Color and s beautiful but dries very slow
I’m obsessed with this base coat and am currently on my second bottle of it, it’s that good. It’s self leveling so super easy to use and it hides all nail imperfections even under the sheerest polish. I’ve also noticed that by using this under all my polishes it seems to have prevented any staining from happening even from the darkest shades. It’s also pretty enough to wear on its own for a natural look. You can’t go wrong with this in your collection
I have a very distinct visible nail line, so I’ve been looking for a blurring base to use under sheer and jelly polishes that would soften the look of the line, and also require fewer coats of my polish. This goes on thin and applies nice and smooth, and dries quickly to a semi-matte finish. I’ve seen typical wear-time (usually 5-7 days chip free) with this as I do with my usual base coat so it performs well.
I do have two qualms: One, I have fair skin with a warm tone and went with #1, and it’s VERY pink, to the point where it changes the color of the sheer or jelly polish over it. For example, one coat of a lavender jelly polish turned into a muddy rose color over top of this. I would have preferred it to be more of a nude tone.
Two, it’s also a lot more opaque than I was expecting, even when applied with a thin coat. I wouldn’t say it “blurs” the VNL, more like covers it up. So my sheers and jellies just end up looking like an opaque creme polish. If that’s your goal, this definitely does the job! I personally still wanted to see a bit of the VNL so I may dilute this in a regular clear base coat to make it more sheer. Also, because it's so opaque and pink, you have to be careful with your polish application to completely cover it up or else you'll see pink sticking out of the edges.
I want to start by saying I think this is a me problem, not a polish problem. This polish does a great job obscuring my nail line and I don't have to use as much polish to get the impact I want. However, it does react funnily either to my nail chemistry or shape. It goes on streaky and clumpy on my pointer fingers and it can make the finish inconsistent. I love the other Cupcake Polishes I have and I'll purchase from this brand again, but maybe not this particular polish.
I had never tried a blurring basecoat, and I must say I am thoroughly impressed. Polishes that I loved, but was not using because of the sheerness, have been pulled back out, and I am loving using them over this.