Review: Base and Top Coats

Probably two of the most important steps in making my manicures last as long as possible (and chip-free!) is the use of a good base and top coat. And I can't say enough about the absolute necessity of having a fast-drying top coat! We all know how annoying and debilitating it can be waiting for nail polish to dry on its own... It takes FOREVER, and then you have to be on high alert making sure you don't accidentally smudge it. It's awful. Fast forward to my discovery of fast-drying top coats *insert the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah here* (Here it is, for the full effect). How did I ever paint my nails without one? Anyway, these are the base and top coats I've used, and what I think of them...

Sally Hansen's Double Duty Base & Top Coat and CND's Stickey Base Coat

BASE COATS:

1). Sally Hansen's Double Duty Base & Top Coat: Easily found in any drugstore or Target, Wal-Mart, etc., this product is only good (in my opinion) as a base coat or as a clear coat over bare nails. As a top coat it is pointless (for me), because it is not fast-drying. I don't even know how many times I used it as a top coat, it hasn't been a lot. It was so few times that I can't even vouch for its integrity as one. As a base coat, however, I really like it. When paired with a good top coat I can get my manicures to last 3-4 days without chipping. It's not a sticky base, like the next base coat that I will be reviewing, but often times I will wear it alone for a day in between manicures and then paint my nails, and even when I do that the polish will still last the standard time frame mentioned above. Overall, I really like using this product as a base. It is inexpensive, easily found, and works really well. 

2). CND's Stickey Base Coat: I heard about this base coat from my favorite YouTuber (Young Wild and Polished), and decided to try it out when my bottle of the SHDD got low. It looks like you can get this at Ulta and online from various websites, but I ordered mine from eBay for $5.99 and free shipping. I think the regular retail on it is $8.50. The bottle is kind of small (0.33 fluid ounces vs. SHDD's 0.45), but it's a REALLY good product. The texture literally is sort of sticky, so the polish really adheres to the base nicely, but your polish will still go on smoothly. As the picture shows, it is a green hue, which you can see when you first lay it down on your nails, but once the polish is on that's not a problem. As with SHDD, I can get a full work week out of my manicure with this product. The polish literally anchors itself on top of it, which means chipping is almost non-existent when you have it on. My overall impression is that this is a GREAT base coat, a little bit pricey for a little bit less product, but if you hunt for a good deal online it's definitely worth it. 

My Top Pick: (Updated 5/1/15) At first my opinion was that I was undecided on which base coat I preferred, but now that I've been using the Stickey base coat for a while I have to say that I prefer it so much more over the Sally Hansen. The fact that I can go an entire 5 days at work, which includes lots of computer work and cashiering, and not have anything more than tip wear on my manicure is just amazing. I will still use the Sally Hansen Double Duty, but probably only as a clear coat when my nails are not polished. I think everyone should go buy the CND Stickey. You will not be disappointed. 

TOP COATS

1). Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Top Coat: Another product easily found at stores like Target, or in any drugstore, this product was the very first "fast-dry" top coat I purchased and used. Initially, I liked it okay. It did dry my nails more quickly than letting them air dry, so that was new and exciting. But I started noticing that it even though it seemed to be drying the polish quickly, it wasn't hardening the finish very well. I usually paint my nails in the evening, and when I would wake up the next morning I'd notice sheet marks pressed into my polish. It got to be pretty annoying, so I began to search for another top coat. I went to Amazon and looked for their top selling top coat, and it was there that I discovered Seche Vite. Since then I have abandoned using the Sally Hansen, but I do keep a bottle of it in my purse for nail emergencies. Overall, I don't think I would recommend this product when there are other top coats out there that are far superior, that you can get for not too much more money. 

2). Seche Vite (This is going to be long): So, when I went to Amazon to look for a new top coat Seche Vite had like a million reviews and 4.5 stars out of 5 on their rating system, so I went with it. It was only $4 with free shipping, and I got it in like two days, which is always exciting (I live in California, and I think the seller was based in CA, too). You obviously don't have to get it online, it's also sold in Sally's and Ulta stores, and I think I've also seen it at Target, but, of course, you're gonna pay $8-$10. I did not have any exposure to this product, or heard any opinions about it other than the reviews on Amazon. I was very pleased with it, and it instantly became a staple product for me. The drying time is very fast, and it has a high-shine finish. It does not leave the dreaded sheet marks that the Sally Hansen top coat leaves, does not pull/smear nail art, and the smell (which some girls complain about) does not bother me. BUT I finally did experience some of the other common complaints about it as I got about halfway through my first bottle. It got kind of thick and goopey, and started pulling on my nail polish. And then one day I used it to revamp/re-gloss a manicure that was a few days days old, and it basically started to shrink my manicure. The edges around my polish started to, for lack of a better description, curl up. I should have taken a picture of it. So, I went a bought a bottle of Seche Restore on Amazon for $5.50 with free shipping, which is the product that will restore the elements of Seche Vite that have evaporated from the bottle, AKA: the stuff that causes all of those problems. It also works as a nail polish thinner (on any nail polish), which is awesome, but I definitely see a drawback for needing to buy a separate bottle of a product just to maximize the life of another product. However, overall I must say that Seche Vite has been very good to me. I still use it, and (when the bottle fresh) it is a fabulous product. 

Seche Restore will help you maximize the life of your Seche Vite

3). HK Girl, by Glisten & Glow: Ah, the infamous holy grail of all top coats. After I started getting really into nail polish and watching lots of YouTube videos and reading lots of nail polish blogs I learned that there existed a top coat reported to be even better than Seche Vite. Girls were RAVING about this product, so, naturally, I had to have it. The accessibility of this top coat is far more limited than any of the other products mentioned in this post. At this point in time, I believe you can only purchase HK Girl online, and it's not on Amazon or eBay (that I've found). I purchased mine directly from Glisten & Glow. As such, there really aren't too many ways to find a sweet deal on this product other than when the company itself (which is an independent brand) has specials. Once I decided that I wanted to buy a bottle I waited and waited for a promo code because, as you know, I really never want to pay full retail for anything, plus you will have to pay for shipping if you order direct. One of the best way to find out about their promo codes is to follow Glisten & Glow on Instagram. It's a private account (or at least it was when I followed them), but if you request to follow them they will accept your request. In fact, after I finally got my bottle of HK Girl I was so excited that I posted a pic about it on my Instagram account and they started following me back. Very cool! But anyway... back to the important stuff. A couple of weeks ago they ran a promo for their fifth anniversary where they offered a discount on orders and a free bottle of holographic polish with every order. I jumped on that and ordered two bottles of HK Girl. At this point in time I have used it twice, but my first impressions are that it dries a little bit faster than Seche Vite, and I think it the finish dries harder, too. It also does not pull over nail art, is silky smooth to apply, and dries to a high-gloss finish. The real test (for me) will come when I get through the entirety of the bottle, but so far it's awesome. Overall, I have very high hopes for this product, and I have a feeling it will not let me down. 

My Top Pick: It may be a bit premature, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say HK Girl wins this category. Seche Vite has been very good to me, but the necessary purchase of Seche Restore is a big drawback. Now everyone go out and buy a bottle of HK Girl! 

HK Girl by Glisten & Glow, the holy grail of top coats

Of course I had to screen shot this moment, haha