Nail Polish Review: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure

If there is one piece of advice that I could give that I would wish you all to remember it is simply this, "think first, buy later."

I admit, it is fairly hypocritical of me to say. After all, I am crazy impulse shopper who believes Walgreens, Target, and Ulta are her candy store. It is as if all I can see are targets and I just start shooting them down as my basket gets heavier. However, I say this little piece of information because I don't believe it hinders my credibility or authority at all. I have used these products, I know the results I have seen, and more often than not, they are NOT great.

So, what exactly are we talking about here? Promises! Companies make them every day when they make ads, air commercials, advertise on product bottles, etc. You've seen it:

Our shampoo gives your hair volume!
This conditioner will fix your split ends!

This is where thinking comes in handy. A split end is what happens when your hair breaks. Most of you know what this look likes. Your nice thick and shiny strand now has a split at the bottom so rather than have one strand of hair, you are starting to get two weaker and thinner strands. It is a product of heat styling, hair products, etc.

Take this a step further though, do you think a conditioner can fix this? If you do, you shouldn't. How can it? Perhaps a conditioner can prohibit further damage, but it isn't going to glue your strand together so it hides the damage already done. It just isn't possible. So, this is why I say, "think first, buy later." If we rationalized half of the promises made about our products using common sense or the power of the internet to seek out expert advice, we probably wouldn't buy nearly half of the products we do.

I apologize because I am somewhat off topic, but I say all of this to get to a larger point and that is the topic of this post.

Sally Hansen has introduced a new line of nail polish (they call it new anyway, it has been out for a while now). It is called Complete Salon Manicure. The product promises that it includes all five steps of a salon manicure in one bottle. Now I am not completely sure what all five of

those steps are, but I am assuming a base coat and top coat is included in this mix. So, I ask you this, when have you ever put something on your nails without a top coat and it didn't chip? I hope your answer is never. If it isn't, please comment and give us all that product so we can buy it! Isn't it true though? If you add something to your nails and use your hands as much as people do, nail polish will chip. This is just a side effect of wearing nail polish, it happens. I think most of us would prefer it didn't, but it does, so we fix it or re-do our nails and the problem is gone. So, right there we have learned lie number 1, this product doesn't include a top coat because the nail polish will chip. I have it and I can say firsthand it chips.

Okay, now lie number 2 may depend on the color you use, but still, it is a problem and puts some proof to the fact that the advertisement is incorrect. I purchased the "Thinking of Blue" color. It is a gorgeous deep blue. I put the color on and was so happy with the results. My nails looked gorgeous. However, after the color ran its course and I was removing it, I noticed a very unwelcomed result. The darker shades of this line of nail polish dye your nails horribly. I'm not talking about a small trace, I mean my damn nail was blue underneath. It was horrendous. I couldn't get it out with anything and essentially had to add extra coats of any light nail polish colors I wore after that day until my nails grew out. So, there we go, lie number 2, if there were a base coast built in, then your nails would not be dyed.

So, is the product really worth it? Well, let me tell you this. I think that sans the advertisement's broken promises, yes it is worth it. Had I not seen it, I would probably have added my own base coat and added a top coat and the world would have been perfect. The colors of the polish line are beautiful. Since I knew I needed a top and base coat after the first day I actually bought three more. I have the "Thinking of Blue," "Fairy Teal," "Commander in Chic" and "Plum Luck." They are all really gorgeous deep colors. The formula is really thick and reduces the number of coats you may have to put on, and the brush is wonderful. So, actually, as a nail polish, I really love it.

So the Skinny on this post is this: If you want a really nice nail polish for a relatively good price, go buy the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes. BUT remember, ignore the advertisement. They aren't magicians and they certainly cannot bottle little nail technicians to come out and actually provide you with all five steps at your dining room table. So, from this product we learn, there is no such thing as easier when it comes to beauty products.