When Kirstie's post on Sally Hansen's new Complete Salon Manicure, €8.99, went up a few weeks back I was instantly taken with the reds in her pictures, so how fortuitous that a bottle of All Fired Up should land in my hands a while later for me to try out.
I'm very lazy when it comes to my nails (nail art is not for me), so the claim that Complete Salon Manicure is base, colour and top coat (not to mention strengthening and growth treatments) all in one bottle was immediately intriguing. Like Kirstie, I was a bit sceptical about the claim that it would last 10 days, however. At best, I'm happy to get a good five days out of a manicure. Any longer than that and the base has started to grow out, so even if the tips don't chip too badly, I'm ready to remove the polish after a week at the longest.
All Fired Up is a gorgeous bright red with a creme finish - perfect for this time of year. I love it for fingers and it would be perfect for toes too. The orange base to the colour gives it a modern look, and it doesn't look harsh against my pale skin, as some reds can.
I love the tapered brush, which makes coating the whole nail in one swipe easy and gives me a perfect curve at the base of the nail - no more polished cuticles! The first coat goes on like a dream and is nice and even, but a little transparent, so a second is definitely needed. This coat feels a little tackier to apply and I need to have plenty of polish on the brush to avoid it sticking and dragging. With two coats the colour looks opaque and the finish is even and gorgeously glossy. It dries fairly quickly too.
So, what about the claims?
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Well, let's start with fact that no base coat is required. On the one hand, this did last very well without a base, which makes the painting process that bit quicker and more appealing. But (and it's a big but) this colour definitely stained my nails a bit, so I'd be wary of wearing the deeper colours without applying a base, especially if you change your polish frequently (I always find staining to be more of an issue when I remove one colour and replace with another right away).
The 10 day lasting power just isn't the case for me. This photo was taken at seven days and you can see how the colour is wearing away at the tips and has chipped slightly. Up to five days it was looking perfectly respectable and it was wearable on day six and seven, though up close it didn't pass the test, but it was definitely time for it to come off on day eight.
For me this kind of lasting power is perfect. I like to paint my nails on the weekend and have them last through the week up to Friday - I don't expect any more than that. I keep my nails short and avoiding chips is not usually an issue for me, but I really can't see this lasting 10 days on anyone who isn't Zoolander's J.P. Prewitt, the hand model whose hand is encased in a hyperbaric chamber.
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I can't comment on the strengthening and growth treatment aspect, as I have only applied this once so far, but I have to say that overall I'm really impressed with Complete Salon Manicure and will definitely be trying out more colours in the range.
Zoolander pic credit: xfilesarchive.com
