Hard As Nails Nail Polish

Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Nail Polish [570 - Cemented] Review

By Maychiri's Thoughts - September 28, 2025

Ah, a Sally Hansen! This is the Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Nail Polish, shade 570/Cemented!
 
 
I cannot describe how excited I was when I noticed that Notino now sells Sally Hansen nail polishes! This is a brand that I’ve heard so much about, people are always praising them and saying that they are great nail polishes for a good price. But, up until now, I had little chance to actually try any of them out, and I so very much wanted to! I felt like it’s necessary to have at least one Sally Hansen nail polish if I am at all serious about make up. But there are soooo many colours! And so many different ranges. It was extremely difficult to narrow it down to maybe 2-3 nail polishes that I liked enough to buy eventually. I chose the Hard As Nails range because I like having nail polishes that both strengthen nails and have a nice colour; you know, like a 2 in 1 kind of deal. And out of all the various colours I decided that the most drab, most gray of them all would be the best one... I don’t know why, it just looked so cool on pictures! Now, is the hype warranted? Is this nail polish going to cement itself as one of the all time greats? Well, let’s see!
 
 
 
 
Packaging: that’s one large bottle! It’s got a fairly interesting shape; I like how it curves near the cap. It’s also got a very thin profile, so it looks kinda flat. It certainly sticks out from all the other nail polish bottles I have! The text is white, an excellent choice! It’s very easy to read and pops on the dark gray of the polish. The cap is black and very tall! It closes very tightly. You know, I really like this design, it’s unique and very interesting!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Ingredients: panthenol/provitamin B5, oil-seed camellia (Camellia oleifera) leaf extract, iron to nourish your nails. 3-free (DBP, formaldehyde, toluene); however, it does contain parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben). While I don’t like that it has parabens, it sounds like it could hydrate and strengthen nails. The scent is, broadly similar to most other nail polishes, but it has a uniquely sweet scent profile. It smells chemical, but also very sweet, which is interesting. The expiration date is 30 months after opening. 
 
 
 
 
This colour is every bit as awesome as it looked like it would be on pictures! This is a medium dark gray, with brownish pigments to give it some warmth. On nails, it looks more gray than in the bottle, where it looks like a taupe gray, or a dark greige. It’s definitely reminiscent of cement mix! Or a particular shade of gray called ‘fossil’. In any case, it is a cool, urban kind of colour that looks awesome on pale skin. It also kind of looks like wet clay, so cool! I love it, but I can definitely see how it could be divisive among people.
 
 
 
 
Brush: oh, this is a new kind of brush for me! The neck of the brush is extremely long, way too long, actually. It’s so long that nail polish frequently drips off it while you are painting your nails. This is problematic, and you have to really make sure you tapped off all the excess before painting your nails, or you might find nail polish in places it shouldn’t be, like your clothes. The brush itself is extremely narrow and quite long; this gives it unparalleled precision, but it also means you have to use more brushstrokes to cover the nail completely. As for its shape, it is more rounded than flat, but it is not one bit frayed. It looks quite high quality. 
 
 
 
 
And it’s pretty easy to use, as it applies nail polish evenly across the nails, just please do make sure you tap off the excess because this brush picks up way too much polish. However, because it is so thin, it makes it easy to apply nail polish without making a huge mess around the nails. Still, I would prefer if it was wider, I am not too used to these slim brushes.
 
 
 
 
 
Ooh, this is such a great formula! It’s silky, it’s smooth and it’s not at all runny! It’s also the perfect thickness, while still feeling rich. I don’t know why, but it feels nourishing! And it applies evenly with one coat... it’s just so easy to use!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
One coat is almost opaque to completely opaque, depending on how thick the coat is. It is pretty even overall, though there are a few uneven patches here and there. It could absolutely be worn like this, but I’m going to add another coat. And, with two coats, it is completely opaque! It also doesn’t feel too thick at all. It’s completely even and just looks amazing! So rich! It also somehow looks better than most nail polishes near my cuticles, it just looks more professional. I definitely wouldn’t apply more than 2 coats, it might become too thick. 2 is just perfect! The texture is quite glossy.
 
 
 
 
 
Longevity is, contrary to the advertising, not at all good. Firstly, it becomes scratched to hell without a protective top coat. All those scratches hurt the glossy finish, making it more muted. Fortunately, this colour can work with both matte and glossy finishes, but still, it looks much better when it’s very glossy. Also, check out that lace-like pattern that has imprinted into my right thumb! It’s fascinating... I cannot stop looking at it! What caused this? I honestly have 0 idea, I didn’t wear anything lacy, my pillowcase is smooth satin... the only thing that makes some sense is the mattress, but it doesn’t seem to match the pattern? Extremely odd... but beautiful nonetheless! 
 
 
 
 
However, that should not happen, you should be able to live your life normally 2 hours after applying the nail polish – especially after using nail polish drying drops! But even aside from that, it is not at all chip resistant. It started chipping on day 3, with some minor corner chipping, but that soon turned into it chipping all over the free edges of nails. By day 5 it was already horribly chipped, with large chunks missing from all nails. It also doesn’t tolerate hair washes; a hair wash destroyed it, I had huge pieces literally flaking off, so you can imagine how bad it looked then. For something that is advertised as being “chip resistant”, it is literally the exact opposite of that... what a disappointing turn of events. And here I was hopeful that it would be as good as people say it is...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It’s very easy to remove. It’s pretty much just one swipe and it comes off easily. And it did not make my nails more yellow, thankfully.
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
All in all, man, I am immeasurably disappointed. Like, everyone kept raving about how great Sally Hansen polishes are, but, in my experience, they’re really average, at best. At least, this one is. I still have to try out a few different ranges to see whether it’s just the Hard As Nails range that's rubbish, or if they’re all like that. But yeah, this nail polish is not at all chip resistant, nor is it scratch resistant, contrary to what they claim. It got a million scratches by the end of day 2, and it gets imprints from day-to-day activities like sleeping. So you really need a good top coat to prevent this. It starts to chip within 3 days, which is not nearly enough to call itself “chip-resistant”; and it isn’t minor chipping, either. Once it starts to chip, it will chip significantly, with large flakes falling off. Don’t even get me started on how well it tolerates stuff like washing your hair! Or like, washing the dishes. Because it was ruined, completely destroyed, after one hair wash. Half of the nail polish was gone, and the rest was in a sorry state, all scratched and chipped off. Bloody fantastic. But not all is bad, there is actually quite a lot of good to be found, as well. Like the brush, for example. It’s small, but very long, which makes it extremely precise and it applies polish evenly across the nails. And the formula is really awesome! It’s so easy to work with and it feels silky and smooth and just expensive. Oh, and the colour is so amazing, too! It’s a medium taupe gray, or like a medium greige; it definitely feels like a colour that you either love or hate. Me? I love it! I love it so much! It’s so urban chic and just cool, and it looks amazing on pale skin! It is kinda like cement. But did it make my nails harder or stronger? I don’t think so??? But, then again, I don’t have issues with brittle or weak nails anyways, so I doubt I would have noticed a difference either way. Still, no matter how much I love the colour and how luxe the formula feels, it just has rubbish longevity, and that is – arguably – one of the most important aspects of a nail polish. It should be able to last through normal daily activities, and this one, sadly, just doesn’t. And this makes me so very sad, because I was so hyped to try it... only to be left with the bitter taste of disappointment in my mouth. Yeah, not what I was expecting... I just hope the other ranges aren’t this mid. I really want to love Sally Hansen... but this nail polish won’t get any kind of recommendation, sadly.
 
 
 
Rating: 5/10
 
 
Would buy again? NO, sadly






  • Share:

0 comments