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33 Comments

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Lisa Avatar
Lisa

Top coat: Seche Vite
Base coat: CND Stickey
Remover: I like pure acetone, even though it’s really drying… Gets everything off in a flash though!

Lila Avatar
Lila

* Best nail polish top coat? seche vite
* Best nail polish base coat? Chinaglaze
* Best nail polish remover? I’ve used one by studio tools for years, & it seems really good, but it’s one of the few ones I’ve ever tried so not sure.

Lingping Avatar
Lingping

Best nail polish top coat? Poshe fast drying top coat
Best nail polish base coat? OPI natural nail strengthener
Best nail polish remover? ACO polish remover

Melissa Avatar
Melissa

Base coat: Seche Base (Ridge Filling Base Coat)
Top coat: Nubar Diamont

Nubar Diamont dries the nails completely and leaves a glass-like finish. I absolutely love it but, wish that Nubar was available in more places than just the company’s website.

kpenn09 Avatar
kpenn09

Top Coat: Seche Vite (although it’s hard to find these days!)
Remover: Sally Hansen where you just have to dunk your nail in and it’s all done (even though sometimes it temporarily stains your fingers…haha)

I don’t use a base coat, because I find that it encourages my nails to peel even more than they already do.

Mariah Avatar
Mariah

Ok, I’m a total nail polish fanatic, so I know waaaay too much about topcoats and such. But I do know that top and base coats are totally different on different people. Just from the MUA community that I talk to frequently, I know that even the best top/base coats will react differently on different people’s chemistry. So there just seems to be different Holy Grails for everyone. That aside, for me,
the best topcoat is: Seche Vite (though you have to know how to apply it properly. Thickly, and while polish is still wet! Or else later it’ll all peel off. But done right, it’s perfectly hard and shiny!)
Best base coat: Right now I am in love with Barielle’s Nail Rebuilding Protein basecoat because I have weak, flexible, splitty nails. (It’s just genetic) And then on top of that I wear CND’s Sticky to hold the polish tight.
And my fav remover is Pure Acetone. There’s nothing better for removing glitter (pure acetone + felt = magic!!!!) and it’s SUPER fast. I don’t really believe a lot of the claims of “hydrating” or “moisturizing” removers, because it’s all drying anyway. And non-acetone will just take too long, and ends up drying your skin and nails out MORE than acetone, because you have to be exposed to it longer! So Pure Acetone, and then just lotion, lotion, lotion to re-hydrate!

Also, for an awesome scientific perspective the girls over at The Edge Of Sanity did a, like, 12 week test on 12 topcoats and ranked them! Check it out! http://theedgeofsanity.org/?p=2674

Jennifer Avatar
Jennifer

Top Coat: For Big 3 Free polishes, Zoya Armour (part of the Zoya Color Lock system – my favorite). For non-B3F polishes, Seche Vite.

Base Coat: Love Zoya Anchor!

Remover: Zoya Remove +

Andrea Avatar
Andrea

Best nail polish top coat? Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat
Best nail polish base coat? Don’t use on
Best nail polish remover? Sally Hansen Salon Strength

Bridgette Avatar
Bridgette

Im still new into nails but this is what I found best so far…

Best nail polish top coat? Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top Coat
Best nail polish base coat? OPI Natural Base Coat (Its clearish pink)
Best nail polish remover? The purple bottle from Studio Tools (I think thats the brand)

Victoria Avatar
Victoria

Base- Seche Vite Ridge Filler
Top- Sephora by OPI Top Coat, gasp, not Seche Vite!–I feel like it peels off a lot faster!
Remover- Pure acetone…tisk tisk

Constance Avatar
Constance

Top- Seche Vite
Base-OPI Nail Envy (really keeps my nails strong….not sure if it helps polish life or not.
Remover- Cutex Strenghtening + felt

avroys Avatar
avroys

Top coat: currently using Precision fast dry, but I am sure my HG is out there somewhere!
Base coat: Qtica natural nail growth stimulator (my manis last up to 5 days since I started using this)
Remover: Because I can’t get hold of the Zoya one, pure acetone for the time being

Make_up_Maven Avatar
Make_up_Maven

Top coat: Seche Vite
Base coat: CND Stickey
Remover: 100% Pure Acetone – for me, it doesn’t dry my nails at all and I do my nail everyday (sometimes twice a day)

Lydia Avatar
Lydia

* Best nail polish top coat? Seche Vite
* Best nail polish base coat? Mm I haven’t found one I love yet.
* Best nail polish remover? One that is just straight up acetone!

aMy Avatar
aMy

Best nail polish top coat? Seche Vite!
Best nail polish base coat? I still can’t find a great one! (gonna check out CND Stickey! Thanks Ladies!)
Best nail polish remover? Pure Acetone

Anna Avatar
Anna

Top Coat: Seche Vite. I love that it dries super fast and it’s the best one I’ve tried SO FAR. I like to apply a layer of top coat halfway through the week and I find that the Seche Vite shrinks my polish. Still looking for my HG top coat, but for now, this is the best.

Base Coat: Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulator. Great for strengthening nails and for long lasting manicures. Love this stuff!

Nail Polish Remover: I use Onyx Pure Acetone, but I also like Zoya Remove+ when I’m using polish without any glitter.

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