Collection: Sally Hansen 2015 Spring

I was standing in front of the Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color display at a drugstore, trying to decide what color to buy. I’m gonna be very frank here and say that I’m not usually a big fan of Sally Hansen polishes, but I did use to like the Xtreme Wear line. However, I hadn’t bought any for many years, and I kind of forgot what I already had.

In the end, I picked up a color that I was simply drawn to, even though it’s not the most unique. Yes, it’s actually quite similar to Essie Bikini So Teeny, which I also picked up recently.

Babe Blue (240) is a recent addition to the Xtreme Wear line-up, as it was part of Sally Hansen’s spring collection earlier this year. It’s a light pastel blue with a periwinkle tint: a little lighter and less periwinkle-y than Bikini So Teeny, if you’re wondering.

But the best thing about this polish is its formula. It’s a pastel that, for the most part, self-evens. That’s right! No clumpy streaks! Only very mild baldy spots! Overall, it’s just so much easier to apply than Essie’s formula. For shame, Essie!

The first coat, admittedly, was pretty thin and went on all streaky. I was not looking forward to the remaining coats. However, once coat number two was on, it was starting to look pretty good, and I was pleased with how smoothly the coat applied. The formula is on the runny side, though, so you have to be careful that it doesn’t pool against your cuticles if you overload the brush. The third coat was nearly perfect and smooth as a baby’s butt. Ideally, I’d do a fourth coat just to get rid of the baldy spots, but I bet if I had done better with my first coat (it was very, very thin), they wouldn’t have been an issue in the first place.

The polish also dries to a great, glossy finish.

So, while you won’t find terribly unique shades in Sally Hansen’s discount product, there are gems to be found if you’re looking for something to dupe a higher-priced product. The colors are generally on trend, and let’s be honest: the Xtreme Wears are dirt cheap, especially in the US! I’m an idiot, though, and bought it “on sale” at Rexall for CA$3.59. (They’re regularly $3.49 at Well.ca and London Drugs, and $2.47 at Walmart Canada. Obviously Rexall and Shoppers Drug Mart are gouging me with their CA$3.99 regular price.)

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Color typically retails for under US$3 / CA$4 and is 0.4 US fl oz / 11.8 mL. This product is free of toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and is made in the USA.

Sally Hansen’s website states that Sally Hansen and her husband developed a Hard as Nails nail treatment in the late 1950s. (This begs to differ! How odd. There isn’t even a Wikipedia page on the woman or the brand!) Anyway, Sally Hansen, the company, was purchased by Coty Inc. in 1997 when the cosmetics giant acquired Del Laboratories, which owned brands like Sally Hansen, La Cross, and NYC (New York Color). Coty itself was founded in Paris, France in 1904, and is owned by a German holding company and headquartered in New York, NY, USA.