A good top coat is what keeps polish glossy and chip-free past the first few days. Here are the top coats I rate, the base coats and colors to wear under them, and the oils, creams and tools that finish a manicure.
Top Coat Picks for a Manicure That Lasts, From Seche Vite to Chanel
In 1981 Essie Weingarten flew to Las Vegas with ten cartons of nail polish. She told Into the Gloss she chose Vegas because it was full of women whose jobs required them to look perfect: dancers, cocktail waitresses, dealers and showgirls. I love that story because it explains the top coat better than any label does. Nails have to survive real work.
Seche Vite built its following with nail technicians. The brand dates its Dry Fast Top Coat to 1991, and its patented formula is made to penetrate through the lacquer to the base coat so the layers set as one coating. OPI Top Coat is the classic non-yellowing clear finish, and OPI Infinite Shine Gloss is the gel-like version that needs no lamp. The essie Gel Couture Top Coat gives a gel-like shine without UV, and essie Gel Setter seals color with a plump, glossy finish.
The top coats at the other end of the shelf are about shine and care. Chanel Le Gel Coat uses resins for gloss and camellia eco-ceramides developed for the house. Manucurist Xtrem Flash Gel Top Coat is made for up to 21 days of wear with gentle removal, and Nailberry Bare Essentials works as a base and a top coat in one oxygen-permeable formula.
The rule I follow with every top coat: one thin layer over fully dry color, wrapped over the free edge.
Base coats and colors to wear under it
A top coat only works as well as what is under it, so this row is base and color. Manucurist started in Paris in 1996, when the founder's mother opened her first professional nail salon, and her daughter took over the business in 2016 after working for Louis Vuitton, Prada and YSL. That salon background shows in Green Flash, the brand's LED gel system. The Green Flash Vitaminized Base Coat is a patented gel base that strengthens the nail under color, and Pale Rose is the Green Flash color I would wear with it. Manucurist Active Shine is a clear, shimmer-infused polish for bare nails, made with beet extract.
Nailberry takes a different approach to color. Its patented L'Oxygéné formula uses an oxygen technology to form a non-occlusive film that does not block the flow of oxygen and moisture, and I have two shades here, Le Temps des Cerises and Rouge. Chanel La Base Camelia uses camellia oil and cellulose to fill in ridges, with mineral pigments that neutralize discoloration. Chanel Le Vernis comes here in two shades, 111 Ballerina and 147 Incendiaire.
How to layer: base coat, two thin coats of color, a two-minute wait, then top coat.
What I would skip: one thick coat of color to save time. Two thin coats dry harder than one heavy one, and the top coat grips them better.
Base coats, clear shine and color to wear under a top coat
La Base Camelia
CHANEL
$34
Green Flash Long-Lasting Gel Vitaminized Base Coat
Manucurist
$20
Active Shine
Manucurist
$19
Le Vernis Nail Polish in 147 Incendiaire
CHANEL
$34
Le Vernis Nail Polish in 111 BALLERINA
CHANEL
$34
L’Oxygéné Nail Polish in LE TEMPS DES CERISES
Nailberry
$21
L’Oxygéné Nail Polish in ROUGE
Nailberry
$21
Green Flash LED Gel Nail Polish Color, Non-Toxic Nail Polish in Pale Rose
Manucurist
$19
Cuticle oil, hand cream and the finishing tools
The last step is the one most people skip, and it is why a manicure still looks good on day five. L'Occitane Strengthening Shea Nail and Cuticle Oil has 30 percent shea oil with apricot and almond oils, and it is the one I keep by the sink. Chanel L'Huile Camelia is the house's camellia nail oil, and Chanel says nails look 40 percent shinier and are less prone to breakage after a month. Manucurist Nourishing Nail Pen is the portable version, with castor oil, vitamin E and sunflower oil.
Hand cream matters more than people think, because dry skin around the nail is where lifting starts. Caudalie Hand and Nail Cream is antioxidant-rich with a silky finish. Augustinus Bader The Hand Treatment was made for hands dried out by washing and sanitizer, and Susanne Kaufmann Hand Cream is the richer one, with broccoli and walnut seed oils plus aloe and witch hazel.
Then the tools. The Tweezerman Rockhard Cuticle Nipper is for hangnails only, and the Tweezerman Stainless Steel Fingernail Clipper has a curved blade for a neat edge before you file.
A timing tip: add cuticle oil once the top coat is dry to the touch, then again before bed.
What I would skip: cutting live cuticle with the nipper. Push it back gently after a shower and only trim what is loose.
Cuticle oils, hand creams and tools to finish the manicure
Making a manicure last a week
Start with nails that are clean and completely dry, with no hand cream on them, and swipe each one with remover before the base coat. Paint thin layers and cap the free edge with every coat, including the top coat. Add a fresh thin layer of top coat every two or three days, which brings the shine back and fills small scratches. Wear gloves for dishes and oil your cuticles every night. With a strong top coat like Seche Vite or Chanel Le Gel Coat, a regular polish manicure can look fresh for a full week.
