Overview: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear (Part 2)

Onto part 2 of my collection... Enjoy!!


Thus, I will continue with one of my favorite brands: Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear. They are the polishes that are sold in the cylindrical bottles with the white? silver/chrome? black? caps. I seriously have no clue, Sally Hansen keeps changing them on me. EITHER WAY - they are in the round bottles.


Each bottle contains 11.8 mL (0.40 fl oz) of product. This collection has a large variety of colors - approximately 30 shades are available in a variety of finishes including glitter, shimmer and cream (according to SallyHansen.com). There are also 5 discontinued shades (Emerald City, VIP Pink, Shooting Star, Lime Lights, and Ocean View).


Sally Hansen describes these as polishes in fun and trendy shades. 2-3 coats of polish are recommended with this particular line. They boast a "easy-grip, easy-glide brush designed for complete control."


First of all, the packaging. Simple, standard. I like it. They don't come in some weird funkylicious, oddball-esque shape that are awkward to store. The bottles are made of glass, and believe you-me, I've dropped these suckers on concrete and they haven't busted open. They're pretty indestructible, if you ask me. The handles are always changing, but I've never had a problem with them. Out of the white, silver, and black handles though, I prefer the black. The brushes are standard - they are skinny, and streamlined. I have no issue with the packaging.


I own 30 permanent shades, including 2 discontinued shades and a couple of limited edition shades.


11. Lacey Lilac - a pastel lilac creme.
This polish has an incredibly smooth, but thin formula. You will definitely need two coats to get this opaque enough for your manicure. It's not streaky, gloopy, or uneven, and it dries very quickly. It is a very purple lilac shade, not light or a lilac-ed white. It really is an absolutely gorgeous shade - great for spring/Easter.
5 out of 5 stars - * * * * *

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.

12. Mint Sorbet - a pastel mint green creme.
This is a fantastic shade. A more affordable alternative to high-end mint green polishes such as MAC's Peppermint Patty and China Glaze's Refresh-mint. The formula and consistency are similar to Lacey Lilac but I find this polish to be more streaky, and a tad bit uneven at times. It also dries quickly, but you will definitely need at least two coats to achieve a nice finish and opacity; however, I feel that 3 coats would yield the best finish.
5 out of 5 stars - * * * * *

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.

13. Crushed - a brilliant red-orange with bright orange shimmer throughout.
This shade would be great for summer (on your toes) or fall (on your fingers), in my opinion. It's so shimmery that it almost looks like you have burning embers on your fingertips. Another polish with an incredible formula - smooth, not streaky, goopy, or uneven. If you applied a first coat generously, you could potentially get away with one coat - but two coats would be perfect-o. This one dries quickly too. 
5 out of 5 stars - * * * * *

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.

14. Gunmetal - a blue-d grey with blue and silver shimmer throughout.
This one isn't one of my favorites - probably because it doesn't look amazing on my skin tone. I'm not really a huge fan of the shimmery finish - its borderline frosty. The consistency is very thin and watery, and it applies pretty sheer. You have to be really careful with this one too because it dries very quickly, and usually applies patchy and streaky. 
3 out of 5 stars - * * *

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.

15. Mellow Yellow - a bright yellow creme.
Very reminiscent of the primary yellow color that you see in Kindergarten and elementary school. This one has a thinner formula, but definitely thicker than most. It tends to get thick quickly after you take the brush out of the bottle, so you do have to work quickly with it. This one tends to streak and gloop up more easily than others. 2 coats is completely necessary, but 3 would be best to even out everything. It doesn't dry quickly, but it doesn't dry slowly... it's one of those 'in-between' ones with regards to dry time. Good polish for nail art.
3 out of 5 stars - * * *

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.

16. Red Carpet - a true blue-based red, with bright red glitter throughout.
This color bears a striking resemblance to Dorothy's ruby red pumps in The Wizard of Oz. Another polish with a great formula - smooth, not streaky, and jam-packed with glitter.If you were putting this on your toes, you could definitely get away with one coat, but I prefer 2-3 coats of this polish, just to build up the sparkle and the color. This is a fantastic polish for the Christmas season. One of those polishes you should have in your collection - it really dresses up an outfit. Speedy dry time, which makes it great for switching up your color quickly and efficiently, and heading out the door on time.
5 out of 5 stars - * * * * *

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.

Love the sparkles.

17. Pink Boa - a medium pink, with purple and bright pink shimmer throughout. 
Another pink from Sally Hansen with a smooth application, no streaking, glooping, or uneveness. It has an almost purple duo-chrome finish, which gives it this fantastic shine - you could almost skip a top coat with the shine here. It's borderline frosty up close, but it's really not that noticeable from a distance. 2 coats will make this look finished, but you could potentially get away with 1 generous 'helping.' Speedy dry time, as per usual.
5 out of 5 stars - * * * * *

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

No flash.
See the duo-chrome effect...??

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.

18. Pacific Blue - a vivid medium cornflower/periwinkle blue creme.
Mine has had a funny smell from the time I bought it though - maybe I need to replace it, in fact I probably should... the smell psychs me out. On the plus side, this polish is crazy arse pigmented. You definitely need 2 coats to even out the polish and give it that really 'finished' look, but one coat almost does the job. The formula is (once again...) smooth, and not uneven or gloopy. It can be a little streaky in certain places, but nothing horrible or incredibly noticeable. It appears a lot more dark and almost powdery-blue in person, but shows up more 'primary color blue' on camera. This one can also stain your nails something fierce, so remember to use a base coat first... otherwise, I LOVE it. Such a fantastic shade - I have nothing else like this in my collection. Great for all year round!
5 out of 5 stars - * * * * *

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

With flash.
Here the blue looks a bit more 'powdery,' I think.

Without flash - natural sunlight.

19. Emerald City (discontinued) - a medium emerald green with tons of green shimmer.
A very thin formula - almost watery. Goes on incredibly sheer, though a second coat makes this bad boy pop. Drying time is fast. The polish itself isn't incredibly streaky or uneven, and definitely not goopy. I don't love the color on me, personally, but I do use this color for nail art purposes.
3 out of 5 stars - * * *

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.

20. Caribbean Coral - an intense and bright red coral with silver and pink shimmer throughout.
This one is a BEAUTIFUL coral color for summer. I love wearing this one on my toes or on my fingernails. The shimmer is incredibly understated, almost undetectable. The formula is okay - a little thicker than the others, but incredibly pigmented and very smooth to work with. Drying time is average, not amazing though. This polish is not streaky or uneven, though at times it's borderline goopy.
4 out of 5 stars - * * * *

Without flash - natural sunlight.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

With flash.
Left - 2 coats, Right - 1 coat

Without flash - natural sunlight.

This ends the second part (of three) of my Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear polish collection. I hope everyone enjoyed it!! Stay tuned for part 3!!
xoxo



All photos were photographed and edited by myself.