Completing your home manicure kit starts with choosing the right nail base coats that can nourish and hydrate your nails while giving your nail polish a nice grip.
Nail Base Coats
Base coats for nails aren't just about extending your manicure's life -- they can also hydrate and nourish. Enhanced with plant actives and proven ingredients, these base coats protect and hydrate your nails, whether normal or prone to issues like peeling or ridges. They act as a barrier, preventing dark colors from staining nails, and can even repair and strengthen them. Don't skip this essential step for healthy, beautiful nails.
To give you a head start, check out these nail base coats that can also nourish and hydrate with every use.
Manucurist Paris Active Glow
Active Glow by Manucurist Paris is not your average base coat -- it is a treatment polish that enhances your nails' natural shine while nourishing and protecting them. Priced at $16, this color-care hybrid contains sweet almond oil, raspberry extracts, and AHAs to hydrate, soothe, and revitalize weakened nails.
Use it as a base coat under your favorite nail polish for a long-lasting, healthy glow. Plus, it is made with 85.5% plant-based ingredients and comes in recyclable packaging, making it a sustainable choice for your beauty routine.
Orly Nail Defense
Orly Nail Defense is a must-have for weak, peeling, or splitting nails, going for $9 a bottle. This protein-enriched natural nail strengthener doubles as a base coat, ideal for repairing and protecting your nails.
Simply apply it every other day until your nails improve, then switch to every four or five days. Use it alone or as a base coat with Orly nail lacquer for optimal results, and say goodbye to weak nails!
Londontown Kur Fortifying Ridge Filler
This product is a nail primer and base coat priced at $20, designed to create a smooth foundation for uneven nails. Formulated with plant-based oils and extracts, it helps smooth out ridges and bumps, providing a perfect base for your manicure. The talc in the filler fills in ridges, while biotin, vitamin A, vitamin B5, safflower oil, and the brand's nourishing florium complex strengthen and condition nails.
Apply one thin, even coat to clean nails for a natural, matte look, or use it as a base for your favorite Londowntown Lakur polish.
Sally Hansen Double Duty Base and Top Coat
Sally Hansen's multitasker is a versatile nail polish that you can get for only $5. This two-in-one formula functions as both a base coat and a top coat, providing protection and strength for your nails. The brand uses a panthenol formula that can smooth the surface of your nails while giving your polish a good hold. The product is also formulated with nylon and pro-vitamin B5, which shield nails with a hard finish that is chip-resistant.
Sally Hansen recommends brushing on one or two coats as a base coat.
Deborah Lippmann All About That Base
Deborah Lippmann's All About That Base is a splurge-worthy base coat priced at $22 with a multi-tasking CC formula that provides 10 nail treatment benefits. With a special hydrating complex including panthenol, it moisturizes, strengthens, and protects the look of nails. Treatment correctors help conceal imperfections, as well as brighten, prime, and fill ridges for a smooth, matte, flawless finish with improved wear.
To use All About That Base, apply one thin coat to bare nails, wait for two minutes, then apply your choice of nail color, or you can also use it on its own for a modern, matte look.
