As I have been painting my nails at least twice a week for a few months now, I have been trying lots of different polishes.
A few months ago I bought a base coat on sale at Target and have used it on and off and have had mixed reviews on it.
I decided to try it one last and final time before chunking it in my trash bin.
For about $3, I purchased a bottle of Revlon’s “Quick Dry Base Coat” number “955”. For more information on Revlon’s nail products, please visit this brand’s website, here.
I have never purchased a separate base coat as I usually get the ones that are top coats and base coats in one.
A base coat is there to protect your nails from discoloration and to help the polish last longer on the nails.
The first few times I used this base coat it colored my nails a strange yellowy creamy color. It really did look like my nails were unhealthy. I understand that this is the same color as shown in the bottle, but it was not flattering at all. I know that you use this under colored polishes, so I gave it a chance.
I know that this says “quick dry” but I was certainly taken as a fool. This did not dry fast at all. I waited about 5 minutes, which is the same amount of time I would normally wait for a polish to dry.
After it seemed dry enough, I painted my normal nail enamel on top and let that dry in between coats.
My polish looked dull. I also had the problem of it bubbling up and causing my nail polish to look quite nasty.
I also realized that the polish would indent. By this I mean that it I hit the polish or touched it with another nail or something then it would literally leave a crease or indention. It seemed that the base coat left my nails almost gummy in texture.
The other day I wanted to give this base coat one last chance before throwing it away. I decided that I would top off the base coat with 2 coats of polish then a top coat. Maybe this would “seal” it and not allow the bubbling and indentions on my nails.
I did this and found that it did not help.
My nails did not really chip but it did wear away at the tips. Of course I do a lot of things with my hands, including type, so I am not going to blame that 100% on the base coat.
I did notice that my nails looked dull and lifeless even though the nice shiny color I put on top should have had a lot of sheen to it.
The creamy base coat color also turned the beige like pink peach an even more yellow color. My fingernails looked dirty.
On top of all this, if I touch my nails with any sort of pressure they still leave indentions. It’s like this base coat will never fully dry. It has literally been 4 days. I do not know what their definition of “quick” is, but it must be different than mine.
I am just really disappointed with this product and find that after using this on and off over the last few months that I have no other choice.
I really wanted to like it, but can’t continue to use something that makes my highly loved painted nails look nasty and creased.
If this Revlon “Quick Dry Base Coat” is still available, I would think twice about getting it.
Of course this is my opinion only and many others might have had more luck than this than I did.
Sources:
My own bottle of this Revlon Base Coat that I purchased from Target.
