OPI Glitter Off Base Coat Review & Pictures
Designed to be worn on your natural nail, the OPI Glitter Off Base Coat is supposed to protect the nails from stains while also making it easy for you to simply peel off heavy-duty glitter nail polish. You can forego using removers and scrubbing your nails raw.
I really put this new OPI base coat to the test because when I was moving to my new home and had to unpack a lot of cardboard boxes, I was wearing this underneath OPI Blush Hour, an unapologetic glitterbomb from the OPI Spotlight on Glitter Collection!
Note: I will update this post soon to show you photos of the brush and the polish’s consistency.
Edit: (April 7, 2014) I updated this post to also include the full ingredient list since a lot of readers were interested.
OPI Glitter Off Base Coat Picture
OPI Glitter Off Base Coat Ingredients
OPI Glitter Off Base Coat Over OPI Blush Hour (When It’s Peeled)
Claims: TRUSTED
- Peelable (Yes)
- Allows for quick & easy nail-polish removal (Yes)
- Leaves nails stain-free in seconds (Yes)
- Eliminates the need for nail-polish remover (Yes)
Key Notes
- Name: OPI Glitter Off Base Coat
- Press Release: Click here to see the OPI Glitter Off Base Coat press release
- Amount: 15 mL (0.5 fl. oz.)
- What I Paid: Nothing! (This was provided by PR.)
- Where to Buy: Trade Secrets & select beauty-supply stores, salons & spas
OPI Glitter Off Base Coat Review
Colour & Smell
When you paint your nails with the Glitter Off Base Coat by OPI, it goes on exactly like white school glue. It was streaky, and I was concerned at first that it wouldn’t work because some parts were thin and other parts were thicker.
It also smelled like school glue – mild and not toxic or anything weird like that.
How to Use It
OPI suggests that you apply a thin layer of this to your nails, but the first time I wore it, because it was streaky, I actually applied one thick coat of it.
You must wait for it to dry completely before applying a glitter or any other nail polish. You’ll know when it’s dry because it goes from white to fairly clear.
Since I used such a thick layer, it took about 10 minutes for it to become clear.
When it comes time to removing the glitter nail polish, you simply take a cuticle stick to ‘push up’ the layer of nail polish, and it comes right off easily.
Durability
I was extremely surprised and impressed by the durability of the OPI Glitter Off Base Coat because despite me being harder than usual on my nails and hands during the move to my new home, I found that opening cardboard box after cardboard box didn’t make my manicure chip.
This makes me think that the OPI base coat isn’t straight-up PVA glue because then it would just make my manicure pop off in sheets.
I’ll also admit that, out of curiosity, I also tried picking a little at my nails to see if the polish would lift due to the base coat. It didn’t! It does a great job securing itself to your nails, even when under pressure and also even through multiple hand-washings.
Of course, this is my experience, and your manicure mileage could vary depending on your nail chemistry. (I typically have no problem getting nail polish to last on me without chipping in general, and my nails are naturally strong, so those factors may also have played a role in how well this base coat held up.)
Removal
When it came time for me to remove my manicure with OPI Blush Hour and Seche Vite on top, I’ll admit that I was pretty nervous because if the OPI Glitter Off Base Coat failed me, I would be stuck scrubbing my fingers raw with nail-polish remover, and it would take at least 15 minutes since I used more than one layer of glitter!
So, I took a deep breath and took my metal cuticle pusher and started pushing at the edge of the nail on my thumb.
It didn’t lift easily. I had to apply some pressure before it came up. And when it did come up a bit, I noticed that it wasn’t hard, but bendy and thick. That flexibility must be how the polish resists chips and is more durable – it moves with your nails.
After I lifted some of the polish, I tried just picking the rest off, and it worked. But you could also exclusively use the cuticle stick/pusher. I just wanted to be more gentle.
This brings me to another point. If you have very thin or weak nails, I don’t think you should use this base coat only because you do need to apply some force during the removal process. But, if you have average-strength or better nails, they should be able to handle a cuticle stick pushing down on them alright.
After I peeled away all the polish, my natural nails weren’t damaged, and while they didn’t look as dry as when I use an acetone-based remover on them, some had slight white marks on them. I just rubbed those spots and they came off.
Pros
- Protects natural nails
- Makes removing glitter very easy and peelable
- Very durable & can withstand hand-washing & working hard with your hands a lot
Cons
- Goes on streaky (not a big deal) & takes about 10-15 minutes to dry completely before you can continue painting.
Final Verdict: 9.5/10
The OPI Glitter Off Base Coat does, indeed, work well and is peelable when you use a heavy glitter polish, but use discretion if your natural nails aren’t strong enough to be poked and prodded.
I really loved how easy this made removing even the chunkiest glitter, and I’ll be using it again. I’m curious to see how it fares under non-glitters…like maybe a neon jelly! After all, the base coat claims that it can make polishes look brighter. For neons and jellies, that could be very helpful. Also, I want to try it under polishes that have stained my nails to see if it protects against even the toughest lacquers.
I’ll probably just update this post as I experiment with more nail polishes over this base coat, so you’ll know the results.
Have you tried the OPI Glitter Off Base Coat? Would you wear more glitterbombs if you had this base coat? Is there a particular type of nail polish that you’d like me to try over this base coat to test the durability and/or removal process?
