Yellow Stopper Base Coat

My name is Daanielle, and I'm addicted to nail polish.

You all could probably figure that out. As any fellow polish junkies will tell you, painting your nails regularly with bright and dark colors can lead to some yellowing. I'm currently experiencing some of that, so I thought I would use an anti-yellowing base coat while my nails are growing out and getting back to a healthy pink.

I had a bottle of Yellow Stopper (purchased at Sally Beauty Supply) that I'd only used a couple of times and thought I'd give it another try.

Scary Yellow Nails, Pre-Yellow Stopper

Now I remember why I stopped using it.

The polish says it will prevent yellowing, and apparently, they plan to do that by making sure no polish stays on your nails. No polish = No yellowing.

I tried the base coat under my Gameday Nails this week. Application was fine. The formula is smooth. I didn't make a huge mess with the brush. It adds a neat purple-y shimmer to your nails, which makes the still-pink parts look great. Nails were nice and shiny. The primary polishes used on the nails were from Color Club, Essie and China Glaze, all of whom I've had great results with and usually last at least 2-3 days before major chipping begins.

Not this time. They were fine when I woke up, but within a couple of hours, I'd already chipped the index finger, apparently by folding laundry. By game time (6 PM), I'd chipped most of the nails without doing any serious cleaning or cooking. After the football ended for the night, I washed a few dishes by hand, and within minutes, my polish was peeling off. Like stickers. From every nail. All of them. Peeled right off. I couldn't even take pictures, because they came off in single pieces.

I decided maybe it wasn't designed to be used with polish on top. Fair enough. I painted over my nails last night, just to see how it would hold up as a clear coat with UV protection between manicures.

With Yellow Stopper

With Flash

Yellowness. Ick.

 Epic Fail. I had a few places where the base coat flaked off during my day of typing and mouse-clicking at work. After I washed my hair tonight, the tips were peeling up. Not in huge chunks like before, but like skin after a sunburn. Gross imagery, I know, but that's the best comparison I've got.

See the peeling on the tips?

Peeling, With Flash

Basically, unless you intend to paint your nails every day and don't ever get your hands wet, this stuff doesn't seem to do much, except shine and peel. Back to the box it goes.