Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Sally Hansen Smooth & Perfect Nail Polish in Sorbet

I purchased this polish from London Drugs for $7.99 CDN. These can be purchased anywhere Sally Hansen nail products are sold, although I've only seen them at Shopper's Drug Mart and London Drugs so far. One bottle contains 13.3 mL (0.45 fl oz) of product. There are 7 other "barely-there" shades available: Fog, Linen, Dune, Satin, Whisper, Air, and Sea


*Note that my camera has decided to die, so there aren't pictures at this moment... as I can find a functional camera and/or find other blog posts that can supplement this  I will direct you accordingly... sorry!!*


Sally Hansen claims that this line of polishes is a breathable, streak-free formula which hides imperfections and ridges on nails. The formula is supposed to let 20% more oxygen reach nails, and is enhanced with ginseng, camelia oil, and lotus to promote healthier and stronger nails. Sally Hansen recommends using 2-3 coats of polish to achieve your desired finished effect. I definitely used 3 coats, and 2 layers of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.


First off, I have to say that this is one of the SMOOTHEST polishes I've ever had the pleasure of trying. It goes on so seamlessly, and it's incredibly easy to build up a layer of polish even when it's still wet. This polish does very little (if any) streaking... and any slight streaks that you might see in the first coat or two evens out with the subsequent coat, even with a layer of top coat. It almost feels like melted butter going on - it's not too runny, but not too thick. If it was a deeper shade of polish, I feel like the formula would need to be a touch thicker, but for the available shades, this is perfect.


The color is of sheer-moderate pigmentation. If you're applying thin coats, it will go on incredibly sheer, but if you apply thick coats the pigmentation is incredibly easy to build to full opacity.


Sorbet is a delicious warm peachy-orange-nude-ish shade. It has a very slight peachy-yellow shimmer/frost to it, but surprisingly enough the shimmer is almost undetectable. The shimmer does not create very noticeable streaks or lines in the polish, and those that do occur are very easily fixed with additional coats. I LOVE this shade, though I wish it was an ever-so-slightly richer peach shade; however, I'm not complaining - this I love. And fortunately, I have nothing in my collection that looks like this...


Check out Pixie Polish's blog post on this polish: 

This polish dries moderately fast. I noticed that my second coat took a lot longer to dry than my first and third layers, but overall, I was impressed with the dry time.


I would definitely agree with the claim that it hides imperfections and ridges on the nails. This morning in the shower, my razor bit a fairly sizeable chunk out of my fingernail, and this flaw is completely camouflaged under the polish. To be honest, I can't even remember what nail was affected...


My biggest beef with this polish is the bubbling. Oh my, were there bubbles. After 1 or 2 layers of Seche Vite to seal in my color, the bubbles were very subtle, and only visible up close; however, the bubbling overall, is definitely my least favorite aspect about this polish. Any day I'd take streaking over bubbling... Meh.


The wear time is pretty good, considering the bubbling and such. The doctors think I might have developed a second case of the chicken pox (yes, it can happen to you...) and so I've been itching like a mad woman. Over two to three days of incessant itching and scratching, my manicure managed to remain very fresh and chip-free. There was normal wear on the ends, but nothing too obvious or noticeable. My first chip happened last night when I was trying to put my keys on a new key chain - one of the keys slipped and caused my polish to peel. 


The only other 'questionable' aspect to this polish, in my opinion, was the weird way it dried around my cuticles. On several of my nails, it took on this crazy texture that look really unfinished. It was sort of bubbly and didn't lay flat... it was just sort of unsightly.


As far as the 'conditioning' aspect of this polish goes, my nails did seem somewhat better for the wear than they did BEFORE wearing this polish. I wouldn't say that my nails were in fantastic shape, but the polish didn't seem to strip any nutrients from the nail itself, and they seemed very smooth, healthy, and somewhat hydrated - as weird as that sounds. I would need to test this theory out more, but I don't think that the whole 'care' aspect of this polish is complete bull...


Overall, would I repurchase? I think so. But I'd have to find a color in the collection that I'm desperate for and couldn't find in another cheaper formula from another brand.  They're nice polishes, but they're not amazing. I can find similar colors in other brands that don't bubble like crazy or dry weird at my cuticles. Other polishes may be more pigmented and cheaper too... HOWEVER, I am not really dissatisfied with my purchase either - more so, complacent. Maybe through more trial-and-error, I'll find that I really love/hate this polish, and my review will be a little more yay or nay. The price point is a little iffy for me, if I could find it cheaper I'd be more willing to buy more of them.


Have you tried the new Sally Hansen Smooth & Perfect polishes? What do you think of them?


Overall 3 out of 5 stars.
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2 comments:

  1. I haven't tried these polishes yet, but the color is so pretty~ I love peachy shades!

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    1. It is a gorgeous color. And with a tan?? Yikes, this would be killer. I've also seen some swatches online of the pinks - also to die for :)

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