Clear base: what really distinguishes these 132 cards
Almost everything on this page is called “rubber base”, and by name it seems the same. The difference is not in the word Clear, but in density, acidity, and what the base is applied for. Here is how to break down the list into groups that actually behave differently.
Density decides more than brand
Rubber bases — F.O.X. Base Rubber, ADORE PRO Base Classic, SAGA Rubber base “Soft”, KODI Rubber Base, LUNAmoon RUBBER BASE — are the working middle: they hold shape, provide light leveling, suitable for most coatings. If you need a thin underlay for gel or polygel, look for other words in the name: DA'23 Underlay, ADORE Multi slim base, TOUCH Hold Base, NOTD Scotch Base, ELSE Relax base, SHELLY Liquid Base. They are liquid and do not level anything themselves — their job is adhesion. At the opposite end of the scale are hard ones: F.O.X. Base Strong and Air Base Strong, SAGA “Strong”, SHELLY Hard Base, NOTD Builder Strong Base, LUNAmoon Strong Base, and KODI Polybase for the acrylic-gel system.
Fibers, acidity, “cold” formulas
Bases with fibers are taken for thin nails that bend and break: KODI Lint base, NOTD Fiber Base with nylon fibers, DNKa' Fiber Base, MOON FULL and ADORE Fiber base. A separate story is acidity. Acid-free and low-acid ones here are represented by LUNAmoon ACID FREE, ADORE Low acid, DNKa' LOW ACID BASE, and HEYLOVE Tint base “CLEAR pH 6.7”; alongside there are “cold” and “no burning” designations — EDLEN Ice base, GA&MA Soft Clear, — and KODI Quick Base and GA&MA Light base are labeled HEMA free. All these features are brought into the left filter “Property”, so it is more convenient to narrow down the list there than to scroll through five pages.
Pedicure and nail tips — separate items
For pedicure, manufacturers write this directly in the name: F.O.X. Pedicure Base, TOUCH Hold Base, NOTD Scotch Base. For gel tips, thicker base adhesives are made — HEYLOVE Fix Tips base and ADORE Base “Funky Tips Glue”. A regular rubber base also works in both scenarios for many masters, but the application mechanics in specialized ones differ, and this is worth reading in the card rather than deciding by analogy.
Volume, pump, refill
The grid of volumes is wide: 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 30, 35, 50 and 60 ml. Small bottles make sense for testing an unfamiliar formula, 30–60 ml when the base has become “yours”. A few formats are easy to miss in the list: EDLEN REFILE is a refill of 30 and 50 ml, LUNAmoon RUBBER BASE Marker is a base in marker form of 5 ml, F.O.X. Base Power Sachet is a 15 ml sachet, and DNKa' and HEYLOVE give 30 ml versions with a pump.
Two traps of the page itself
First: not every one of the 132 cards is a base in its pure form. The “Coating type” filter does not accidentally offer “Top” and “Design gel” — here have fallen dual-function F.O.X. Chrome 2.0 base&top and KODI Base & Top coat gel 2 in 1, as well as ADORE Blooming gel and SAGA Content base, needed for spreading and design, not as a main coating. Second: the same volume does not mean the same packaging. DA'23 Underlay in 30 ml is available both in a jar and with a cap; DNKa' LOW ACID BASE in 30 ml — separately regular and separately with a pump. Read the name to the end, the format is always written at the tail.
Nearby in the catalog: camouflage and color bases, if you need leveling with a shade, top coats for the final layer and the entire section of gel polishes, bases and tops.
