Sally Hansen

 Miracle Gel Nail Polish, Pinks & Purples

I got every color minus blue, green and white. Each of the other colors is unique and has a pretty reflect to them. My favorite is Holiday Romance. While they take some finessing (knowing how to prep coat, how many layers of the polish to put on before curing with a topcoat) I have never gotten as many compliments on my nails than when I've worn Holiday Romance. The other colors I've tried are really eye-catching and chic too. Hope they make this line permanent; can't just stay a Holiday polish collection.

It was really runny, and it got all over my clothes and my hands, and it never dried properly.

Normally I won't even bother with mainstream nail brands anymore, but I really gravitated towards the brown "Hot cocoa kisses" and the sheer gold/tan shades, so I decided to give them a try. They weren't terrible by any means, but I don't see myself purchasing anymore shades from this line either. One of my main complaints was the brush — which is mostly just a personal preference, as I know most people prefer these kind of brushes. It is a fan/paddle brush, which I also typically prefer, but this one felt like it was too short and I had to keep dipping back into the bottle because it just wasn't grabbing enough polish to coat my entire nail. I don't have super long nails or anything and this hasn't ever been an issue with any of the other polishes I've used before. As far as the shade and formula goes, eh. It's not bad, but it's nothing to write home about either. With 2 coats, the brown just looked….well, brown. No hint of shimmer or sparkle to it…just flat brown. The lighter tan shade did have a slight shimmer to it and was actually very delicate & pretty looking — had to do 3 coats to reach full opacity. However, after holding my hand up to extreme lighting, I could still somewhat see my nail line — which isn't an issue for me, but I know it is for some. Both self leveled out quite nicely, which was a pleasant surprise considering my brush/application dilemma. Longevity wise — 99% of the time, I remove/change my polish on day #7, regardless of the condition it's in and I managed to get about 5-6 days of wear (with both shades) before any chipping/signs of wear started, which was very minimal. However, keep in mind, I am very religious about my nail prep & application in general, which is key to making any polish last without chipping. For reference though, my indie & boutique polishes rarely, if ever, chip before I change the polish out on day 7. There have been times where I'm just too busy to do it & have gone 2+ weeks without a single chip. Still, given some of the reviews, I was expecting to see chipping as early as day 2-3, so I was again pleasantly surprised I almost made it to day 7 without any chips. Overall, I'd say that the two shades I tried were just okay, as was the formula. The brown was a 5 out of 10 and the tan shade was a 7/10. I was really excited about that dark brown shade and was mostly disappointed by how it translated onto my nail & the overall lack of shimmer. It didn't look anything like the promo photos to me, which honestly wasn't much of a surprise considering they all look computer generated anyway (which btw, it's really frustrating that nail & beauty companies are even still doing this!) I did pay full price for these when they first came out, so I definitely wouldn't recommend doing that. However, they look like they're about half off now (about $6)— so if you're someone who likes changing their polish often & some of these shades are speaking to you, it is a decent option, especially if you're on a budget. What looks "eh" on me, may look stunning on you! Just be aware that if you're someone who's used to an indie/boutique level of shimmer & sparkle/shine, you may be a bit disappointed with these. Also — while I don't normally wear gel polish, still, nothing about these reminded me of gel polish whatsoever, which is kind of mind boggling since these are being marketed as gel/gel-like polishes. Just thought I should mention that just in case you're under the impression that they are genuine gel polishes or even gel-like polishes. Even with a quality, ultra glossy topcoat, it still looks like just regular ol' nail polish to me. Happy painting!

Normally I won't even bother with mainstream nail brands anymore, but I really gravitated towards the brown "Hot cocoa kisses" and the sheer gold/tan shades, so I decided to give them a try. They weren't terrible by any means, but I don't see myself purchasing anymore shades from this line either. One of my main complaints was the brush — which is mostly just a personal preference, as I know most people prefer these kind of brushes. It is a fan/paddle brush, which I also typically prefer, but this one felt like it was too short and I had to keep dipping back into the bottle because it just wasn't grabbing enough polish to coat my entire nail. I don't have super long nails or anything and this hasn't ever been an issue with any of the other polishes I've used before. As far as the shade and formula goes, eh. It's not bad, but it's nothing to write home about either. With 2 coats, the brown just looked….well, brown. No hint of shimmer or sparkle to it…just flat brown. The lighter tan shade did have a slight shimmer to it and was actually very delicate & pretty looking — had to do 3 coats to reach full opacity. However, after holding my hand up to extreme lighting, I could still somewhat see my nail line — which isn't an issue for me, but I know it is for some. Both self leveled out quite nicely, which was a pleasant surprise considering my brush/application dilemma. Longevity wise — 99% of the time, I remove/change my polish on day #7, regardless of the condition it's in and I managed to get about 5-6 days of wear (with both shades) before any chipping/signs of wear started, which was very minimal. However, keep in mind, I am very religious about my nail prep & application in general, which is key to making any polish last without chipping. For reference though, my indie & boutique polishes rarely, if ever, chip before I change the polish out on day 7. There have been times where I'm just too busy to do it & have gone 2+ weeks without a single chip. Still, given some of the reviews, I was expecting to see chipping as early as day 2-3, so I was again pleasantly surprised I almost made it to day 7 without any chips. Overall, I'd say that the two shades I tried were just okay, as was the formula. The brown was a 5 out of 10 and the tan shade was a 7/10. I was really excited about that dark brown shade and was mostly disappointed by how it translated onto my nail & the overall lack of shimmer. It didn't look anything like the promo photos to me, which honestly wasn't much of a surprise considering they all look computer generated anyway (which btw, it's really frustrating that nail & beauty companies are even still doing this!) I did pay full price for these when they first came out, so I definitely wouldn't recommend doing that. However, they look like they're about half off now (about $6)— so if you're someone who likes changing their polish often & some of these shades are speaking to you, it is a decent option, especially if you're on a budget. What looks "eh" on me, may look stunning on you! Just be aware that if you're someone who's used to an indie/boutique level of shimmer & sparkle/shine, you may be a bit disappointed with these. Also — while I don't normally wear gel polish, still, nothing about these reminded me of gel polish whatsoever, which is kind of mind boggling since these are being marketed as gel/gel-like polishes. Just thought I should mention that just in case you're under the impression that they are genuine gel polishes or even gel-like polishes. Even with a quality, ultra glossy topcoat, it still looks like just regular ol' nail polish to me. Happy painting!

Goes on smoothly and looks beautiful!