Wednesday, August 6, 2014

GTG Tries It: Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I'm obsessed with having my nails look perfectly polished at all times. I was so thankful when I discovered gel manis a few years back, but as time has gone by I've started to worry about the overall health of my skin and nails.

 Every two weeks I expose my skin to UV lights to cure the gel for that enviable and lasting shine. And that's not even the worst part. The worst has to be the removal process in between gels which consists of harmful chemicals and painful scratching to peel off the remnants of the gel that the chemicals didn't remove.

 Oh, the things we do for beautiful nails!

 I'm beyond excited to have been chosen by Influenster to test the all new Sally Hansen Miracle Gel nail polish, a two step system that promises to leave you with a long lasting, shiny manicure without the use of UV lights and comes off with regular polish remover. I'm really hoping this works.

 Oh-em-gee! ::squeals::


As any nail insider knows the secret to a long-lasting gel manicure is the prepping of nails, and while this particular product doesn't list cleaning as a requirement, I do recommend cleaning up all the excess oils from nails before applying the color + top coat.

How cute is the packaging?



Step One: Clean excess oils from nails with alcohol pads.


Step Two: Apply first coat of Redgy.


Step Three: Two coats of Redgy. So pretty already.


Step Four:




Results:

On the sixth day there were a few chips!



Complete Review:

Product: Miracle Gel by Sally Hansen

Promises: A two-step gel system that promises up to 14 days of color with no UV lights.

Reality: I received the new Sally Hansen system last Monday and was excited, but unfortunately I had just gotten a gel mani two days prior to receiving this kit. Although I had been waiting for the arrival of this polish, so I immediately enlisted the help of my trusty friend and fellow nail enthusiast, Inna to be my eyes and in this case nails and help me test out this product. 

We hosted a mini nail spa day. I started by removing the polish she already had on and proceeded to clean her nails with alcohol pads to remove all excess oils from the nails. Next, we followed the instructions and applied two coats of the color for opacity and finished with the top coat.

The color Redgy was more of a coral than an actual red and although I love corals, this color was not that pretty in comparison to the other colors in this collection.  The color is shiny even before you apply the top coat, which is a plus in my book. Inna is a big Sally Hansen fan and we both love the brand's brushes because it makes polish so easy to apply. 

I even started looking forward to getting into the office each morning to see how well the polish worked. We were pleasantly surprised to see there were no chips on day three. 

Did I mention I'm a nail snob? I'm quite the skeptic about a polish that doesn't require UV lighting because the truth is they just don't last as long. And just as my suspicions proved, on the sixth day, Inna noticed several chips.

Pros: 
  • Easy to apply polish brush
  • Good Shine
  • Good coverage
  • Smooth finish
  • Dries fast
  • Easy to remove 


Cons: 
  • Chipped within six days
  • Shine dulls with wear
  • More expensive in comparison to other Sally Hansen polishes


Overall Recommendation: I love my gel manicures because they usually last for at least two weeks. You can get a good gel mani between $25 to $40 depending on your zip.

This Hansen Miracle Gel is $14.99 for a system which includes one color polish and one top coat. You can also purchase single colors for $9.99 and there's a variety of colors to choose from. 

I'd recommend this product if you're looking to save some money in between salon gel manis or if you're like me and you're concerned about the health of your nails and skin. Clearly, Inna's experience didn't live up to the claims. The system is at a good price point, but I do find that $9.99 for a single color is more than I've spent on other Sally Hansen polishes.


Have you tried this gel? What did you think of it?


Full disclosure: 
I received these products complimentary for testing purposes from Influenster. 
All opinions and views expressed are my honest take on the actual durability and quality of this product.
I also enlisted the help of my trusty friend to test out this polish, as I myself had gotten a regular gel a few days before.



XO GTG

Don't forget to keep up with me:




Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

1 comment:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)