Review: Orly Bonder

As I've written before, I am in search of the perfect base coat that will hold onto my nail polish for dear life, despite my apparently weird body chemistry. I haven't found it yet. Today, I'm reviewing Orly Bonder, which is my usual go-to base coat. However, Orly Bonder is far from perfect.


Orly Bonder is a rubberized base coat, which is supposed to help the polish adhere to the nail. I can't attest to the science behind it, but polish adheres relatively well. Some nail bloggers rave about Orly Bonder, but my polish always chips within a day. I can't ding Orly Bonder too much for that, since my experience with Orly Bonder is no different than my experience with other base coats. In fact, on this count, Orly Bonder works a little better than other base coats I've tried.

I also like the bottle and brush for Orly Bonder. The bottle has a big rubberized cap that is easy to hold onto for even a nail polish novice like me. The bottle is large and made of pretty frosted glass. I'm looking forward to using this bottle for a frankenpolish when it's empty. Orly Bonder is orange in the bottle but applies clear on the nail. I also liked the self-leveling that I got from Orly Bonder.



My biggest gripe with Orly Bonder? It provides, as far as I can tell, no protection from nail staining. It doesn't matter what color nail polish I'm using, with Orly Bonder as my base coat, my nails are perpetually yellow and gross. Not that big of a deal since I'm a nail polish addict, but it would certainly be nice to have better looking nails.


Another gripe? This is true for virtually all nail treatments from every brand, but why do we need so much wasteful packaging? My nail polish doesn't come in a box, so why does my base coat need to? I really don't like this trend and wish nail polish companies would listen to consumers on this point.

The verdict: for adhesion, I think base coats need to be tested by individuals. Because of differing body chemistry, what works amazingly for someone else won't necessarily work for you. If you are looking for protection from nail staining, look elsewhere.