Collection: Base & Top Gel

What do a gel base and a gel top actually do?

Three coats make a gel manicure, and only the middle one is color. The base goes on first, over a prepped nail, and its job is grip: it bonds to the plate so the color has something to hold. The top goes on last and its job is armor and shine: it seals the color, takes the scratches, and gives the finish, glossy or matte. Skip the base and the set lifts at the edge in days. Skip the top and the color dulls and chips.

Every bottle on this page cures under a UV/LED lamp and is made to sit under or over our GelStar gel color, though the SNS-line bottles are formulated to work over any gel color, ours or not. Two lines, two price points, and a salon size for the three bottles a busy table empties fastest.

The lineup: SNS line and GelStar line

We sell base and top in two lines. The SNS-branded line is sold in a 15ml bottle and an 8oz salon bottle, with vitamin E and calcium in the formula and no-wipe tops. The GelStar line is the companion to our GelStar gel color, sold in single bottles and a base-and-top pair, formulated without formaldehyde, toluene or parabens.

The sets are the singles added up: the 15ml trio is three times $11.50, the 8oz trio is three times $52.00, and the GelStar pair is two times $11.50. Buy them for the convenience, not for a discount.

Which base and top should you buy?

• You wear or sell GelStar color. Either line works. The GelStar base and top were built as its companions; the SNS line comes in the salon size.
• You use another brand's gel color. The SNS line. The base and both tops are formulated to go over any gel color on the market, so one set of base and top serves a mixed color wall.
• You want a no-wipe top. The SNS Glassy Super Shine, the SNS Matte, the GelStar Ultra-Shine or the GelStar Matt. No alcohol wipe after the final cure, which is one step and one wipe fewer per hand.
• You do a lot of matte sets. Buy the matte top as its own bottle rather than mattifying a gloss. It matte-finishes the same way every time, over any color.
• You run a salon table. The 8oz bottle. An 8oz holds about 237ml, close to sixteen 15ml bottles' worth, for $52.00 against $11.50 a bottle. Decant into a working 15ml bottle and keep the big one capped away from the lamp.
• You want the cheapest way in. The GelStar Glassy UV Top Coat Gel at $8.05, or the GelStar Base & Top pair at $23.00.

How do you apply gel base and top?

1. Prep. Push the cuticle back, shape, buff the shine off the plate, and wipe with alcohol so no dust or oil is left. Most lifting starts here, not in the bottle.
2. Base. One thin coat, edge to edge and capped over the free edge. Cure. Leave the tacky layer alone; it is what the color bonds to.
3. Color. Two thin coats of gel color, cured after each. Thin coats cure through; thick ones stay soft underneath and peel later.
4. Top. One coat of Glassy Super Shine or Matte, capped over the free edge, cured for the full cycle. With a no-wipe top you are done; with a top that leaves a tacky layer, wipe with alcohol.
5. Finish. Cuticle oil on every finger, and the client is done. The SNS cordless lamp in tools and accessories has a low-heat setting if a client feels the cure.

The same bottles sit under and over builder gel and cat eye gel. For a dip service you don't use these at all; the dip liquids are a different system, sold under Dip Essentials.

Troubleshooting: cloudy, sticky or dull tops

• Sticky after cure: the coat was too thick, or the lamp cycle was cut short. Thin coat, full cure.
• Dull or cloudy gloss: a tacky layer was left on a top that needs wiping, or the alcohol wipe was done with a cloth that had dust on it. Use a clean lint-free wipe. With a no-wipe top there is nothing to wipe.
• Chips at the tip: the free edge wasn't capped. Run the brush along the edge on every coat, base included.
• Bottle glued shut: cured product in the neck. Wipe the neck and the inside of the cap with acetone before you close it, and keep bottles out of the lamp's line of sight and away from a sunny window.

Related collections

• SNS Gel Only The GelStar color these bottles are built for.
• Gel & Lacquer Duo Gel for the hands, matching lacquer for the toes.
• Builder Gel Structure under the color; uses the same base and top.
• Dip Essentials The liquids for dip, a separate system with no lamp.
• Nail Tools & Accessories The cordless UV/LED lamp, files and buffers.

Related reads

• How SNS approaches a safer UV gel manicure
• Gel or dip powder manicure: which is right for you?
• Dip powder vs gel vs acrylic: how to choose
• Why you need MasterMatch gel in your salon