I review | CATRICE Ultra Stay & Gel Shine Top & Base Coat

If you’ve read any of my previous nail polish posts you’d know that doing a mani doesn’t work for me in the long run and I end up with chipping and peeling polish by the second day. Sometimes even on the same day I painted my nails. Que CATRICE Ultra Stay. Finding something that will last a bit longer on my nails has been high on my priority list because I’ve been spending a lot much money on nail polish remover having to re-do my nails every second day. Sometimes I’ve even gone weeks without applying any nail polish, feeling like the anti nail polish gods has defeated me, but like Zooey Deschanel said:

But at last! The search is over! When Cosmetix sent me the Catrice Ultra Stay & Gel Shine base and top coat I was really skeptical because I’ve tried salon gel nails, I’ve tried acrylic, I’ve gone for mani’s, I’ve bought really expensive polish but none has lasted before, the salon done tips just popped off like I had some magical mechanism build in to shoot people with nails.

But today I am proud to announce that this is day 6 with the mani I did using the Catrice gel base and top coat and it’s still sitting tight, there is a little bit of wear and tear around the tips but it’s near to unnoticeable, so yay! I can finally start doing more fancy designs without feeling it’s a complete and utter waste of my time because it’s going to chip off the next day.

How to use the Catrice Ultra Stay & Gel Shine top and base coat:

Step 1 – The Catrice Ultra Stay & Gel Shine base coat’s consistency is a little bit different to nail polish and I’d describe it as a bit gloopy but I’ve mastered the art of applying it, the trick is not to let the base coat touch your skin anywhere so it takes some concentration applying it, rather not cover the sides and near the cuticle of your nail than risking getting some on your skin. The first round of applying this I got it on my skin and it peeled, so be careful about that.

Step 2 – Apply any nail polish you want, I went with Catrice Ulti Mate Nudes in 030 My Café Au Lait At Nôtre-Dame (2 coats) and Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer in 40 I’m Dynamite (2 coats) to get the desired effect, again I was extra cautious not to let the polish get on my skin at all. I waited about 5 minutes for this to dry completely.

Step 3 – Lastly apply the Catrice Ultra Stay & Gel Shine top coat, the consistency of this one is really runny, near to being even more runny than nail polish, so take small amounts to coat each nail, and don’t forget to be cautious about getting it on your skin. Let it dry, it dries rather quick, and there you go, a mani that will last for a couple of days!

This product is amazing and I will definitely re-purchase it when I run out. The finish is really shiny, just like when you had gel applied at the salon. This is really easy to remove as well with any nail polish remover. The retail selling price for this is R61.95 for each and can be purchased at any Dischem store.