Goodbye 2011! With a Review of the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Nail Polish

Hi all, with 2011 coming to an end I decided that I would like to start a blog where I can easy rant long and hard about anything that may come to mind, whether that be related to beauty products or techniques or anything other that I like that is 'girly' :) and since I am new at this I am happy for all the suggestions/comments and encouragement that may come my way!

Today I am going to start off with a review of a product that I got a few weeks ago and it is the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Colour in the colour 43 aka Ruby Sequin (see image below) which is packaged in a cute curvy bottle that fits nicely in my hand and has a very pretty diamante above the label on the front which is a very pretty touch that suits the name of this product very well.

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Colour in 43 Ruby Sequin

 

Firstly I must say that though this nail polish comes in a beautiful bright pink colour that could be described as hot pink or lolly pink but I would not call it Ruby Sequin as that brings to mind a red coloured nail polish not pink. Also before I go on I will mention have not used a base coat or a top coat with this product my review is based on just this product being used on its own.

I have now used this Diamond Strength nail polish a couple of times and I am now getting used to the brush and the polish itself and with my experience with it I would say that the consistency of the polish is a little runny compared to what I am used too therefore making it quite hard to make a even and not too heavy coat but is something that I have overcome with a couple of application. Whether you use one two or three thin coats the colour produced is quite nice but a solid colour that is seen on the bottle of this product is not achieved until you have reached your third coat.

Now that I am used to this product and its consistency I would say that the brush could be improved, at the moment it does serve its purpose of providing even coverage but it is a bit too stiff and multiple strokes are needed to cover the nail evenly.

The main downside I would say about this product is the drying time. It is not user friendly in this category and I would advise that you go to loo before you do your nails just in case :) the polish is slow drying and you should give yourself at least 20-30 minutes before you do anything that requires too much hand use and even then I found that if anything touched my nail even a couple hours after application dints and imprints would be left on my nail that I needed to hide with another coat, sadly since I was not thinking I was going to blog about this today I did not take any pictures of the bad ones but the image below is an example of a dint that appeared within hours of application without me doing any ‘hand physical’ demanding activities.

Nail with Sally Hansen Diamond Strength nail polish in the colour Ruby Sequin, note the dint and the uneven appearance that occurs after a couple of knocks hours after application

Also because of this slow drying you should wait at least half an hour between coats and make sure you are quick with the next coat and don’t use too many brush strokes or else you may drag the lower coats along as it can dissolve when more polish is applied and brushed into the lower coat.

 

The finish is lovely and shiny therefore a top coat is not required to help this polish look its best.

The best thing about this polish is how long it lasts once it is dry and that ages, at least a week, possibly longer with good care and not too much harsh work, wear and tear of course is visible but not any chips or peeling.

Hope you enjoyed my first blog entry :)