out 😀
bubbles also form if you shake your nail polish prior to using it. If you are using your nail lacquer right away, just roll it between your palms. If you are using it 30 minutes later you can shake the hell out of it and let it settle.
I’m a very lazy person and have just started using base and top coats again (the staining blue nail polish incident helped). For top coat, I’m using Seche Vite, since it seemed to get rave reviews; so far, i’m happy with it, though it smells odd. For base coat, China Glaze Strong Adhesion Base Coat, partly because i have a good China Glaze polish collection now, and I figured i’d “keep it in the family”. I also have the Nfu-Oh Aqua base coat for holographic nail polish; it really does make the application of holos easy, and they last longer.
for base coat I’ve been using a regular sally hansen one and for a top coat I use the china glaze fast dry one, they seem to be working ok and my manicures last longer since I’ve been using them
Base: Seche Natural
Top: Seche Vite
Base Coat: Nail Life Gripper Basecoat.
Top Coat: Seche Vite Fast drying top coat.
🙂
I haven’t tried many but I love Orly’s Bonder. It makes polish last so long even without redoing the topcoat. It’s thin and dries fast.
Best top coat I’ve seen is Poshe’s Fast Drying topcoat. It’s shiny and dries in like a couple of minutes. I was stunned.
i just tried MAC’s topcoat yesterday — it’s OK, but i’m dying to try seche vite. i’ve heard good things about it.
I’m using Revlon Post Trauma base coat and it’s good!
Favorite top coat is definitely Seche Vite, and I’m using Nubar Foundation base coat but I’m unsure as to whether it’s my favorite yet
I finally got to use Seche Vite & it does live up to the hype!
My absolute favorite base coat is Nubar Foundation Base Coat. It’s great at making polishes adhere to itself. I’ve tried a ton of top coats but, keep coming back to Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. It gives my nails a glass-like appearance, really bringing out the shine, shimmer or glitter of the polish beneath it.
Sorry, I forgot to add the base and the top coats I used in the past (with the top coat still being used on occasion)…
Prior to using Seche Top Coat, I used Nubar’s Diamont top coat. Unfortunately, half the bottle went to waste. It was then that I found it moved as a thick, molasses-like liquid when turned upside down and presented the same texture when I used as topcoat. I was very disappointed because I loved it up to that point.
For base, I’ve also used Orly Bonder Base Coat. It’s pretty good – I left a bottle of it at my boyfriend’s house (I’m not risking breakage of my Nubar base by bringing it back and forth). Orly Bonder Base has somewhat the same texture of Nubar’s base but, a bit less sticky. I find that polishes last longer with Nubar as the base but, you can use Orly Bonder if you don’t want to order Nubar.
Mine is Seche Vite for topcoat and orlys ridge filler for a base coat!!!
Right now it’s Seche Vite because it works very well and it’s cheap. Christine I watched your video about how you paint your nails some time ago and you mentioned that Zoya lock system, but I didn’t get it ’cause it costs $40, ut it is on my wants list so thank you very muc!
My favorite top coat is definitely Seche Vite. I still am searching for the perfect base coat. Right now, I am using the Orly Base and Top Coat in One. It’s ok.
It depends on whether I’m doing my hands or feet.
For hands, I use Zoya’s Color Lock when the color is a “3-free” polish. When its not, like with Essie polishes, I use an Essie base and top. Zoya’s system has superior durability and longevity, but it always bubbles with non “3-free” polishes.
For feet, I always use Seche Vite base and top, regardless of the colored-polish formulation. The high-shine factor keeps toes looking glossy and it easily peels off of my skin in the shower.
Seche Vite is the Holy Grail of topcoats!! It has to be thinned with Seche Restore on a regular basis to keep it like new. (But Seche base coat SUCKS!) I use OPI nail envy as a base coat.
base mavala, top coat seche vite
Seche Vite topcoat and Orly rubberized bonder for base coat. I love them. 🙂
I havent found my perfect base coat but for top coat I use sally hansens hard as nails
Trind nail repair as a base coat
trind topcoat as a, who would have guessed, topcoat!
i really love the products of trind, this topcoat i’m using isn’t a quickdry topcoat though, that’s a little bit of a downside to me… but there is one available so i think i should get that one next time (:
Base coat: Seche Vite Ridge Filler
Top coat: Out the Door fast drying top coat, it’s really comparable to Seche Vite top coat (I have both) but almost half the price!
I used to love the Zoya color lock system but it started to not give me the longevity I wa after a while. Now, I use NailTek Intensive Therapy II as a base and top coat because it really really helps my nails grow long, and when it peels it comes off in one sheet rather than little pieces, which I hate!
Seche Vite is also good because it smooths out all the irregularities caused by the brush, and its super shiny.
I find that some of my polishes just won’t work regardless of whether I use a base/top coat – maybe I need a better base and top coat for those ones.
I’m really liking the Revlon Base Coat Top Coat Pro one, the one that’s supposed to last for 10 days of wear. Not really true, but polishes that begin to wear away within 1-2 days can be worn for 5+ days, and I’ll end up removing it by then simply due to being bored of the shade! Cheap, works as a base and top coat, and has a really nice consistency and brush. I think it’s also helped keep my nails less dried out.
Base Coat: Creative Stickey
Top Coat: Seche Vite
I change up my base coat if I’m using a sheer polish – then I’ll switch to OPI Ridge Filler or Barielle Natural Nail Camouflage; something a little more opaque to provide a nice foundation for the sheer colour.
I used to use quicken by Nail Tek, it’s great! A lot like Seche Vite. There’s a liquidation store near me that got a ton of Nail Tek products from a store that closed down. They were charging $1.99 for all of them!! Quicken goes for 10.99 last time I checked, so $1.99 is incredible! I’ve started using Seshe Vite, I really like the thick coverage!
Sally Hansen 4 in 1… Base Coat, Top Coat = AWESOME!
base: cnd stickey for toes and essie millionnails for fingers
top: cnd super shiney
Zoya Colorlock System, in particular anchor and armor if you don’t want to get the whole set. All of their polished are big 3 and camphor free too. My polishes last forever with this system.
I use OPI’s natural base coat if I’m wearing OPI polishes.
Seche Clear as a base coat for any other brand.
Seche Vite is my top coat for any brand I wear 🙂
Base: OPI Nail Envy. It hardens my nails over time and serves as a base.
Top: Seche Vite with a lot of Seche Restore mixed in to thin it out.
OPI Nail envy for a base coat, and either Essie’s Good to Go or Seche Vite’s top coat.
I use Orly’s Bonder and Won’t Chip.
I loOoove Essie’s Matte About You because I really like Matte polish and when I don’t go Matte I use the Essie Top Coat. I want to try Seche Vite but I can’t find it in Canada so I’ll get it my next trip to the U.S.