Chip Prevention: Basecoat or Topcoat?

Chips. No, not Lay's. I'm talking chips in your manicure. Is there anything more unsightly? I can't stand when I see manicures on others in bright blue or fuschia and they're chipped all to hell. If you're wearing a nude or neutral color, lucky you - your chips are less noticeable to the rest of us, but I'm sure you notice and it drives you crazy.

Most brands have a nail treatment product that claims to help prevent chips, either in a base coat or top coat. Which is better to use? I have no idea. So we're going to do a wear test here at Polish & Tonic.

The Challenge: Wear a manicure for 5 WHOLE DAYS and see which mani chips the least - the mani with a chip preventing base coat, or the mani with the chip-hating top coat. Least chipped mani wins!

The Manicure:

For this manicure, I'm making my maiden voyage with a new brand - Butter London. Butter London is on the line between salon brand and designer brand polish (read: it never goes on sale at Ulta), and from the chatter I see on the interwebz I'm not sure that there really is a difference in quality between designer vs. salon brands. So I picked up my first bottle this weekend to try it out. The color is Butter London Macbeth, a bright pinky coral creme that I loved at first sight. I also borrowed some great advice from another blog, All Lacquered Up, and practiced wrapping my tips for this mani to help delay tip wear.

The Contenders:

On my left hand we have Orly Bonder base coat. Orly Bonder is a rubberized based coat that claims to grip your polish to your nails like a leech and hold on for dear life, giving you extended wear with your manicure.


On my right hand we have essie No Chips Ahead top coat. essie No Chips Ahead doesn't promise to adhere to stick to you like white on rice, but instead puts an armor around your fresh manicure and protect it from those things that would do your pretty nails harm - mainly dish detergent, keyboards, and cleaning supplies.

You didn't actually think there would be a visible difference to the naked eye, did you? Doh!

So who will win this battle? Stay tuned! I did this manicure Monday afternoon, so check back in over the weekend to see which coat is last nail standing. (Or Friday, in case I go crazy and can't handle looking at the same nail color for so long!)

Do you have a preference between basecoat and topcoat to prevent chips? Sound off in the comments!