Nail Glitter Troubleshooting

For the LONGEST time, I have been in love with glitters for nails, and lately I've been into that gradient/fading glitter on the tips effect, but whenever I attempt to do it, after even a few hours pieces will start to chip off! It just bothers me soooo much!! I am using base coat, and top coat, and it just don't work. I've tried this with many different glitters, and still the same thing keeps happening. I've tried with China Glaze's Nova and Carnival Lights, and OPI's Show It and Glow it and Simmer & Shimmer.

Could it be that my nails are too slippery from buffing them all the time? That would be kinda strange seeing that buffing really helps the finish, but destroys the longevity :/ I was thinking another problem could be that my layers are too thick, but it's really hard to get a gradient without making anything thick...

Any tips for me? Oh, if it wasn't clear, these are my natural nails...no acrylic for me (been there, done that), and Calgel was a bit too pricy for me (starving student...actually if you saw me, you wouldn't think I was starving)