Essie First Base Review

Just like with face makeup, I am a full believer that if you start with the right base you can layer anything over top. If your skin’s not looking good, your makeup isn’t going to look good. Same thing with a manicure, you need healthy nails and a good base coat. Funny enough, that’s actually completely opposite from what I had originally thought. I always thought it was the top coat that made the difference and that’s where I focused my attention. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I realized it was the base coat that I needed to change.

There’s more base coats available on the market than I can even count and I had no real idea of where to start. So I went where I always go when I need an answer to something -- the internet! I googled “best base coat” and started working my way through the searches, cross-referencing everything. A lot of suggestions were pointing to this Essie First Base base coat, but I have never been impressed with Essie products before so I was a little hesitant to give in. I finally decided to give it a try and figured I’d just return it if it were a complete fail.
They’re calling this an adhesion and protection base coat, which is something I had never heard of before. This is supposed to smooth and protect the nails while its adhesion-promoting ingredients work to help bond the color polish to the nail surface, resulting in less chipping.

I’ve been testing this for almost two months now and I can tell you that those claims are 100% true. I honestly think they’re even being too humble about it. This is the best base coat I have ever tried! I knew if I was going to be testing a base coat, I needed to try it first with polishes that I know do not like to stay on my nails. I picked out all the formulas in my collection that always chip within 48 hours of application and tested one per week.
I cannot even believe how well this base coat works! The polish shown in the picture above is the Julie G polish in the shade Julie’s Fave. I have included this polish in my Mani Mondays many times and I almost always comment on the short wear time of the formula.

The picture below is Sally Hansen’s Pink A Card, which is another one I have been very vocal about not lasting more than two days on my nails. Both of these photos were taken on the seventh day of wear. Seven days and zero chipping with two polishes that normally would not have lasted anywhere near that long!
If you don’t believe these photos were seven days past my last manicure, just look at my disgusting overgrown cuticles! I’m so happy I finally found the best base coat for my nails. I do wish that it had some strengthening properties to it, but I’m totally okay with taking biotin supplements instead. This is one polish I won’t mind spending a few extra dollars on. It’s so worth it!

If you found this review helpful, please feel free to share it using one of the buttons below. If you have any other questions, leave them for me in the comments. Have you tried this base coat before? What is your favorite top coat?

~Christina~

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