Julep Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat & Performance Top Coat Review

I do not use the word miracle lightly.  Especially when it comes to makeup and beauty products.  There are very few things that I have changed me.  And by “me,” yes, I mean My Soul.

Julep’s new Oxygen Smoothing Base Coat and Performance Top Coat, each $18.

Can we be honest?  I don’t looove the original Oxygen Nail Treatment.  I thought it was ok, just not a personal fav for me.  It’s just sort of like when you know someone is perfectly nice and lovely and great and other people like her, but for some reason the two of you never click and you pray your friends don’t seat you next to her at their wedding reception.

But I really like the idea behind it:  30% more oxygen gets to your nails and this makes them able to grow healthier.  When I got the email that led to Julep’s blog and announcement about the release of this base and top coat, I had a feeling that they did something amazing with this oxygen technology.  Amazing is an understatement.

It’s only been a week and a half, but I’ve given myself a mani and three polish changes in that time (yep, I’m crazy!).  In that weak and a half using the new oxygen base and top coat, my nails are stronger and healthier looking and my cuticles look so much better.  My cuticles are way more moisturized looking than normal.  The skin on my fingers isn’t pulling tight around my nail, which it sometimes does with other brands.  (I do not want to know the crackpot ingredients that make the skin around my nails dry out like a left over hot dog.  Ignorance is bliss.)  So the overall condition of my skin and nails is already way better in such a short time.  Between polish changes, I noticed my nails looked like I had just gotten a full manicure.

The base coat glides on and dries with a matte finish.  It fills in any ridges on your nails for a smooth base.  The top coat has fancy things in it, such as caviar extract (TOLD YOU, FANCY) and platinum for scratch resistance.  I was nervous it wouldn’t be long lasting because it seemed like more of a treatment than a top coat, but it’s awesome and it really does make my polish last a few days without chips.  That is a good thing for me.  I swear you’d think I was a bear that scavenged for food in the dirt that way my nails chip normally.  Side note:  I love Julep’s Freedom Polymer top coat as well, but my bottle always gets thick and goopy about 4 months in.  This Performance top coat is a slightly thinner consistency, so I don’t think it’ll have the same problem.  It also dries so quickly, which is nice.  It’s not billed as a quick drying top coat, but my nails were totally dry in about five minutes.  Party on, dude.

The best part about this combo, besides the healthy nails, is the finish.   My nails looked so good.  They had a gel like finish and looked like I just came from the salon, in my humble opinion.  Sometimes top coats lose their shine once they bond with the polish, but the Performance top coat is like a bodyguard to a Russian billionaire “No relaxing for me, I am here to do my job.  I am at your service.”  This baby shows up and is ready to work!  It shines and dazzles and keeps my nails looking top notch.  They both worked well with Julep polishes (duh) but also worked really well with other nail polish brands, which is great.  Sometimes using different brands of base/top coats and polishes make the polish peel, but my nails lasted for-eva with different brand of polish.

The square outer caps remove on both these bottles, so you can use them with the Julep Plie wand if you want or if you prefer polishing with a round top instead of square.

Overall:  These are the base and top coat I reach for every time I do my nails now.  Enough said!

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