Foundation! Foundation! Foundation!

Hi all.

For my first post I thought it was only fitting to talk about the foundation for everything:  Base Coat!

Before I do this:

                                             Idea from lacquerish.com: 

                                             1 coat Julep Dakota

                                             1 coat Layla Magneffect Golden Bronze (wavy Icings magnet)

                                             Stamped with Kleancolor Black 05 and plate that came with a

                                            stamping set I bought on Amazon

 I always use a base coat.

I have tried so many base coats over the years and I think it just boils down to what do you want your base coat to do for you?  Do you want it to make your nails stronger?  Do you want it to keep your nail polish longer?  Do you want it to minimize staining on your nails?  What do you need it to do for you.  To that end I will review several base coats and share what I consider pros and cons for each.

 In order of appearance L-R: Butter London Nail Foundation (no pun was intended by title... found at ULTA, QVC now too in a set), Cutex Baseworx (drugstore.com), CND Stickey (ULTA), Zoya Anchor (zoya.com), Dazzle Dry basecoat (dazzledry.com), Perfect formula clear gel coat (Sephora, QVC, perfectformula.com).

1. Butter London Nail Foundation
PROS:

• This truly is like makeup for the nail.  It makes the nail look healthy and provides a bit of coverage drying to a satin finish.  This base coat can also be used as a slight mattifying top coat but may change the tone of the nail polish underneath depending on the color.
• Dries pretty quickly so I can get on with COLOR.

CONS:

• $18 on it's own. That's a lot to spend on any nail item.  The good news is there are multiple sets available on butterlondon.com, ULTA and QVC that make this much more affordable it you also want everything else in the set.
• This base coat did not really hold my nail polish on for as long as I would like (3 days max)

Confession: I expect my nail polish to last at least 6 days with no chipping.  I'm very demanding because I don't have time to do my nails during the week.

2. Cutex Baseworx
PROS:

• The fact that this base coat has "bioceramics" is supposed to harden your nail as soon as it dries as well as adhere to any nail polish painted over it.  This really does make my nails really hard when it dries and did keep my nail polish on for 6 days.  It's great.
• Self-levels as it dries creating a really smooth, glass-like canvas for nail polish to go on.
• $7.99 before shipping and handling at drugstore.com

CONS:

• After using this consistently for a month (once a week) I found that one of my nails started to peel.  Peeling nails wasn't a problem I'd had before.  It was only one nail so it could have been a fluke, but thought I should mention it. 

3. CND Stickey 
PROS:

•  This base coat really does hold on the any nail polish painted over it.  My nail polish will last 6 days.
• $8.50 at ULTA

CONS:

• The greenish hue of this base coat will change the color of any light nail polish I wear over it.  It annoys me when my pretty pinks look nauseous.

4. Zoya Anchor
PROS:

•  This base coat works amazingly well when following the entire Zoya color lock system (base coat, nail polish, armor top coat).
• $9 on zoya.com

CONS:

• I don't get the same results when I use this base coat with other nail polishes and top coats.
• Didn't prevent staining with Zoya Bevin I had to buff the green off them.

5. Dazzle Dry Base Coat
PROS:

• Really watery for lack of a better phrase.  Maybe it's just me, but since this brand claims to act like gel nail polish without the UV light, the fact that this base coat is similar in texture to the gel base coat placed under the UV lamp I like it more.
• Nail polish does adhere to this base coat very well, lasting my required 6 days
• Dries really quickly to a matte finish.
• Vegan and has no nitrocellulose which is said to cause yellowing.

CONS:

• Does not have a self-leveling effect so if it isn't painted on evenly that's the way it dries.
• $12.50 on dazzledry.com by itself, but it is available in more cost-effective kits or value sizes.
• Really watery.  I hate flooding my cuticles and before I was used to this formula it would flood like crazy.  I finally got the hang of it.

6. Perfect Formula Gel Coat
PROS:

• This base coat make your nails so strong while it is on.
• It is also a protein treatment so makes your nails stronger over time.
• Self-levels creating a shiny, glass-like surface for nail polish to go on.

CONS:

• $24 when purchased by itself at Sephora or QVC, but there are more cost-effective kits with multiples if you know you like it.
• Dries slowly (especially when used as both a base coat and top coat).

Whew!  I didn't realize I had so many opinions about these base coats until I started typing.  These are just things that I have noticed while going through a week with a manicure I spent time doing.  There are many base coats out there and not everything works for everyone.

My favorite is Perfect Formula Gel Coat, which I buy in sets, because I have natural nails and I want them to be as strong as acrylics so I have one less thing to worry about during the week.  This does that for me.  The Cutex Baseworx is a close second simply because it works almost as well at a fraction of the price.

Promising that future posts will not be so wordy,

Bevy of Nails.