peel-off base coat | Craftynail

I was using my own DIY peel-off base coat for a while. But when I saw this Essence product in a store while on vacation I just had to grab it since I have a hard time finding essence stuff where I live. I think this Essence Peel Off Base Coat was only maybe $1.99 if I remember correctly. Sorry to say, not a fan of this product though. I don’t think it works well. I’ve tried it twice and didn’t have good luck either time.

First off, before application, your nails must be squeaky clean with no oils on them. This formula has a tendency to retract and bead up on your nail. Even with freshly washed hands this happens. So you may need to wipe your nails with acetone before using Essence Peel Off Base Coat.

One thing I liked is that you can see when it’s dry. The bottle says to wait ten minutes, but I don’t think it even took that long. FYI- Essence dried much faster than my diy stuff.

When I first tried it out it took a lot of work to get off. I used an orange stick and had to pick a lot! It was not fun. Second time I had many more layers of glitter so I thought it would work much better- I was guessing the glitter would peel off in one stiff piece. But it totally didn’t. I picked so much (and I used my nails this time, not an orange stick) and it was a hassle. My nails looked crappy and damaged since it was peeling off the surface of my nails. Also, it didn’t protect them well as you can see in the last pic above- I got wicked stains! And I didn’t even think that Zoya Zuza was a stainer.

In essence, I would skip this essence product. White craft glue (elmers) works better! Plus, there’s a whole bunch of other products on the market you could try. Lindsay over at NAIL THAT ACCENT just did a great comparison of a few of the top brands of peel-offs.

What kinda peel-off stuff works best for you??

Have you ever tried using white glue for cleanup when painting your nails? A few months ago I poured some Elmer’s glue into an old nail polish bottle and now I use this stuff all the time! Isn’t the sticker I put on there cute? Are you blue? No, I’m GLUE! That’s what I say to myself every time I reach for this little bottle of glue that I made!

WHAT I USE GLUE FOR: Elmer’s is also called white craft glue or PVC glue and it can be applied around your nail before you start a messy nail art technique. I paint it on all around my nail and then when I’m done with my nail art I simply peel the glue off that surrounds my nail. Any stray polish that would’ve stained my fingers or cuticles just lifts right off with the dried glue… all in one big peel-y piece. It’s kinda fun to peel off and then you don’t need to use nail polish remover to cleanup around your manicure! It was super helpful for my SUGAR SPUN MANI since all the messy strands of polish peeled right off of my fingers and left my mani looking clean and crisp.

You can also use this glue as a peel-off base coat for hard-to-remove glitter polish! I’ve only tried it once as a peel-off base coat…but I will definitely use it next time I wear glitter. I love how the glue turns clear when it’s dry. Then you know when you’re ready to start painting over top of it. I wish regular base coat did that!

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BOTTLE: It’s easy to make your own bottle of this stuff! I took an empty nail polish bottle… shown here is my old bottle of seche vite topcoat. To clean the empty out you can pour some nail polish remover/acetone into the bottle (maybe a quarter of the way full) and shake rigorously. Then pour the remover out and check to see how clean the bottle is. Repeat this step as necessary- you may need to pour remover in one or two more times to get it clean. Then rinse the bottle with soapy water and leave it overnight to dry. The next day you can squeeze some white glue into the bottle- then you are ready to play!

For extra fun you can cover the bottle with cute stickers like I did. I used Winnie the Pooh stickers on mine! Are you blue? No, I’m glue! It makes me smile every time I reach for this cute bottle!

Have you ever tried glue or peel-off base coat?