OPI’s Glitter Off Base Coat Makes Glitter Removal a Breeze

If you‣re a glitter freak like me, then you know the sheer terror that comes with removing glitter nail polish. It‣s the reason why I often skip over them for a regular polish instead—I just know the glitter will be a complete pain in the ass to remove. When your options are sore hands from scrubbing or alien fingers wrapped in drying, acetone-soaked pads, it just kinda dulls the sparkle that is glitter. You feel me?

Fortunately, OPI has found a way to make me and my fellow glitter compadres VERY happy. The game-changing Glitter Off Natural Nail Base Coat lets you painlessly peel off (instead of scrub off) any glitter you put on top in one quick step. You simply brush the clear base coat onto bare nails, let it dry, and then apply as many coats of glitter lacquer as you desire. When it's time to remove, a few gentle pushes with a cuticle stick will help lift it right off, no nail polish remover required.

It sounds almost too good to be true, which is why I got my hands—er, nails—on a bottle for a test-drive. Here's how things went down:

Application & Day 1

So let me give you a bit of history here. I follow a lot of awesome nail gals on Instagram, and some of them are pretty damn smart. Don‣t ask me how, but they figured out you can use Elmer‣s Glue (!!) as a base for glitter polish. Yes, that would be the glue we all used in grade school for some pretty awesome collages. Apparently it peels off perfectly, and is safe for kids and non-toxic.

I never tried it myself, because the thought of applying glue to my natural nails felt a bit off, but I did keep Elmer's in mind when I opened up the bottle of Glitter Off. It smells exactly the same, and is pure white, too. Now, I‣m not saying OPI banked on the knowledge of nail gals on Insta, and bottled up some glue all fancy, but the look and scent is pretty uncanny. The base goes on white and eventually dries clear, as you can start to see here.

Once it becomes clear, you‣re ready to apply all the pretty sparkle, and guilt-free! I opted for ultra-sparkly because a) look at the prettiness and b) I had to really put this base coat to the test. I layered OPI‣s new Chasing Rainbows, basically a party in a bottle (reviewed here), over their Mimosas for Mr. and Mrs., a light nude. Here‣s what my mani looked like fresh outta the oven:

Day 2

The following day, my mani held up really well. I was concerned with chipping; since it claims to peel off so easily, I figured it must chip pretty easily, too. There was only one minor chip on my right thumb, but I had just finished doing the dishes when I noticed it, and it was also at the end of the day after lots of typing, texting, etc.

Other than that, I did notice some lifting. The polish was a bit raised off my nail in some spots around the cuticle, which was really testing my patience. There‣s nothing I love more than peeling off nail polish, so this base coat is both terrible and terrific all at once. I seriously had to stop myself from going at it. Overall, though, not bad at all for day two.

Day 3

I lost a few. Two and a half, to be exact. I just could. not. resist and peeled off my right thumb, right pinky, and half of my left thumb. I'm terrible, I know! But it felt wonderful. It was also very hard to resist picking off the rest, and by 11 pm that night, I totally gave in. My half-removed thumb is what started the demise of my remaining glittered nails.

So off they all came, easily and satisfyingly. I didn‣t use a cuticle stick as suggested, and instead just picked and pushed the polish off with my other nails. Many of them were super-easy to remove, while others seemed a little more stuck on and took (minor) effort. I did find that once everything was off, my nails had some spots where the polish had peeled some of my natural nail with it. But it was really minor.

The bottom line

This new base coat is the bomb.com. I‣m a fan of anything that will allow me to take off my polish without the headache of remover—and gosh, the peeling process is fun. Watch out world, now I can wear all the glitter polish my heart desires!

Where to buy

OPI Glitter Off Natural Nail Base Coat is available now at professional salons and spas.

Have your say

Do you wear glitter polish?

Have you checked out Glitter Off yet?

Don't you just love peeling off your nail polish?