The Epic Nailpolish Post I Promised

Do you remember when I posted that I'd ordered the magic peel-off basecoat from "Ugly Duckling" aka Amelia in South Korea? Actually only afterwards did I find out that good old Essence sold a version as well that was readily available in drugstores in Europe. This blog (which I really like, by the way) has a really good explanaiton of how those peel-off coats work and how they are actually glorified glue. Interesting! Anyhow, I knew I needed to try both. Here's what they look (Essence came in a box, but the bottle is not really exciting and you can find other pictures online):

I actually tried out both of them and they are pretty similar. I did a test where I applied each on one hand. The application and staying power are pretty comparable and so it really depends on where you live and which product is cheaper and more readily available. In my case, this would be Essence, which I actually prefer the conststency of and the fact that it dries quicker. In any case, the more you pile up on top, the easier you get the stuff off again. Here's another great post by Labmuffin aka Michelle to explain it all. I really only use it when I wear glitter nailpolish as this is a pain to get off your nails with regular basecoat and nailpolish remover. This is what I wore some weeks ago (Essence glitter polish on top of a "breathable" Inglot polish):

 

What really does NOT agree with your peel-off base coat is hot water, even if it is already completely dry. I don't recommend things like soaking in a hot tub with your hands immersed (mine usually aren't as I'm reading when taking a bath) or a dishwashing orgy. If dried properly, it should come off in more or less one big slice:

I recommend doing it on top of a towel or the wastebin. In any case, it's not quite a pretty sight, right?

Depending on how adept you are in prepping and applying, you'll get it all off or be left with a rim of nailpolish that you can easily get off with regular polish remover.

As with normal base coat, nailpolish obviously stays much longer if you have smooth and healthy nails. Mine are thin and brittle and so nailpolish tends to desert me on day two usually. I notice that there's some shrinking going on at the tips with the peel-off base coat. Still, that is a small price to pay if you can get rid of all the lovely glitter so quickly.

So, now to the essential question: is it really life-changing. Nah, not really, but pretty damn great all the same.