New Sally Hansen Launches: Winners and Losers

The other week I headed over to L’Olivier Floral Atelier, a floral oasis in the Meatpacking District (oasis in the MPD? Yes! Complete with a zen garden…), to check-out all the new Sally Hansen launches. I’ll admit that surrounded by a slew of gorgeous floral arrangements it was a bit hard to focus on the Sally Hansen presentation, but I was luckily given a gift bag with samples of some of the products to try out at home. The frugal-priced brand just launched more new products and shades than I could even begin to count and I found out from one of the brand reps that half of all the money spent on nail color in the US is spend on Sally Hansen! And here I thought the whole world was buying essie. The other bloggers and I were also told that Hansen products go through rigorous consumer testing/focus groups to make sure they are meeting their customer’s needs. So which products should you check-out and which should you skip? Jump to find out!

Winners:

• Salon Effects, $9: You pretty much have to have been living under a rock to not have seen, read, or heard about these nail polish strips. They’re the most effective and best priced alternative to Minx I’ve tried and unlike most strips, these are actually nail polish. A bunch of new patterns, high-shine glitters and shimmers, and shiny neons have launched for the season. Two thumbs up for long-lasting (about a week), shades with zero dry time. Each kit comes with 16 strips, a cuticle stick, mini file/buffer and all you do is peel, apply, and file.
• Vita Lipcare, $4.53: Honestly I was expecting these to taste overly-sweet and bubble gum-like, but the lip product I tried, the Moisturizer, had just a light berry flavor and it moisturized without imparting color. This wouldn’t work for me in the dead of winter, but for when my lips are just mildly dry in the middle of the day it does the trick. Aside from Moisturizer there’s also Plumper, Soother, and Smoother.
• Nailgrowth Miracle Serum, $9.15: I tell my mother constantly that if she would only wear nail polish her nails wouldn’t be as likely to snap, crackle, and chip! I might as well be talking to a wall, but to my surprise when I gave her this serum she actually used it. It’s meant to treat brittle, splitting nails, and dry cuticles and so far, it’s mommy-approved! Sally Hansen actually tested this product and found that the nails they studied were 59% longer after two weeks. What I can say for sure, per my mother, is that the serum instantly smooths and softens.
• VitaSurge Cuticle Gel, $5.50: OK so I only tried this product because my eyes couldn’t resist the color, but it did soften my cuticles enough to effect my DIY cuticle-maintenance ease. They’ve also got a gel to enhance strength and one to enhance growth.

Losers:

• Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat, $5.95: Sally Hansen is launching so many new shades as part of their Xtreme Wear, Nail Growth Miracles, and Instra-Dri Fast lines this summer that it’s hard not to find a bunch to love, one thing I didn’t love however was their line of Crackle Overcoats. A friend of mine who tried the sample I was given as well confirmed my confusion as to why any woman would want her nails to have a crackle effect (it just looks like a bodged mani). 
• Stray Hair Beware – Needlepoint Tweezer with Safety Cap,$7.78: After a good 4-5 years my Tweezerman Point Tweezers are starting to die-down so I was most excited to try Sally Hansen’s point tweezers. They have new tweezers and tools in all shapes and sizes, so I was confident these would work. While these look sharp and efficient, I litterally could not get one brow hair on the first try. Tweezerman costs more than double this price, but they’re certainly worth the investment.