Top & Base Coats
Top and Base Coats at Walgreens
Taking time out to pamper your hands and feet with manicures and pedicures is an enjoyable experience that has the added benefit of enhancing your appearance. When you trim and shape your nails and then apply a color that you love, you want the results from your efforts to last as long as possible. Using a base coat followed by a top coat during your mani-pedi can extend the life of your nail color while providing additional benefits. Walgreens makes it easy to buy the best base coats and top coats for your nail care routine with a diverse assortment of products that you can shop online and find in stores.
Why Use a Base Coat?
A base coat is a colorless brush-on product that is applied before nail color. The base coat creates a thin layer over the surface of the nail, filling in imperfections to leave behind a smooth surface. Nail polish can adhere more readily to the base coat than your natural nail. As a result, color goes on more evenly, making it easier to polish your nails. Nail color usually appears richer and brighter over a base coat, and because it has a smooth surface to stick to, it's less likely to chip and peel.
Benefits of Top Coat
Similar to a base coat, a top coat is a colorless product that you sweep on with a brush applicator. However, a top coat is applied after the nail color. A top coat acts as a protective seal for your nail polish. Working as a shield, it helps to preserve the brightness of the color and fights chipping and peeling to extend the life of the manicure or pedicure.
Top and Base Coats with Special Features
Some top coats and base coats contain special ingredients that give them added benefits. Quick-dry products help nail color dry more rapidly, so you don't have to wait as long to resume your daily activities. Hardening products help to reinforce the nail with every application to reduce breakage. Two-in-one products can work as both a top coat and a base coat, reducing the number of products you need.
Enhancing or Changing Your Nail Color Finish
Although top coats don't contain color, they can enhance the appearance of your manicure or pedicure. Top coats come in three main types.
- Glossy options leave behind a very shiny finish.
- Satin top coats give nails a faint luster.
- Matte products have no shine but intensify the color.
You can choose to match the finish of the top coat with the nail color or apply a top coat with a different finish to change the look of the color. For example, applying a glossy top coat over a glossy nail color increases shine, but a matte top coat will reduce or eliminate shine. Experimenting with different top coats allows you to create different effects with a single color.