Review: Sally Hansen Nail Quencher Hydrating Base Coat

Hi everyone! I'm sorry for another review, I'll be posting nail polish again very soon! But I'm in dire need of some advice so I'll start off with this review about Sally Hansen's Nail Quencher Hydrating Base Coat.
Please note: this product is discontinued so maybe this review isn't relevant for everyone, however I found some places where it's still easily available, so I figured, why not?

Sally Hansen Nail Quencher

I actually got this product because I had heard many many ravings about it, it's a holy grail base coat for a lot of nail polish junkies out there! In the first weeks of using it, I thought it was pretty ok: my nail polish didn't chip right away, and it prevented staining rather well.

But after a few weeks it became painfully clear: I don't like it. At all. And I think it's safe to say that, because I finished an entire bottle!

It goes on pretty thick due to its gel-like substance, I figured this is why my nails weren't as stained. But it bubbles, like crazy. And honestly, I don't want a base coat that leaves my nails looking like a moonscape.
The emptier the bottle, the thicker the base coat got. It even got stringy on me, and therefore highly unmanageable.

The drying time wasn't great either, I actually had to wait a good 5 minutes before I could get on with the rest of my manicure. Another disappointment was the brush, it's small. I don't want to spend too much time on applying something exciting as a base coat, so I need at least a medium sized brush and something that dries quickly.
So overall, it's safe to say, this base coat is not working out for me.

Please help me!

And that brings me to the following question:
What base coat do you use or would you recommend? So far I've tried OPI Natural Base Coat, OPI Ridge Filler and the Sally Hansen. Please help me out!

Thanks so much for stopping by! -
Michèle

Follow up

Hi everyone, I did a quick follow up because you were all so incredibly helpful!! Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences with me. After reading all your comments I think I'm going to give either Nail Tek or Essie's Protein Base Coat a try. Of course I'll review these at some point for those who haven't tried these. Wish me luck and thanks again!

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