Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure (what a mouthful!) is a newcomer to the drugstore nail polish scene, and a brand the MUA boards (of which I adore) are quite taken with. This new polish boasts a base and top coat integrated into the polish itself, hence the ‘Complete’.
While I don’t necessarily agree that you can use this polish without a base or top coat, (I use CND Stickey and Seche Vite) in terms of quality, this polish far surpasses its drugstore competitors…usually. I’m sad to say that ‘I Pink I Can’ was by far one of the worst Sally Hansen polishes I’ve tried. It seems to be quite hit-and-miss with this brand. ‘Commander-in-Chic’ is coveted, as is the iconic ‘Hidden Treasure’. But ‘I Pink I Can’ and ‘Peachy Keen’ (to be reviewed!) fell short. What is pictured here (ignore the state of my cuticles) is six coats. Six. I’ll let that sink in for a moment….
Yes. Six coats (mind you, I use relatively thin coats!) was necessary to achieve opacity in this polish. You can see a bit of brushstroke mishaps here and there, which was due to the amount of coats I used. Ridiculous, and if I definitely do not have time for that! Seche Vite did help a lot by cutting down the end drying time, however.
The color was pepto-bismol pink. A bit too strong for me, but it is lovely. Not neon bright, but bright enough to make you wish for strawberry margaritas and days on the beach…That is, if it didn’t take six coats to achieve opacity!
I adore these bottles. The glass is weight-y, making for a luxe feel, and the silver caps with rubber black are fab as well. The brushes are rounded, flat, and wide, but not too wide (not OPI-wide, that’s for sure!), and have a ‘pillowy’ feel to them. They deposit color nicely, and don’t encourage brushstrokes in the least.
The price on these are fairly on par with other drugstore polishes (around $10 CAD), a bit higher than most, but still cheaper than high-end brands (Chanel, Dior, I’m looking–glaring–at you).
Overall, a fabulous line of drugstore nail polishes, but this particular one leaves something to be desired.
Random Nails 
I loved this review, Steph! I’ve never bought Sally Hansen, or anything other than the the few brands I’m used to. I really like knowing what to avoid because nothing is worse than spending hard earned money on something that falls flat!
-Tonya.
By: Tonya on November 21, 2010
at 11:14 pm