Product(s) in this post were provided for review. Read my full disclosure policy here.
Glitter Off by OPI is a new, peel-able base coat that allows for the quick and easy removal of nail lacquer when applied beneath any glitter or dark nail color. Glitter Off provides a base for quick one-step removal and protects natural nails, while simultaneously making nail colors brighter. Glitter Off is designed to leave nails polish-free and stain-free in seconds, revealing a clean nail surface without the use of lacquer remover. [from the press release]
One of the most exciting new releases in nail polish for spring 2014 isn't an elusive color, a crazy new effect, or a linear holo. It's a base coat. Seriously!
OPI's new Glitter Off Peelable Base Coat claims to ease the pain that notoriously comes with glitter nail polish removal. The idea is that by using Glitter Off under your glitter polish (as the base coat), you will be able to remove your glitter manicure by gently pushing and peeling if off when you're ready without nail polish remover.
First, a short history (as I know it) lesson on peel off base coats. Back in the summer of 2012, Essence released the Peel Off Base Coat as an LE product in the Ready For Boarding collection. While Essence is a brand you can typically find at Ulta, unfortunately their Peel Off Base Coat wasn't available in the US. But some super sluethy gals like Lab Muffin realized the main ingredient PVC, or polyvinyl acetate emulsion, is also the main ingredient in white school glue (Elmer's Glue) and gave us the DIY version. I gave it a try and it worked! It was a little messy because I didn't have a good brush and I found that my nail polish popped off and didn't last very long. But the idea is great, which is why I was so excited to try out OPI's new Glitter Off Peelable Base Coat. The idea is the same - apply the "magical" base coat, apply your polish, and simply peel off your manicure when you're done with it. But is this miracle product too good to be true? Let's take a look!
OPI's Glitter Off applies easily and smells like nothing. It will look white-ish at first and then dry to a clear semi-matte finish. You'll know it's dry when it's clear, just like with white school glue! Makes sense, as the main ingredient of Glitter Off after water is... PVA!
Just applied!
Basically dry - I put a little too much on my middle finger!
For my first test, I chose a serious glitter: Cirque Queen Majesty. I wanted to really put Glitter Off to the test with an opaque all glitter mani :) The polish applied no differently over a base coat of Glitter Off. I ended up using three coats of Queen Majesty, one coat of Gelous to smooth out the glitter, and one coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast. So far, so good!
The next day (I applied my polish at night), I couldn't help but pick at the stray Glitter Off that was hanging over my cuticles. I picked off all the polish on my thumb nail just for fun - it came off so easily! The next nail to go was from my pointer finger a few hours later. It came off in one big nail shaped piece. By the end of the day, three more nails came off, also in one piece. Had picking at the polish hanging over my cuticles compromised my mani? I had too many nails missing to continue, so I took the rest off. While OPI suggests using a cuticle pusher or orange stick to remove your polish, I found that I could lift them off easily with my nail (well, at least for the ones that didn't leap off my nails on their own).
Test one remnants, minus a few that got lost along the way
After my first test, I came up with a few theories:
I had too much polish on (Glitter Off + 3 coats of Queen Majesty + Gelous + Seche)
I allowed too much Glitter Off to hang over the edges of my nails, which created an edge to lift off the polish
I touched my nails too much
I had applied too much Glitter Off
For test two, I decided to do a mani with fewer layers of polish, try to apply a thinner coat of Glitter Off, and keep it "inside the lines" (= not hang over my cuticle).
I found that it was a little tricky to apply a thin coat of Glitter Off but made an effort to do so. The test two mani was made up of a thin coat of Glitter Off, one coat of Wet & Wild Black Creme, one coat of Cirque XX, and Seche Vite Dry Fast.
Unfortunately, this mani didn't make it to the end of the day either. While I didn't touch my nails as much, entire nail shaped pieces of nail polish still popped off. At first it was kind of amusing, but as I was eating lunch, I noticed that another nail was completely naked that just a moment ago had polish on it. I looked around and when I didn't immediately see it, it occurred to me that the nail might very well have fallen into my lunch. Not cool. So, this mani didn't last a day either and I took off the rest. Again I was able to pick the polish off easily with my nails, but this time some of the nails came off in pieces (instead of coming off in one piece). I think this was a result of using less layers of polish.
Test two remnants
I think that using less polish put me on the right track. This mani also showed that Glitter Off can be worn under a solid color polish. But... the polish still popped off at random times and didn't even last a day.
Alright, let's try again. For test three, I started by wiping my nails off with Zoya Remove Plus - hey, maybe I had some oils on my nails and that's why they kept popping off! I applied Glitter Off even thinner, which ended up being hardly any at all. Test three was made up of a very thin coat of Glitter Off, two coats of Cirque Hellebore, and Seche Vite Dry Fast. This attempt seemed very promising, and I thought for sure it would last longer.
Sadly, nails started popping off the next afternoon again in whole pieces. At the end of the day, I only had six nails with polish on them, and a six fingered mani really is no good so I picked off the rest. Once again, the polish came off easily just by picking at it with my nails.
Test three remnants
While test three was another failure, what you can see above is that the polish (that is, the pieces that remained on my nails that didn't fall off in one whole piece) came off in even smaller pieces. There are about four whole nail pieces out there somewhere in the world.
In case you are wondering what my nails looked like after, here's what was left after removing picking off the test two mani. There are a few pieces of black polish where I must not have had Glitter Off underneath.
So... I think it's safe to say that Glitter Off and PVA base coats in general don't work for me (I also had the polish popping off problem with the DIY Elmer's base coat)*. Sure it works as advertised and removal is painless, but I want the glitter to come off on my terms. However, I think it's important to note that I've read reviews of gals having very different experiences than mine (All Lacquered Up being one - read her review here). I've also read a few that have had pretty much the same experience (read The Polishaholic's review here). I'm not sure why for some people the polish pops off and others it doesn't!
That being said... I actually think I will continue to use Glitter Off. I have so many beautiful glitters that I honestly don't wear because removing glitter with nail polish remover is just so awful. Glitter Off will get me to wear them now, even if it is only for a day. I wouldn't trust using it for a big event or anytime I need to make sure I have polish on all ten fingers! Oh, and also definitely not when cooking :)
While it's a lot like the DIY Elmer's base coat, Glitter Off is easier to apply and I don't have to worry about mixing proportions or anything like that (you're supposed to add water to the Elmer's glue... yep I didn't do that). Not that it would be terribly hard to get an empty nail polish bottle or anything.
If anyone has tips to make Glitter Off last longer, please let me know :)
OPI Glitter Off Peelable Base Coat retails for $9.00 ($10.95 CAN) and is available now at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, jcp Salons, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, ULTA and ulta.com. In New York City, my favorite places to shop for OPI products include Ricky's (various locations), Gideon's Drugs (1385 Broadway, corner of 38th St), Beauty 35 (505 8th Ave corner of 35th St and 8th Ave), and Duane Reade (various locations).
PS - glitter texture Photoshop tutorial found here!
*I didn't do anything during these test that I would consider rigorous. Just stuff like hand washing, typing, and tying shoes. I do my nails at night after taking a shower, so these manis didn't even make it to shower time the next night :(
Product(s) in this post were provided for review. Read my full disclosure policy here.