Beauty Product Review Jaded by Sally Hansen

I was at work the other day and I was noticing how many people- coworkers and customers alike- were sporting cute shades of green and blue nail polish. I don't know what got into me, but on my way home from work that day, I swung into CVS and nabbed a new, fun, springy color. It's called "Jaded" and it's by Sally Hansen and it has that amazing brush that I talked about in this post.

I am very happy with the end result, but this color took three full coats in order to even begin to look opaque. In fact, it went on so thin on the first layer, I doubted whether or not I would be able to get an opaque look at all with it. Fortunately, by the third coat, things were looking up. Here's the end result:

Yup, that's Project Runway in the background. I was catching up on last week's episode while I painted my nails. P.S. Sorry for my gross cuticles. 

So, other than going on really sheer at first, I give this color a solid thumbs up for being bright, springy and just a little quirky and cute. 

Have you discovered an amazing new nail color? Leave a comment and tell me all about it! And in the meantime, thanks for stopping by and reading my blog! 

Beauty Product Review: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure

I have to admit, I am SO not into the whole nail art fad that's going on right now. Tiny little flowers and hearts and bows meticulously painted onto fingernails just doesn't do it for me. At most, I might do a variation on the french-tip look. For example, I used a white polish to lighten up a dark purple polish. Using the two shades, and some carefully placed scotch tape, I had a bit of an ombre effect. It was cute. I also once painted my nails white with yellow at the tips. Or was it yellow with white tips? I can't remember. It's not only that I don't want to put the time and effort into carefully creating the design. (That IS a factor, thought.) It's that at the end of the day, I think it looks dumb. Anyway, my point is simply this: I am just not into nail art. Never have been. Probably never will be. What I am into is unique colors for my nails- something besides the basic red and pink that we grew up with.

At Target, I found this awesome color called "Pumice" by Sally Hansen. It's the "Complete Salon Manicure" line and I love this brand of polish because the brush is so well-designed. Even a klutz like me can get perfectly even coverage without getting it all over my cuticles and fingers. Seriously, check out this nail polish if you are are neatness-impaired when it comes to doing your own nails. It will be a godsend.

Anyway, what I loved about this color was the fact that is was a cool, neutral grey:

Isn't it fabulous? I like that it's a little bit green, but still very neutral. (It's a little less green in real life, fyi.) I've been wearing it all week and it hasn't chipped once! Impressive, right? 

What's your favorite nail color? Do you love or hate the nail art trend? Leave a comment! And thanks for reading! 

Beauty Product Review: Sally Hansen Color Quick

If you are anything like me, you like a nice manicured look to your nails, but you don't have the time or the money to be in the salon every couple of days. You also might have no problem painting your left hand's nails with your right hand because you're a right-y, but struggle a bit more when trying to paint the nails on your right hand with your not-so-steady left hand. It's kind of embarrassing how messy my nails have looked when I've tried to give myself a home manicure. Not only that, it also seems to take forever to do the job. I'm just not that quick, especially when I'm constantly "touching up" the mistakes I've made along the way. I'm also ALWAYS stressed out about knocking over the bottle of polish onto whatever vulnerable surface is nearby. Bottom line: home manicures are stressful.

The other day, while perusing the beauty products at CVS, I stumbled upon Sally Hansen's Color Quick:

Unlike a traditional bottle of polish, this type of nail color is more like a pen/paintbrush combo. It's also VERY fast-drying. Normally around $9, CVS was offering these at 75% off, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try it out, especially at that price. I opted for the color Turquoise Chrome and tried it once I got home. In less than a minute, one hand was done: 

(Please ignore my messy cuticles.)

A minute later and the other was finished, too. And meanwhile, the first hand had completely dried in the time it took to paint the second hand. The color is vibrant, although in retrospect, I probably should have opted for a more neutral color. Shiny blue nails aren't exactly part of my every day look. I was pretty convinced that this product was awesome at this point. The next day at work, though, the color didn't hold up nearly as well as regular nail polish. It chipped away more easily, especially at the tips. If you spend a lot of time at a keyboard, this nail polish might drive you crazy. 

Although it chips away more easily, the good news is that it's also incredibly easy to touch-up. Since it dries so fast, you could very easily step into the restroom, touch up your chipped nail and be back to your desk without anyone wondering, "What on earth is she doing in there?" Honestly, it's so fast and easy to use, you could probably do it at your desk and barely interrupt your work flow. 

There don't seem to be a whole lot of color options out there, but maybe that will change with time. I am thinking of trying to find one of these in white because I think it would make the at-home French manicure a LOT easier to execute. And with the top coats required for a French, the chipping might not be as bad. 

In summary, I think this product has some pretty clear pros and cons, but if I'd had to pay full price, I'd probably say it wasn't worth it. Where I only spent about $2.60, it was definitely worthwhile, even if I only use it once or twice more. 

What's your favorite nail polish? Do you go out to the salon to get your nails done or are you an at-home self manicurist? Leave a comment and tell me your thoughts!