Base Coats, Polish, and Top Coats. Oh My!

Don't you hate when you spend your hard earned polish budget on a product that doesn't perform up to your expectations. I know I do. I recently received a suggestion for base coat/topcoat review, which I thought was a great idea. Thanks Viv! I first wanted to start with what else, base coats.

Base Coats:
First I did some swatches of some base coats to see if there was any noticeable differences once polish was applied. The base coats used  were as follows.

1. Finger Paint base coat
2. Seche clear base coat
3. OPI start to finish base and topcoat
4. Tough Coat base and top coat

Base coats with two coats of Orly Passion Fruit

I first applied a base coat as normal and topped that with two coats of Orly in Passion Fruit.  Once applied there was no noticeable differences between them. They all dried relatively quickly and offer protection from staining for my nails. I also like to use a base coat because it acts as a bonder for the polish to adhere to. I also think that it helps to extend the life of my manicure. The only one notable difference came in wearing. I did notice that when using the OPI start to finish base and topcoat the polish seemed to peel much faster than with the other base coats.

Top Coats:
When reviewing the following topcoats I wanted to be sure that all of them were tested in the same matter. I first applied two coats of Orly in Passion Fruit, then waited five minutes. I then applied dots of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue and waited another two minutes until a top coat was applied. I did this for all of the swatches.

Orly in Passion Fruit/Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue

Tough Coat Base/Top Coat 


Tough Coat base/top coat and nail swatch

When applied there was no streaking with Tough Coat. All though this is not a quick dry topcoat it did dry rather quickly. Another benefit is that it can be used as both a base coat or a topcoat. It can also be used as a bonder or sealer for nail art including jewelry, striping tape, rhinestones, paper wraps and decals. Tough Coat retails at Sally's Beauty for about $3.99 which is a good value for a topcoat. Tough Coat gets a pretty polished thumbs up.

Orly Glosser Topcoat

Orly Glosser High Shine Topcoat

I then tried Orly Glosser the bottle indicated that it was a high shine topcoat. I did notice that there was a lot of streaking when applied. It is also not a quick dry polish as well. I tried to apply this again, this time waiting longer after the art was applied, unfortunately the same results occurred. This retails at Sally's Beauty for $7.99. I have used this on top of polish only without any nail art. It does deliver a high gloss shine but is definitely not for use with nail art. Since it is very rare that my nails are polished only one color I would have to give Orly Glosser a pretty polished thumbs down.

Ruby Kisses Quick Dry Topcoat

Ruby Kisses Quick Dry Topcoat

Ruby Kisses quick dry topcoat has a very strong odor. It smells a lot like those balloons in a tube that you inflate with a straw. Once applied over the polka dots there was some streaking as well. The name indicates that it is quick dry but I don't think that it dries very quickly at all. I purchased this for around $2 at one of my local beauty supply stores. Due to the streaking and the long dry time Ruby Kisses quick dry topcoat gets a pretty polished thumbs down.

Out The Door Topcoat

Out The Door Super Fast Drying Topcoat

Out The Door super fast drying topcoat. This comes in a extra large 2.5fl oz. bottle. I got this particular bottle at my local Sally's Beauty Supply. I believe I got this bottle for around $10. As you can see from the nail swatch there is definitely some streaking. This is not a good topcoat for intricate nail art. It will cause streaking. Which I have found out the hard way. I even tried to wait longer and no matter how long I waited for my art to dry there was still streaking. With that said I do still use this topcoat. When doing a basic one color mani, it's not too often but I do use it. The finish is also not really a high gloss shine and sometimes it can leave your nails feeling a bit tacky. So all in all Out the Door Topcoat gets a meh! It's not the worst I have used and definitely not the best.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat

I actually received this topcoat for the low, low price of free. I purchased the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri polish in Brisk Blue and this came with it for free. Score! This one had very slight streaking. When I let the nail art dry a bit longer the streaking was no longer an issue. Being that I got this free my hopes weren't too high, but I must say that this topcoat exceeded my expectations. For that it gets a pretty polished thumbs up.

OPI Start to Finish Base/Topcoat

OPI Start to Finish Base/Topcoat

I received this as a gift and was excited to see that it does double duty. It can be used as both a base and top coat which is great. Personally I think that it does a better job of being a top coat than a base coat. There was no streaking when applied over nail art. Which was great. It left the nails with an overall good shine. I am going to have to give this one a meh! All though it does do double duty it doesn't work too good as a base coat and I have lots of peeling. It also comes with a high price tag. This retails at Ulta for about $12.99.

Seche Vite Topcoat

Seche Vite Dry Fast Topcoat

This is by far my favorite topcoats. It dries super fast. It leaves your nails with a super high gloss finish. They look almost like glass. There is not any streaking what so ever. It is great to use when doing nail stamping. Now there are a few cons. It is a thick formula which may take some time to get used to. Over time it also gets thicker, this usually happens when I am down to a quarter left in the bottle. It retails at Sally's Beauty Supple for about $8. They also sell this at Walmart. Seche Vite gets two pretty polished thumbs up.

Orly Matte Topcoat

Orly Matte Topcoat

This one is a little different from the others as this Orly Topcoat is matte. This is the first matte topcoat I have purchased so I didn't really have much to compare it to. It did leave nails with a matte finish as promised. There was some very light streaking but it I let it dry a bit longer that was no longer a issue. I purchased this bottle at Ulta for $10. All in all Orly Matte topcoat gets a pretty polished thumbs up.

I hope that this helps you make a better decision on your next polish shopping spree.

Thanks for stopping by.

<3 Pinky