Sunday, January 6, 2013

Holo Basecoat Comparison and Review!


 So, holographic polishes can be hard to deal with. They can be streaky, especially as you add more layers of polish.  This is my review on different base coats that I used with the most holographic polish I own, MakeUpStore Greta. I do not own the Nfu Oh Aqua Base, but after this review I don't think I will need it.


Overview and ratings:
1st place: Pinky: Nail Foil Glue
2nd place: Middle: G&G Stuck on Blu
3rd place: Ring: LA Colors Blue base
4th place: Pointer: Gelous


From top to bottom, I will go through the base coat, how well it applied, how the polish applied, and how it looked afterwards.  For all of these photos I used 1 coat of base coat, followed by 2 coats of polish.

  • Pointer: Gelous Base Coat:   Gelous is just a regular base coat, so it didn't do anything spectacular. The polish went on the streakiest with Gelous compared to the other 3, and in the photo you can tell it. This was the worst of all of the base coats.
  • Middle: Glisten and Glow's Stuck on Blu Base coat: (purchase here) This is a new base coat from Glisten and Glow which was sent to me for review. I thought the true test of its abilities would be with a holo, and I have to say, that it applied very well. Of all the ones tested it would have to be my second favorite base coat for holo polishes following the pinky finger. The first coat was not very streaky, and the second coat was fine as well. This basecoat is great for general use, and I have been using it daily.
  • Ring: LA Colors Blue Base coat: This one has been raved about as a cheap alternative to the aqua base, so I had to try it out on my base coat test, and this one would come in 3rd.  It was still a little streaky, more streaky than Stuck on Blu, when the second coat was applied. I also had a bald patch which shows up in the nail.
  • Pinky: Nail Foil Glue:  This one I have to say worked the best. I used Nail Foil Glue for the base coat, and it worked magic on my nails.  The first coat was much more holographic than the previous fingers, and the second coat was perfection.  I will definitely be using this one as my base coat for holos from now on, because it literally held on to the holographic pigments in the polish.
 Nail foil glue definitely worked the best of all of the ones tried, followed by the Glisten and Glow Stuck on Blu base coat. The worst contender was Gelous, which was kind of expected as a holo base coat.

****UPDATE****
It has only been 9 hours since applying this polish without topcoat, and the nail foil glue has chipped at the tips.  All other nails are holding up just fine.

XOX Caitlin

7 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for this, I have Nfu Aqua but it's so dang expensive I cringe a little every time I use it! Any idea on wear time with the nail glue as the base?

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    Replies
    1. I am not completely sure on wear time, because I have previously only worn it with nail foils, this was just a test, which turned out way better than expected! lol.

      Every time I wear it with foils, i end up having to take it off, because the foil wears down, or if I wear a topcoat, it has lasted about a week before I removed it for another mani!

      Sorry I couldn't be of much help, I don't wear my mani's for very long!

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    2. I don't wear mine for more than 3 days usually either. I just wore Color Club Halo Hues the other day (which I did not need a special base coat for, I wore it over Nail Envy and had no streaking or balding!) and had major chippage after 1 day! This really bummed me out because the Halo Hues are the best holo polishes I've used so far (opaque in 2 coats and no need for a special base coat = AWESOME). I'm going to try the nail glue next time and see if I get better wear time. I get bored with my manis pretty quick but I would like to get at least 2-3 days from them!

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    3. p.s. I use Nail Envy as my base coat for all manis and very rarely do I ever have chips.

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    4. I just want to update you on the foil glue, it has already chipped at the tips within the day. :( I didn't use a topcoat though, so that could be why.

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  2. Great post Caitlin.Thanks for making a comparison post.Your nails look great.

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  3. I use ORLY Bonder specifically for holo's. <3 it.

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