I paint my nails every week, and to my dismay, they almost always start to chip around day four.
I usually opt for a two-in-one basecoat and topcoat to save money and have tried quite a few over the years, but I was yet to find a product that made my nail varnish stay put all week. That was until a couple of weeks ago when I visited my local Superdrug and spotted the ORLY Top 2 Bottom all-in-one basecoat and topcoat.
The nail varnish usually costs £14.99 for an 18ml bottle, but I was delighted to see it was on sale for £11.99. I’d never used ORLY products before, so I thought I’d give it a try.
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Even though the bottle has a blue tinge, the varnish is clear. It’s quite a thin consistency which I liked, as I find thick varnish can take ages to dry and peel off easily. The product has quite a strong smell, but as most basecoats and topcoats do, this didn’t put me off.
After filing my nails, I applied the basecoat and was amazed at how neat the brush was. Some brushes can be too thick causing the product to go on your skin, but I didn’t have this problem with the ORLY brush. The basecoat dried super quick, so much so that after I finished applying it to my last nail, I was ready to apply the first coat of colour (Essie's 'Resort Fling' shade).
After applying two coats, I then went back over with the ORLY Top 2 Bottom to seal everything in place which gave my nails a lovely shine. Again, it dried super quick, so I didn’t have to sit like a mummy for most of the evening conscious of smudging my nails!
It took me only 15 minutes to apply all four layers (basecoat, two layers of colour and topcoat), when usually it can take this long to wait for just one layer to dry. The impressiveness didn’t stop there, as by day four they were still perfect. By day seven, I’m usually desperate to take off the varnish and re-do it due to all of the chips, but my nails were still looking fabulous - if I do say so myself!
I didn’t remove the nail varnish until day eight, and even then I could have carried on wearing it for longer as there were no chips, only slight fading on the tips of my nails where the varnish had worn off a little. I will certainly be buying the ORLY Top 2 Bottom basecoat and topcoat again. You can buy it in Superdrug stores and online here where it currently costs £11.99, down from £14.99.
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