Maychiri's Thoughts

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure [015 - Steel My Heart] Review

September 28, 2025

Well... here it is again, a Sally Hansen nail polish. This time, it’s the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure, in the shade 015/Steel My Heart!

Okay, so... I must admit, I just thought this colour was too cool. That’s the main reason why I ever bought this nail polish because I already know by now that Sally Hansens... well... they aren’t really good. And every time, after trying out one of them and being very disappointed in the end, I wonder why I keep buying new colours. But check this out:

“7 benefits in 1 bottle, plus a flawless finish brush for easy application and salon-quality results! Featuring a base coat, growth treatment, runway-inspired nail color, top coat, gel-shine finish, chip-resistance, and a strengthener with keratin complex for up to 64% stronger nails, this all-in-one formula delivers up to 10 days of chip-resistant wear.”

Loooots of promises there. I find that, when there are so many promises, products tend to not get all of them right – I mean, it is a lot, isn’t it? From how they describe it, this is a perfect nail polish, and as we all know, perfection is extremely hard to achieve (especially for a Sally Hansen nail polish). 10 days without chips, eh? Well, we shall see. I do like the sound of it both strengthening nails and promoting their growth, though. But will this be a salon-quality nail polish? Well, that’s what I aim to find out. Now, I must steel not my heart – but my mind – for what is about to come... let’s go!

Packaging: quite a shapely bottle! I like how it’s curved! It’s very large, with an equally large cap. With that large size comes weight; this is quite a heavy bottle. In terms of details, it is very scarce, though I do appreciate the use of white text on a dark gray colour. The cap is giant, and, although the silver colour goes swimmingly with the dark gray, it is also a fingerprint magnet; it gets smudged so quickly. I like the black band at the bottom of the cap, it looks fancy. The cap closes extremely tightly, so much that it can be near impossible to open (the slippery silver part of the cap isn’t helping).

There’s an information sticker in the back but it doesn’t have the ingredients lost, for that, you’ll have to search online (it is annoyingly hard to find this info btw). Also, a sticker with the shade name on the top of the cap. Pretty basic, but the shape sets it apart.

Ingredients: Corallina officinalis extract, vitamin E, safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) seed oil, kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) extract, hydrolysed conchiolin protein for nourishment. 3-free (DBP, formaldehyde, toluene), however, this nail polish has parabens: methylparaben, propylparaben. Why these need to be here I do not know; most other nail polishes function just as well without any parabens. I am anti-paraben still, yes, idc. So, this does have some strengthening ingredients! So it really is like a care & colour kind of nail polish, that’s always nice. That’s if the ingredients list is correct in the first place (I’m sure Walmart has no need to lie about it but still). The scent is like most nail polishes, only dialled up to 20. Like, it is extremely sharp! So sharp that it actually hurts to sniff it. The expiration date is 30 months after opening.

Colour: dark gray with some blue pigments in it, so it isn’t just pure gray. It is kinda like dark slate gray or charcoal, as the bluish pigments are definitely noticeable. Actually, the colour “marengo” is also super similar. I like this colour, although it is darker than in the bottle. In the bottle, it is a lighter and more bluish kind of gray, which I thought was so cool, but then, after I was done applying it, it was incredibly dark. Weird, but it suits my pale skin just fine. It is quite intense, though. And the bluish pigments really stand out on my pale skin. Nice change of pace, after all the beige nail polishes, though I still do wish it was more like it is in the bottle. Still, it is quite a cool colour.

Brush: rectangular flat brush. The ends are supposed to be cut flat, but they are quite uneven. You can see clearly how one half is longer than the other. Not good quality level. But... knowing what the other Sally Hansen nail polishes were like, should I be surprised? The brush is small but quite dense, which is both good and bad. Good, because it is fairly precise, able to apply the nail polish without it getting all over the skin as well as the nail. Bad, because, due to that density, it picks up an outrageous amount of polish. Like, way, way, way more than you need for one nail. So you have to tap off almost all the nail polish just to be able to use it normally. The brush really struggles with this formula; it applies it all streaky no matter how hard you try.

And it is not really precise, I had a huge mess around my nails by the time I was done. Honestly, this is a pretty cheap brush and it shows. Not at all “salon quality”.

Hmm, what a weird formula. I don’t even know how to describe it. Like, it is pretty thick but it is also watery and a tiny bit runny. But there is this gelliness to it, as well. It honestly feels like plastic? This formula is pretty easy to use as it doesn’t run off the nails, despite being a bit runny. However, it really doesn’t apply evenly. No matter how much I tried, the first coat was patchy and had bare spots. Was it the brush or this formula? I am leaning towards both. Yeah... I don’t like this formula. It definitely does not feel like something I would get at a nail salon, not close. It just feels kinda cheap. Oh, also, be careful how much nail polish you apply because man, this is so thick. I had to tap off like 90% of it off the brush just to get a usable amount that wouldn’t make a catastrophic mess.

Why is it so streaky and patchy with one coat? Moreover, why are there like little bare spots? I went over them with the brush but they are still there... ugh. And it isn’t just uneven, it is also semi-opaque, which looks frankly ugly with this colour. It’s the fact that the colour looks washed out that’s the problem. I am hoping that a second coat will fix all these issues. Oh thank god it does! I am really not in the right headspace or mood to be dealing with a completely crap nail polish, like, I feel like I can tolerate up to 47% crap, but not 100%. The second coat seems to have fixed all the issues with it being uneven and pale. Now, it is completely opaque (as this colour should be), and it seems to be completely even.

The colour is actually intense now, though it is much darker than I thought it would be. Just don’t apply more than 2 coats as it is already seriously thick. Adding any more will just turn it into a goopy mess. The texture is glossy, which is extra intense on this dark gray. It doesn’t really look gelly to me, though.

Longevity is not there. It’s not the worst longevity as far as Sally Hansen nail polishes go, but to call it salon-quality would be absurd. It is not at all resistant to scratches, I woke up and found plenty of scratches on a few of my nails. While this did not diminish the shine, it still isn’t something you’d want to see on a nail polish. And as the days went by, the number of scratches increased, to the point of actually diminishing how shiny it was. So... what was that about it being a top coat as well as a coloured nail polish, again? Yeah... and that 10-day-chip-free promise? Well, what if I told you it starts to chip within 3 days, hmm? Does that sound like 10 days to you?

Granted, the chips were initially small, but the point is that they should not have been there in the first place. Not if what they claim is true. The polish kept chipping off little by little until hair wash day, which was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. A hair wash destroyed it; it was all chipped off on all the nails, and it just looked messy and ugly. So it cannot survive a single hair wash? “Salon quality” – I repeat! I don’t go to salons for manicures but I highly doubt any self-respecting salon would use polishes that had this kind of longevity. Just rubbish. Oh, also, another interesting thing is that it seems that the second and first coat seemed to somehow separate at some point.

When I looked at my nails in bright light (and when I looked under my nails), there was a weird line that separated the two coats that wasn’t really visible just at a glance. And indeed, where the colour was darker under the nails, it was also more intense when looked from up-top. How the hell does something like that happen??? Just terrible...

So, removing this nail polish isn’t the biggest issue; it doesn’t take long to break through the top layer and the rest comes off pretty easily. So, what is the biggest issue here? Well, the fact that it stains the nails yellow, that’s what. And it’s not just like a barely visible yellowish tint, my nails are pretty obviously more yellow now than before. Just great. Just flipping great. Just what I needed. Ugh.

In conclusion, “salon-quality” my foot! I do have to admit that the well had been poisoned even before I started with this nail polish because literally every single previous Sally Hansen had at least some number of problems, most often a huge number. So I went in expecting it to be bad. I wanted to give it a chance to prove me wrong – maybe this one will finally be the one that is good? Yeah... no. Not at all. The problems start from the top and they don’t stop until the very end. The brush is small and dense, which leads to it applying the nail polish so very unevenly and it is impossible to avoid making a mess all around the nails. Yeah, this is not the kind of brush nail salons would use, pretty sure. The formula is similarly very bad; it is extremely thick but also runny and a bit gelly. It feels a bit plasticy. And it just flat-out refuses to apply evenly, no natter how hard you try. It is so frustrating to paint nails with this nail polish, even when you are trying to be careful it still applies like a right mess. Professional, eh? As for the nail polish being both a top and base coat... eh, what do I know. But probably, this is another lie because not only does the polish end up being very scratched up, it also makes the nails very yellow... which is something a base coat should prevent, no? And the scratches, a top coat should prevent that. The biggest lie out of all the grandiose claims they use to market this crap nail polish is that it is “up to 10 days chip-free”... huh??? And remember, since it is both a top coat and a base coat and everything else possible, they recommend not using any top coats and just applying 2 coats and that’s it. So why then, does it start to chip within 3 days, hmm?! And why does a hair wash destroy it?! Like, if this is their version of a “salon quality” polish then no thanks. If I went to a salon and paid good money just to end up with this quality... I would be fuming! I would go to the salon and ask for either a refund or a free repair session because something “salon quality” should last for a long time and not be a freaking lesson in frustration to use. Ugh. Nah, this nail polish just feels and performs cheap. And my nails don’t seem to be particularly stronger than before, but that’s hard to judge from one use, I’ll give them that. Really, the only thing this nail polish has going for it is the colour and even that isn’t what it should be. See, it is much darker on the nails than in the bottle. I was expecting to have steely gray nails but what I got was a deep, dark gray. It’s fortunate that I actually liked that colour and how dramatic and cool it looked on my skin, otherwise the final rating would be even lower. It’s absurd, really. Like, how can they keep messing up with nail polish range after nail polish range... is there any Sally Hansen ever that will be good??? The way this is going, it seems nope is the answer. Bah, what a mess. No, I will not recommend this nail polish, I literally have zero reason to do so. If you need an affordable dark gray nail polish, idk, check Catrice’s Gel Affair range or the ICONAILS, if you manage to find them still.

Rating: 3/10

Would buy again? NO

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Color Therapy

Sally Hansen Color Therapy [165 - Tea Time] Review

September 28, 2025

Sally Hansen... again. Well, maybe this one will be similar to the Complete Salon Manicure, which was awesome? Who am I kidding... anyways, this is the Sally Hansen Color Therapy, in the shade 165/Tea Time!

Here we go again... well, I can take solace in the fact that there aren’t many ranges I have to try out anymore, I guess. So, in my quest to try out one of each Sally Hansen nail polish, I have come to this one, which seems to be a conditioning nail polish in addition to a colour one. I would be excited, were the last couple of Sally Hansens not a disaster. I am mostly doing this so that I can see which ones are good and which aren’t (spoiler alert: the latter is far more common)... I didn’t even want this colour originally. I wanted a lighter cool-toned brown, but all the variants that were that kind of colour were sold out. So I guess I will take this warm-toned clay brown? It might even look good, who knows? Eh, how bad can it get, really? Well, let’s see I guess...

Packaging: ah, this is the same kind of bottle the Complete Salon Manicure used! It’s voluptuous, isn’t it? Plump, you might even say! I love how curvy it is, this helps it stand our from the rest of the nail polishes. It feels surprisingly lightweight given the size! The text is copper coloured in the front, which really pops against the clay-brown of the nail polish! The cap is similarly curvy, but, since it is made from a reflective metal material, it is a flipping fingerprint magnet. It takes no time for it to become all smudgy. The cap closes quite securely, so you don’t have to worry that the nail polish will dry out any time soon. I like this bottle, it’s a fun design!

Ingredients: argan (Argania spinosa) kernel oil, evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) oil, açaí (Euterpe oleracea) fruit oil, safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) seed oil, kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) extract, vitamin E for nourishment. 3-free (DBP, formaldehyde, toluene); it contains parabens, though, specifically, methylparaben. Unfortunate. But I like how it has hydrolysed conchiolin! That should help the nails become at least a little bit stronger. Also, so many oils! Wonder if this will make a difference? The scent is, at first, similar to most nail polishes, but it soon becomes very sweet and aromatic. Weird. But it’s okay. The expiration date is 30 months after opening.

Brush: very short, flat brush. It’s got rounded ends to help with how it applies nail polish. The brush might seem small, but it is wide enough once you spread it wide. And because it is smaller than average, it is more precise, able to apply nail polish relatively cleanly to the sides of the nails. It applies the polish evenly and pretty richly, so it looks opaque with just one coat. However, it picks up an insanely large amount of nail polish, so be sure to tap off the excess! Not the best brush, but it is quite far from being the worst. It’s decent.

Colour: okay, I admit, I like this colour! I was on the fence at first, but it actually looks so elegant on the nails! It's a rosy brown with a decent amount of warm tones in it, without being too reddish. It actually looks a bit cool-toned on me, somehow! It’s close to Pantone's colour “Ash rose”, being a very clay-like kind of brown. And you know, there’s something so nice about a clay-coloured nail polish! It looks awesome on pale skin, it really pops without being too aggressive. And it’s such a great basic, neutral colour as well! To me, it really looks like either some sort of red dirt mud or clay – mostly clay. Not exactly terracotta as it’s less red, but like raw/unbaked clay. Gorgeous!

And perfect for late summer and autumn – especially autumn! Tho I have no idea what it had got to do with tea? Tea shouldn’t be this muddy/clay-ish brown? The name doesn’t make sense... whatever, it still doesn’t change the fact that this colour is really stunning!

This is such a weird formula. Like, it is pretty thick but it is also watery. In some ways, it feels oily, which, I guess makes sense because it does contain plenty of oils. It’s also a bit runny, but not to the point of being hard to use. It’s not the easiest to apply because it does like to spill over the sides of the nails, but it applies perfectly evenly, so you don’t need to keep messing with it just to get it right. Also, while it feels quite thick when I am applying it, it dries down into a weirdly thin finish. Like, it feels cheap. Idk, I don’t like this formula.

One coat is already opaque and 100% even. I could leave it at this, but they said that you need to apply two coats so I will. What will change? Probably just the colour a little bit. We’ll see. Okay, so, applying two coats did not really do much. It is still opaque and looks thick, but it also feels thin. Like, why does it feel so flimsy when I applied two pretty decently thick coats? The colour is a bit more intense, but that’s the only change. Definitely don’t apply more than two coats, there is no point in doing that. The texture is pretty glossy; it should have that copper shimmer, but it isn’t really that visible.

Longevity is completely rubbish, just like I knew it would be. I knew, as soon as I saw how thin the formula is, that it would not last even a day, and it doesn’t. It doesn’t chip much in the traditional sense, it just had two tiny chips before a hair wash. But it’s edge wear that’s one major issue, but not the only one. It took the nail polish less than 24 hours for the edge wear to become really noticeable, and by the end of the third day, all of my nails had an ugly white line right at the very end. Not cool! Not one bit! So, obviously, it doesn’t adhere to the nail plate properly. But this isn’t the only huge issue. See, it gets absolutely destroyed with scratches in no time. Like, I woke up and all of my nails were already ruined.

This is because the formula still felt goopy when I went to bed, 2 hours after painting my nails and drying them with nail drying drops that do cure nail polish. So, great... freshly applied and already ruined. Bah. And it’s not just some tiny scratches, I am talking about huge indentations in the nail polish that make the otherwise pretty gloss into a muted mess.

I am just grateful that this nail polish is this easy to remove. It doesn’t take a lot of rubbing to completely wipe it off and it doesn’t make the nails yellow. Awesome, because I was really worried that my nails had become yellow!

All in all, what a misery this nail polish is. Look, the colour is gorgeous but that’s about it as far as good things are concerned. This is a clay-ish brown kind of colour that is really beautiful, especially on pale skin. It is so elegant and chic and so neutral, so it goes with pretty much anything. I love how it has just enough red pigments to look classy, these clay kind of colours can quickly veer into dated territory. But this one is a timeless clay classic! The shimmer isn’t visible, really, which is for the best. The brush is decent, it doesn’t have any trouble applying the nail polish properly and it picks up more than enough polish. So that was the good. Barely anything, right? Well, you’ll see why in a second. See, the formula is pure hot garbage. It feels oily and thick but so watery that it’s awful. It’s not really runny, but it feels so cheap. Like, it actually feels like a cheap, rubbish formula. This is because it quickly dries down into a paper-thin finish that feels like it’s going to chip at any moment. This, luckily, doesn’t happen, not until a few days in, or until you wash your hair. But the biggest problem – that is even worse than the formula – is the scratching issue. This nail polish has precisely zero resistance to being scratched up. This ruins the lovely glossy texture it has. Just great. But it gets worse: it suffers terribly from the polish just disappearing on the free edges of the nails. Edge wear is really bad here. By the end of the first 24 hours, there was already noticeable edge wear. Horrible... just terrible. And a hair wash destroys it. So you really need a protective base and top coat for this nail polish if you want it to last more than a day. The only reason it is not getting a lower grade is because I really like the colour. Everything else is just bad, man. But I am used to this with Sally Hansens at this point... even though I naïvely thought that it would be good like the Complete Salon Manicure, which has the same bottle – but obviously, not the same formula. I just want to move on from this, I really, really dislike it. No, no recommendation. How could I?

Rating: 3/10

Would buy again? Absolutely NO

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Insta Dry Nail Color

Sally Hansen Insta Dry Nail Color [193 - Slick Slate] Review

September 28, 2025

Oh lord, another Sally Hansen. Welp... this is the Sally Hansen Insta Dry Nail Color, shade 193/Slick Slate.

In my quest to try out one of each range of Sally Hansen nail polishes, I have arrived at the quick-drying range. Slowly, but surely, I am making my way through them and, well, things could have been better so far. I have had a bad time with most of the Sally Hansens that I tried, but still I persevere. Some may call that stupidity, I call it my Taurean bullheadedness/determination. Anyways, this is definitely not the colour I was hoping to get. Originally, I was angling for either Grape Shifter or Sprinkle Sprinkle... I don’t know, I was in a sort of glitter mood, I guess. Perhaps it is better I ordered a plain glossy shade, after all, glitter can be a nightmare to remove! Out of all the colours Notino had available, this one stood out as being the most delectable. Delectable, because it looks like dark chocolate, so of course I would order it! It somehow slipped past me, probably because it is very dark and I try to avoid using very dark nail polishes because they are known to stain nails. And I hate that. So I guess we will have to see what this Sally Hansen is like, huh? Perhaps it will actually be better than the previous ones? Foolish one stop checking your mailbox...

Packaging: woah, this bottle is triangular! You don’t see that every day! This helps this nail polish stand out from most others, and it does make it easier to store since you can fit three of these bottles very tightly next to each other. Very cool! The bottle itself is giant, but it is fairly lightweight. The cap matches the colour of the nail polish, which is a cool touch. Usually, caps are a different colour, so this is a nice change of pace. The text is white, which is a smart choice with such a dark colour. However, the name of the shade (which is on the top of the cap) is black... they were this close! Not all information is on the bottle; if you are looking for the ingredients list, for example, you’ll have to search online for it.

The overall design is simple but decidedly modern, as is evident by the triangular shape of the bottle and the angled bold text. The cap closes extremely tightly, and it becomes even harder to open once you actually start using the nail polish, because it takes all of 5 minutes for there to be a layer of dried polish on the neck, but I’ll come to the formula in a little bit.

Source: www.sallyhansen.com

Ingredients: vitamin E for at least a tiny bit of nourishment. 3-free (DBP, formaldehyde, toluene). The scent is in general similar to most other nail polishes, though it is extremely sharp and stings the inside of my nose. The expiration date is 30 months after opening.

Colour: Ooh, what a beautiful colour! I had mixed feelings about it before I applied the polish but it seems I had no reason to feel that way because man, this is sooo gorgeous! Although, the name has nothing to do with the actual colour, let’s be real. This has almost no blue pigments in it, so how could it ever be slate? No, to me, this is a dark chocolate or even milk chocolate kind of colour, which is perfect for a chocoholic like me, haha! As soon as I applied it, I fell in love – it is so perfectly choccy! And it is so dark and dramatic and just looks gorgeous on pale skin!

However, after doing some research, I found what colour this one is most similar to, which is Pantone’s Plum Truffle, although this one seems to be slightly more brown and a bit less vibrant. Still, a gorgeous dark cool-toned brown/dark taupe kind of colour, perfect for autumn! There is something a tiny bit plummy about it, isn’t there? Very interesting, very stunning colour, I adore it!

What a tiny little brush! It is so cute! It is short, not too wide and has rounded ends, so that it applies nail polish as evenly as possible. And it does just that, which is a welcome change from all the other rubbish Sally Hansen brushes. This brush is actually really enjoyable to use! It applies the polish super evenly and it has no issues coating the entire nail with 2-3 swipes, so you can be done with your nails very quickly. I cannot describe how big of a relief this is; to go from struggling to apply nail polishes to actually having fun while applying polish. That said, this brush can be pretty messy; I tried to be precise, but I still ended up having some nail polish outside my nails, on the cuticles. This is all due to the fact that this brush picks up so much nail polish that it is actually insane.

And it’s not that there’s that much on the brush itself, the polish being on the body of the brush is the problem. I tapped off the excess but there were still huge globs of nail polish on the body of the brush; there was so much polish there that I had multiple close calls with dripping. And then it actually dripped, but, luckily, it dripped on my desk and not on my clothes. This is a huge issue that is hard to fix by tapping off and can lead to accidents. But since the brush itself is so good, I can overlook this. Because man, compared to the previous Sally Hansen nail polish brushes, this one is top tier. Messy top tier, but top tier nonetheless.

Ooh, I cannot believe I will say this, but I really like this formula! It is thick, but it feels ever so slightly dry, so instead of being all goopy and runny, it is creamy and honestly? Feels kinda luxurious, which is a weird feeling to have with Sally Hansen nail polishes. This is by far my favourite formula so far, it spreads so evenly and so easily, it really makes painting nails a breeze! Also, it is not runny, so it is easy to avoid making a mess on the skin around the nails. I don’t know, it is just such a good formula. And I tested it – it really does seem to dry within 60 seconds! I touched one of my nails before applying a second coat and I did not leave a fingerprint on the polish. Amazing! Though I would still suggest using nail polish drying drops just in case.

It says on the back of the bottle to just apply one coat and let it dry. Well, you know, you could actually do that! It is opaque with one coat, though the colour isn’t quite as intense as it should be. And it is ever so slightly uneven in some places, but honestly? It looks good! And this is a shock to me, because the previous Sally Hansens were all various shades of rubbish. I contemplated leaving just this one coat, which had, by the way, already dried by the time I was done looking at it in detail, but I decided to add a second coat because that’s what I always do. It’s only fair to judge it using the same application as all the rest, no? And well, the second didn’t do much, but it certainly helped. It made the colour much more intense and it fixed those tiny uneven spots.

Aha, now it looks right! Now it is intense and dramatic and dark and so, so good! Not a trace of any uneven spots and it is completely opaque. Just don’t apply a third coat; while it doesn’t feel too thick with two coats, there is really no point in applying a third one, it won’t do anything and just might cause the polish to start chipping sooner. Two is perfect, in my opinion. The texture is highly glossy, in a glassy kind of way, not gelly. Very pretty!

Longevity is another positive surprise! Wow... is this Sally Hansen the first actually good one? It is fairly chip resistant, able to survive 4 days before showing signs of chipping. This is orders of magnitude better than most other Sally Hansen nail polishes. And I am so happy that this chocolatey colour lasts so long! That means I can enjoy it for longer! But it is not immune to chipping; I noticed some smaller chips on day 4, but even by the end of day 4, they had gotten larger. Not significant, not really, but they were larger than before. It’s day 5 when it really started to chip in large amounts.

Even before a hair wash, I had large chopped off parts on a few of my nails, so you can imagine that, after a hair wash, it was much, much worse. Some nails were half-chipped off, while others stayed in remarkably good condition. While this isn’t excellent objectively speaking, it is still much better than most other Sally Hansens, but the bar is set very low there. So yeah, I am pretty happy with the longevity, all things considered! But chipping isn’t the only form of damage, what about scratches? Ah yes, this is a bigger issue, as I found a couple of larger scratches the morning after painting my nails and it continued to collect more and more scratches over the next few days.

These scratches were never bad enough to make the shine muted, but, I mean, they shouldn’t really be there. Still, they are fairly hard to notice so it isn’t that bad. I would highly suggest applying a top coat to prevent this kind of damage.

Another good thing: this nail polish is very easy to remove! It barely needs any rubbing before it is completely removed, which is good for the health of the nails. But there is something bad as well: this nail polish stains nails yellow. I cannot say I did not see this coming, but it’s always a disappointment when this happens. Ah well, there had to be some serious issue after so much good, right? For balance.

In conclusion, well, colour me surprised, this is actually a competent Sally Hansen! Who would’ve thought, eh? I am so happy that it was specifically this chocolate brown nail polish that was finally the one good one. That said, it is not perfect, it still has some flaws. Like, say, the fact that it gets scratched up easily. Or the fact that it isn’t really too chip-resistant. So, obviously, longevity has some issues, but for the most part, this one hell of a good nail polish – and I cannot believe I am saying this. The brush is incredible; it applies the nail polish evenly and is quite precise, allowing you to apply a good, even coat without any fussing about. Seeing as how Sally Hansens tend to have issues with being uneven, this is a marked improvement! However, although they suggest applying only a single coat, that one coat isn’t perfectly even. There is a little bit of patchiness here and there. But if you apply two coats, everything is fixed. The colour is intense and dark, it is completely opaque (to be fair, it was already opaque with one coat), and it is evenly applied. The formula is... weird? Weird. It is hella thick but it feels luxurious, all creamy and just, it just feels good to use. And it is so easy to use! It is odd how thick it is without being all goopy. But, because it is so thick, it is borderline impossible to not have it drip everywhere – which is why I have a neat new dark brown stain on my desk. Speaking of dark brown, this is not slate by any definition I know of. So the name makes no sense. What this is, is a dark cool-toned brown with some purplish pigments in it. It is awesome on pale skin! It just pops so nicely, and it looks so, so dramatic. I love it! It reminds me of both milk and dark chocolate, which, if you didn’t know, I cannot live without. It’s just a shame that this nail polish starts to chip massively after a few days, it looked so promising and then it started chipping off in huge patches. And it made my nails more yellow which is a bummer. But overall, it is a pretty great nail polish – and the quick-drying effect actually works! It was actually almost dry after just a minute; that said, I would still suggest using some kind of nail polish drying drops to really make sure it is dry – oh, and a top coat, to prevent excess scratching. So, yeah, I am quite happy with this nail polish, despite it having some issues. Lord knows it is leagues above any other Sally Hansen, so I’ll take this small win. And lastly, yup, I will recommend this nail polish – what a surprise to hear myself say that, wow...

Rating: 7/10

Would buy again? YES

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Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color [210 - Brilliant Blush] Review

September 28, 2025

Yeah, another Sally Hansen... but I am close to finishing my collection so not much longer to go! This is the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color, in the shade 210/Brilliant Blush!

“No chip, eh”? Well, we’ll see about that... if most of the previous Sally Hansens are anything to go by, this likely won’t be the case. But I shouldn’t be negative just yet. Anyways, why do I keep coming back to Sally Hansen despite being let down massively almost every single goddamn time? Because I am a naive twat? Could possibly be, but in actuality, I have decided to go on a side quest: try out one of each Sally Hansen nail polish range, to see which ones are good and which are bad. So far... yeah, it’s been more bad than good, like way more bad. And now, that quest brings me to the Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color, which, supposedly, has real diamond powder in its formula? Well, synthetic diamonds – if there are any for real – but who cares really if they are synthetic or ‘real’. I’d much rather have synthetic ones, no chance of them being “blood diamonds” that way. Now, diamonds are of course, known as being the hardest material on Earth, so this should, in theory, help harden the nails. My nails are pretty healthy – touch wood – but everyone can use a little bit of help, right? Thing is, I wanted a completely different colour. I wanted a more taupey or mauvey blush colour but those were either sold out or much more expensive (gotta love it when each shade has its own separate price tag), so I went with one of the cheaper ones because I frankly don’t want to spend a lot of money on what could well be yet another disappointment. Oh well, maybe this colour ends up not looking that bad on me. Whatever. I am losing my patience with Sally Hansen tbh. But let’s find that little bit of strength inside and persevere and see what this nail polish is like!

Packaging: oh, this is a gorgeous bottle! From the front and back, it looks pretty standard, but take a look at the sides! It’s faceted like a real gemstone! Beautiful! It helps the shimmer in the polish really pop and it has a sort of underwater ripple effect, which I find fascinating. There is also a tiny crystal in the front, which is supposedly a real Swarovski crystal! I cannot get over how it sparkles so beautifully! The cap is weirdly elongated, which makes the bottle look like some sort of antique piece. It’s also reflective, so, of course, that means it is a fingerprint magnet. The cap closes very tightly; tightly enough that you won’t need to worry about the nail polish drying out too soon.

The text is pale brown in the front, which is barely visible. It’s even less visible once you angle the bottle because the shimmer is way more intense than the colour of the text. The text in the back is white, which is moderately better, but it’s still difficult to read. Very intriguing shape; the bottle definitely stands out form all the others!

Source: www.sallyhansen.com

Ingredients: nothing particularly nourishing but it does have a few interesting ingredients. It is 3-free (DBP, formaldehyde, toluene). So, hydrolysed red algae/rhodophycea extract, platinum powder and two forms of diamond: pure diamond powder and benzimidazole diamond amidoethyl urea carbamoyl propyl polymethylsilsequioxane. Oh that last one is a mouthful! Basically, it’s got real diamonds in the formula, allegedly. How true this is... eh, anybody’s guess. I am not that wowed with the ingredients list, having diamonds but no other nail hardening ingredients is not enough. Anyways, the scent is like most other nail polishes, though it does smell a bit more creamy. The expiration date is 30 months after opening.

This nail polish has a very long and extremely narrow brush, like some other Sally Hansens. It looks flat, but it’s got a circular cross-section. Although this thinness makes it more precise, it is just too small for my liking. It cannot cover the entire nail when splayed, so you need to use more brushstrokes to apply nail polish across the entire nail. However, it does apply the polish very evenly, and it doesn’t make a huge mess all around the nails. It picks up almost the ideal amount of nail polish; I found that I didn’t have to tap off the excess. The brush itself looks like it has good build quality, I just need it to be larger. I guess it could be worse.

Colour: oh, hmm, I don’t know what to think of this colour. It’s definitely not my favourite; I... I guess I like it a little bit? I mean, I don’t hate it. It certainly looks best with two coats, though. The base is a milky pink that looks very matronly, not my style. It also washes me out a bit. But I would be happy if it was just that pale, milky pink. But no, it has to have weird shimmer. The shimmer is a mix of coral and magenta; it looks almost completely orange with one coat, which is just weird and unflattering with the milky pink base. But that changes once you apply the second coat; then, the shimmer changes into a magenta colour, which makes much more sense.

This actually fits somewhat with the milky pink base, though it still is way too harsh and intense. I don’t know, it just looks weird and I don’t like it much. :/

Why is this formula so thin and watery? It honestly feels cheap, even though it supposedly has diamonds in it. It is watery and thin, but it’s not runny somehow. Unfortunately, it also feels very plasticy. However, it applies fantastically evenly, so that’s something. I just don’t like it. It feels like a cheap plastic film on my nails. However, one good thing is that it doesn’t feel too goopy, even when you apply a very thick coat.

One coat is totally useless. It doesn’t provide any coverage; I can see my nails underneath very clearly (and all the yellowness on my thumbs from... an accident... before), it just adds a lot of gelly gloss. Which would be nice if the gloss wasn’t aggressively coral-coloured. In fact, this coral shine emphasises the yellowness....not a vibe! It is completely evenly applied though, for what little it’s worth. Sigh... let’s see if adding a second coat changes anything but I doubt it will. Oh, well, I guess it did help a bit. It is still semi-opaque, but my nails aren’t as clearly visible anymore. It’s developed a more cloudy, milky appearance now, which is a tad more uneven than with just one coat. Not uneven per se, but a tiny bit patchy in places.

It also changed the colour from colourless to a milky pink. Change for the better? To me... yes. Now it conceals the yellowness on my thumbs, which I needed so desperately. With 3 coats it might become opaque, but you know what? I don’t want it to become goopy, plus, I always test with two coats anyways. I wouldn’t recommend applying 3 anyways, as you need thick coats just to get to this medium level of coverage. So imagine how thick it would be with 3. Also, now that it is soft pink, the garish coral shine actually isn’t as aggressively in-your-face. It blends rather nicely with the soft pink now! The texture is, first and foremost, very glossy in a gelly kind of way. Like, very, very glossy.

It’s also full of very fine shimmer, which gives it this softly grainy appearance. It’s actually nice, I think it might be growing on me.

No chip... no chip, they said. So... why does it chip, then? Okay, it took it 4 days until it started to chip, and the chipping wasn’t horrible, but the promise was no chipping. A few nails have pretty bad edge wear, where most of the nail polish chipped off and one nail has the same but on the cuticle side. Not really “diamond strength”, now is that? Real ones know that diamonds are not actually forever – as long as you know where to hit them, they will break very easily. Seems the same is true for this nail polish. Most of the damage came from washing my hair, as usual; that’s where all the edge chipping came from. I wasn’t careful with my nails, so it’s good that it stayed in this good of a condition, but still, I was expecting no chips per the name.

However, the much bigger issue is the scratching. I woke up on the second day and my nails were covered in many, many scratches, some more prominent, some less. The thumbs got the worst of it, having these weird extremely deep cuts that ruin the high shine finish. All these scratches turned the lovely glossy finish into a more muted one, which isn’t good. Not at all. I hate it when nail polishes get this scratched up, it really ruins them. Sigh. And you know what is virtually immune to scratches? Diamonds... yeah, so the name is a complete fraud. Should have known...

Well, at least this nail polish isn’t hard to remove. Just a little bit of rubbing and it’s already completely gone, without any pesky shimmer leftovers. Also, it doesn’t make my nails yellower. My nails don’t feel much stronger than before, though.

In conclusion, well, I wish I could say I am surprised that this nail polish isn’t very good. I wish, but Sally Hansen has taught me not to expect much. Look, this nail polish promises too much. It’s even in the name... “No Chip”... is the lack of chipping in the room with us? Also, diamond strength, my foot! To be fair, diamonds aren’t really as indestructible as people make them out to be; otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to cut them into smaller pieces for jewellery. But usually, when something is named after diamonds, you do expect great durability... which is not what this nail polish offers. Okay, it doesn’t chip that badly, but it shouldn’t chip at all if that’s how they are marketing it, and it is. A hair wash lead to some pretty bad chipping on a few nails. But you know what’s worse? The scratches! This goes completely against the whole “diamond strength” thing because, as the defining Mohs scale rank 10 mineral (out of 10!), the only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond. Of course, this nail polish isn’t pure diamond in its composition, but it does – supposedly – include diamond powder. So don’t blame me for expecting it to be scratch resistant. Yet, I woke up and found some pretty freaking majestic deep scratches on some of my nails. Awesome, huh? The formula is watery and thin, and just feels like a cheap film on my nails. I should have known then that it wouldn’t be very durable. It applies pretty evenly, though, and it isn’t runny, so applying it isn’t the issue. I wish it was, and that the longevity was ideal; that’s a trade I’d be willing to make. But no. Bad formula, bad durability, hell, even bad colour. It being milky isn’t the issue, it’s the weird coral shimmer it’s got. It’s way too aggressive and gives an overall odd appearance to the nail polish, not elegant or sophisticated or whatever. Just weird. But in all fairness, the colour isn’t disgusting, I was just expecting something a little bit different, from all the pictures I saw of it. The brush is good, for whatever that’s worth. And okay, the bottle is quite stunning. But how much does that matter when everything else is meh at best, legitimately bad at worst? I... I am fed up with this nail polish. Just a few more Sally Hansens and then I will be free... just a few more. No, I won’t give this nail polish a recommendation; the “diamond strength” is a scam.

Rating: 4/10

Would buy again? NO

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