What is the BEST Base & Top Coat Polish?
- Thread starter Cheryl
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
I bought the Sephora 3 in 1 and I've been using it for all my manicures. It's been great so far and dries really quickly. Polish, no matter how dark, comes off cleanly and no yellowing. This is currently my new favorite base coat.
Seche Vite is my ultimate top coat. I always get really glossy color and it dries so fast too.
I use Chanel base coat + Essie's good to go top coat.
I was pretty happy with this combo and my manicure lasted for a good amount of time (at least 5 days). Then, about a month ago, I tried a cheap Essence base coat, which costs around 2.50 euros and you know what? it made absolutely no difference
I was pretty happy with this combo and my manicure lasted for a good amount of time (at least 5 days). Then, about a month ago, I tried a cheap Essence base coat, which costs around 2.50 euros and you know what? it made absolutely no difference
I use Chanel base coat + Essie's good to go top coat.
I was pretty happy with this combo and my manicure lasted for a good amount of time (at least 5 days). Then, about a month ago, I tried a cheap Essence base coat, which costs around 2.50 euros and you know what? it made absolutely no difference
In my experience the base coat is not nearly as important as the top coat.
I use Seche Clear or OPI's natural nail as my base and Seche Vite as my top coat. I love how SV dries pretty quickly and doesn't chip on me even after 4 days and I'm really rough with my hands. I also don't experience any shrinkage at all. 
I've probably replied to this thread before but I won't go back to check...
For base coats I find the matte finish ones to be most effective. They stick to the polish better and cover stains nicely. I currently use Nail Tek Foundation I but I really want to try Matte Nail Envy and Butter London Nail Foundation. The shiny base coats like Essie's green regular base coat do nothing for me, however I used Essie's Protein base coat for a while and it was alright.
I haven't found a perfect top coat, but I have repurchased Revlon Quick Dry top coat at least 3 times. It's cheap and wears a long time. I find it performs similarly to Essie Good To Go and Out The Door, but is slightly thicker; while slightly thinner than Sally Hansen Insta Dri (red bottle). None of these are thick enough to make indie glitters smooth, however. Seche Vite and Nubar Diamont are both thick enough to cover hungry glitters, but SV smells toxic and I prefer not to use polishes with toluene. Diamont dries amazingly fast but my bottle became stringy not even halfway through, and adding thinner seemed to affect the wear time.
For base coats I find the matte finish ones to be most effective. They stick to the polish better and cover stains nicely. I currently use Nail Tek Foundation I but I really want to try Matte Nail Envy and Butter London Nail Foundation. The shiny base coats like Essie's green regular base coat do nothing for me, however I used Essie's Protein base coat for a while and it was alright.
I haven't found a perfect top coat, but I have repurchased Revlon Quick Dry top coat at least 3 times. It's cheap and wears a long time. I find it performs similarly to Essie Good To Go and Out The Door, but is slightly thicker; while slightly thinner than Sally Hansen Insta Dri (red bottle). None of these are thick enough to make indie glitters smooth, however. Seche Vite and Nubar Diamont are both thick enough to cover hungry glitters, but SV smells toxic and I prefer not to use polishes with toluene. Diamont dries amazingly fast but my bottle became stringy not even halfway through, and adding thinner seemed to affect the wear time.
For the past month, I've been using Poshe base coat and Poshe Fast Drying top coat. I LOVE the Poshe top coat. Absolutely no bubbling, and great dry-time.
I've always used Seche Vite for my top coat, always...but the bubbling and shrinkage were killing me. I'm so glad I decided to switch to Poshe. But I will always keep a bottle or two of Seche Vite around...it dries amazingly fast, and is great for all those glitterbombs I wear. But because Seche thickens so quickly, i do keep Seche Restore around, too! I even just added some Seche Restore my bottle of Poshe, which is 2/3 empty.
I've always used Seche Vite for my top coat, always...but the bubbling and shrinkage were killing me. I'm so glad I decided to switch to Poshe. But I will always keep a bottle or two of Seche Vite around...it dries amazingly fast, and is great for all those glitterbombs I wear. But because Seche thickens so quickly, i do keep Seche Restore around, too! I even just added some Seche Restore my bottle of Poshe, which is 2/3 empty.
What are your faves and go to's? I've always tried to find something as shiny as seche vite. I loved it when I initially applied, but it never worked for me. The shrinkage was awful. Since then I feel like I've tried, try and buy every new top coat under the sun lol. This month alone I've already ordered 3 more to try.
My go to lately has been out the door since it's quick and reliable.
My go to lately has been out the door since it's quick and reliable.
My long time favourite is Essence Better Than Gel Nails Top Sealer, but I have experienced some shrinkage with it. It is quite comparable to Seche Vite in terms of drying time and gloss, but Top Sealer is 5-free. My current #1 top coat is Cult Nails Wicked Fast. It dries polish almost instantly, gives really high gloss, improves wear time and I haven't had shrinkage issues with it.
I've used Seche Vite exclusively for several years. I've never had any issues with shrinkage. I'm typically using it over OPI or China Glaze polishes. I've heard different polishes react differently with SV.
I just placed a big Nordstrom order, and bought the Butter London PD Quick Hardwear top coat (heard nothing but rave reviews on that one), Guerlain gel top coat and Dior gel top coat. I'm anxious to see how they all rate against one another.
I just placed a big Nordstrom order, and bought the Butter London PD Quick Hardwear top coat (heard nothing but rave reviews on that one), Guerlain gel top coat and Dior gel top coat. I'm anxious to see how they all rate against one another.
This is an awesome thread, thanks. Right now I am using Glisten&Glow's HK Girl TC and its really quite good, practically the same as SV which I cannot use because of smell and BAD shrinkage. The HK doesn't shrink but of course gets thick as heck before 1/2 a bottle. I have to learn how to apply my TC with a lighter hand.
I would say my favorite is probably Out the Door . Its true some polishes just don't play well with certain TC's and this is a bone of contention with me. I want something that just works!!
I have a question. I have asked this on several polish pages but nobody seems to know wth I am talking about. Does anyone ever get a sort of valley affect on the sides of their nails with top coats? I don't notice it right away but usually the next day and its not on all nails. I suppose its some sort of shrinkage but not at the tips. My polish looks like I have a sort of crevice on the sides and around the base of my nail. Doesn't go all the way around either. Makes me crazy. You cannot see it unless you are looking very close but being a nut job, it irks me.
I would say my favorite is probably Out the Door . Its true some polishes just don't play well with certain TC's and this is a bone of contention with me. I want something that just works!!
I have a question. I have asked this on several polish pages but nobody seems to know wth I am talking about. Does anyone ever get a sort of valley affect on the sides of their nails with top coats? I don't notice it right away but usually the next day and its not on all nails. I suppose its some sort of shrinkage but not at the tips. My polish looks like I have a sort of crevice on the sides and around the base of my nail. Doesn't go all the way around either. Makes me crazy. You cannot see it unless you are looking very close but being a nut job, it irks me.