Kat Stays Polished | Beauty Blog with a Dash of Life: sally hansen

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Camelflage

Monday, March 14, 2016

PR Sample

Hey guys! Just a quick post today on a new shade for Spring from Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. I have Camelflage today - a nude shade with some yellow and peachy tones to it. I do love my nudes but I'm not sure how I like this one me. The formula was great and of course it only took 2 coats to get opaque.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - Camelflage | Kat Stays Polished

I feel like I need a shade that's a tad cooler for my skin tone - what do you think? Would you wear a shade like this?

So I only had this one shade from the collection to show you but there are more colors so check them out! I might too. Just go wherever Sally Hansen is sold by you!

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Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - Holiday 2015

Monday, February 01, 2016

PR Sample

Hello! Another late holiday post but these are honestly shades I'd wear all year long. As I've said before, I absolutely love metallic shades. They are generally easy to apply, are opaque in 2 coats, and dry fairly quickly.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Winter 2015 | Kat Stays Polished

There are 4 metallic shades here with 1 creamy shade - all appropriate for during the holidays and when you need just a little bit of sparkle.

The first shade here is Game of Chromes. Look how amazingly shiny this metallic gold is! This is 2 coats plus the Miracle Gel top coat. I could honestly go without the top coat but then it would definitely chip off in a day or two.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Winter 2015 - Game of Chromes | Kat Stays Polished

Buffalo Nickel is the silver metallic in this set. Again, super shiny, super foil-y, and opaque in 2 coats. I am always a fan of metallic silver polishes. They are one of my favorites to wear when I need an easy but sparkly manicure.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Winter 2015 - Buffalo Nickel | Kat Stays Polished

Terra-Coppa is a copper, almost rose gold metallic shade. Again, 2 coats and it was completely opaque. The formula for these metallics is amazingly smooth. I had no issues whatsoever applying this to my nails.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Winter 2015 - Terra-Coppa | Kat Stays Polished

Spice Age has a dark "spicy" feel to it. I actually have a few shades similar to this but I still love it. It's not as metallic as the other shades. I'd probably wear this during the fall season or for an evening out. This is 2 coats.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Winter 2015 - Spice Age | Kat Stays Polished

Rhapsody Red is a gorgeous, creamy, classic red shade. This applied so smooth and is the perfect red for any occasion. It's bright and makes quite the statement. This is 2 coats.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Winter 2015 - Rhapsody Red | Kat Stays Polished

You still may be able to find these wherever Sally Hansen is sold. My picks would be to go for those 3 metallic shades. I absolutely love them and they are pretty perfect in their own way. Miracle Gel shades run for about $9.99.

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Sally Hansen Reformulated Miracle Gel

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Anyone ready for a new, reformulated version of the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Top coat? I'll start out by saying that I definitely could tell a difference. I have 2 shades to show you today.

Sally Hansen Reformulated Miracle Gel | Kat Stays Polished

Totem-ly Yours is a neutral shade that really blends in with my skin tone. This actually can be applied in just 1 coat but for this I chose 2 thin coats. The new top coat is definitely thicker, but not gloopy. I don't think it makes it last longer than the other one, but there is a sort of interesting plump to my nail. I don't mind it.

Sally Hansen Reformulated Miracle Gel - Totem-ly Yours | Kat Stays Polished

Rhythm & Blue is definitely a 1-coater which is awesome! This blue just makes me so happy - it's nice and bright and the formula is very smooth. I do love how this looks with the new top coat. My nails just pop!

Sally Hansen Reformulated Miracle Gel - Rhythm & Blue | Kat Stays Polished

Miss Wanderlust is a bright jelly type shade with so much glitter! For this I did use 2 coats. I'm also very happy I got this one to try! I love polishes with glitters in them! I do like that with this top coat, you don't feel the grit of the glitters underneath.

Sally Hansen Reformulated Miracle Gel - Miss Wanderlust | Kat Stays Polished

Do you have the original Miracle Gel top coat? Are you going to try this new, reformulated one? These are available where Sally Hansen is sold for about $9.99.

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*Products were provided for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre [partial]

Tuesday, June 09, 2015

How many of you are ombre-impaired like I am? As much as I try, I can never get the perfect gradient...granted, I never really try for that long either. Practice makes perfect!

Well, for those who don't have the time to do a perfect gradient and want something quick and on-the-go, try the *NEW* Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre polishes! They're sparkly glitter polishes meant to give you an instant ombre effect on your nails.

I also have the Big Peel Off Base Coat that I tried with these so I'll quickly go over that and then show you the 4 shades I swatched.

Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre & Big Peel Off Base Coat | Kat Stays Polished

The directions for the peel off base coat say to lay on a thick layer and to let it dry completely before applying a base coat and your regular polish. So, I did just that - I put on a pretty thick layer on my clean, bare nails.

Sally Hansen Big Peel Off Base Coat | Kat Stays Polished

This took FOREVER to dry. I think I waited 15 minutes for the picture below. I couldn't add my regular mani on top until about 25 minutes later to ensure complete transparency [no white].

As for the peel off capability, it did fantastic! This is a base coat, 3 layers of glitter, and a top coat. It took a little bit of work at the cuticle end of my nail to start but after a while, it slowly started to come away from my nail.

I used my cuticle pusher to gently scrape away the peel off base. It got everything off. A little bit of rubbing alcohol on a lint-free wipe takes away anything left behind, which isn't much. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way it performed. It did say to not get your hands wet in hot water until at least 3 hours after application. I did not do a long wear test on this, but from what I've seen after just a day, I imagine it'd last as long as an average manicure lasts.

If you are pressed for time at the beginning of your manicure, then I'd say this is not the product for you. If you know you're going to want to wear your glitter mani for a while, then go ahead and spend an extra 30 minutes on this mani. It peels off fantastically!

So now we get to the glittery part of the post. These are the directions for how to use these Insta-Ombre polishes. First, apply one coat to clean, dry nails. Next, apply a second coat from mid-nail to the tip. Finally, apply a third coat to only the nail tip.

Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre | Kat Stays Polished

So, this first shade is called Fuchsia-nista. This is full of silver and fuchsia colored microglitters. My first coat went on pretty evenly. You may want to make your first coat a little thicker since the area of the nail closest to the cuticle will *only* have that first layer of polish. Applying the rest of the layers went well. You have to wait a little bit to make sure the polish is dry and doesn't drag with the 2nd and 3rd layers of polish. I found it kind of hard to see the ombre effect in these close-up pictures, but from a distance, you can definitely tell.

Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre - Fuchsia-nista | Kat Stays Polished

Gold Grade gives you a delicate ombre look. This gold and silver mixture adds the perfect amount of glimmer to your nails. If you're rocking a neutral look with your outfit, this would be the perfect accent.

Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre - Gold Grade | Kat Stays Polished

Scarlet Spark is a red and silver mixture that, in my opinion, could have been denser with the red glitters. I feel like this one needed just an extra amount of oomph to be successful. Still a very pretty polish though.

Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre - Scarlet Spark | Kat Stays Polished

Layer on Lilac is way too sheer for me. The purple glitters are definitely dark enough but like Scarlet Spark, there could have been a higher purple to silver glitter ratio.

Sally Hansen Insta-Ombre - Layer on Lilac | Kat Stays Polished

What do you think? Are these something you'd be interested in trying out? They are available now starting at $5.99 at your local drugstore wherever Sally Hansen is sold.

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*Products were provided for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Sally Hansen Poolside Paradise Miracle Gel [partial]

Friday, June 05, 2015

Have you tried the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polishes yet? This was my first time trying them and I have to say, it was an interesting process. I have 4 shades from the 7-piece Poolside Paradise summer collection.

The only thing I will say about these polishes before I get into swatches is that you definitely need to make sure both coats of polish are *completely* dry before applying the top coat. Otherwise, it'll drag and you'll have a smeared manicure. I had to let my nails dry for at least 5 minutes before applying the top coat. When you do apply the top coat, get plenty of it on your brush to make sure you've got the entire nail covered. I'd also recommend sealing your tips. I did not and had a little bit of tip wear. Total dry time including the top coat was about 15-20 minutes. I wanted to make sure everything was completely dry before going on with my day.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - Poolside Paradise | Kat Stays Polished

The first shade I have for you is Rum Punch. This is a delicious creamy pink shade. Application was easy - these have the signature Sally Hansen wide brush. This definitely makes it easier to get your nail entirely covered with color. This is 2 coats plus the Miracle Gel top coat.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - Poolside Paradise - Rum Punch | Kat Stays Polished

Life's a Peach is a darker coral shade and I absolutely love it. It's super bright in person and I did my wear test using this shade. Like I said, I didn't seal my tips so I had a lot of tip wear (I'm also typing for most of my day at work). I had a little bit of shrinkage on the sides of my nails but that didn't show up until a few days after initial application. Shows is 2 coats plus the Miracle Gel top coat. Overall, I'd say the wear on this isn't terrible. I might spend a little bit more time on my nails the next time I wear a Miracle Gel shade and see if I can get it to last longer. It did 3 days without tip wear and a week without nail chips.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - Poolside Paradise - Life's a Peach | Kat Stays Polished

Morning Sunshine is a gorgeous yellow shade. Not too bright and very delicate. I did use 3 thin coats to get full opacity since yellow shades typically don't do well with just 2 coats. The Miracle Gel top coat did just fine with the 3 coats.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - Poolside Paradise - Morning Sunshine | Kat Stays Polished

Lastly, we have Dive Bar. What a wonderful color! SH describes this as a true cerulean blue. I would wear this shade all year long, to be honest. But I'm also a HUGE fan of shades like this.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel - Poolside Paradise - Dive Bar | Kat Stays Polished

What do you think? What has been your experience with Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polishes? These are available where Sally Hansen is sold for about $9.99.

More from Sally Hansen:

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*Products were provided for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.