Chip Prevention Wear Test: The Verdict Is In!

Happy Monday!

If you remember, last Wednesday I started a wear test to determine which treatment is better at preventing chips, a sticky base coat or a chip skip top coat. I managed to wear Rescue Beauty Lounge for a full 5 day wear test - I was itching to change the color by Friday! - and the verdict is in. Read on!

If you remember, I had Nubar Foundation base coat on my middle and pinky fingers, with a generic top coat on top. I wore essie No Chips Ahead top coat on my pointer and ring fingers, with a generic base coat underneath. Take a look at the mani after 5 days:


As you can see, there is normal tipwear on all 4 nails (expected, as I do work at a computer all day) with a little more-than-expected tip wear on the pointer finger and ring fingers, and a huge chip on the pinky finger. The pinky is misleading - up until 3 minutes before I took this photo my pinky looked just like my middle finger. But then I walked into a wall (yes, I have blond moments, too). I naturally have soft nails, and this is less a chip and more just a piece of my nail peeled off from the impact.

The Winner: Nubar Foundation Base Coat

Here's the thing - I actually thought both treatments were pretty fairly equal until the last day, when the essie protected nails started showing excessive wear, compared to the Nubar nails. If you keep your mani's for a long time, as in over 5 days, go with a sticky base coat like Nubar (or Orly Bonder, another fave). If you're like me and change your polishes frequently, though, I would say either one adequately will prevent chips.

All things being equal, then, I had to go with the Nubar as the winner. Essie NCA felt very thin when applied, and didn't bring a lot of shine to the mani. I'd rather stick with a sticky base coat like Nubar which would allow me to use a high glossy top coat, like CND Super Shiney, which really makes a mani sparkle.


What do you think? Were you expecting both to give similar results? Or are you passionate about one versus the other? And am I the only one who finds it painful to wear the same mani for 5 days in a row?!?!