Success with Sally Hansen Hard As Nails

I’ve been wearing Sally Hansen Hard As Nails (I’ll call it HAN for short) Hardener for over a week now, and I’m ready to share some thoughts on the product.

Overall, this product gets two thumbs up from me because it does what it promises, quickly, easily and inexpensively. Here are the details:

• As I mentioned in my previous post, it’s easy to find in grocery, department, or drug stores, and very affordable.
• You apply and remove it just like traditional nail polish – easy!
• You get the choice of clear or pink-tinted (you probably won’t notice the pink once it’s applied).
• You can use multiple coats. The first two times I used it I applied two, and the third time I went with three. It’s also suggested that you apply on the underside of the natural nail, if your free edge is long enough.
• Your nails will probably feel a little stronger, especially if you already have strong, easy-to-grow nails.

I recommend this product for home use if you…

• are in the process of growing out your natural nails.
• are opposed to the use of enhancement products such as acrylic or gel.
• would like a strengthening base coat without a thick or unnatural-feeling enhancement.

I don’t recommend this product…

• if you prefer long nails. HAN likely won’t be enough protection for longer natural nails. My free edges are about 3/16″ long and, at this length, I would prefer to have more protection against breakage than this product provides.
• for use as a ridge-filler. You’ll need to purchase additional products for a smooth look under polish, as this product does not fill ridges in the nail.
• for professional use. There are professional products that will provide better, long-lasting result in a salon setting.
• if you prefer a matte look.  HAN comes in two tints, but no matte option.  However, you can apply two or even three coats of this and buff the top layer for a flat, more natural finish.
• as a top coat. It was intended for use alone or as a base coat, and may not protect the color coat or give the shine a top coat would.

Some things to know before you try this product:

• It takes awhile to dry, just like traditional nail polish. It is not UV/LED cured.
• This is a hardener, but only that. It won’t make your nail thicker or break-resistant like a gel or acrylic overlay.
• I’ve tested HAN with Gelish on top and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Gelish lasted about 5 days before it began to peel at the tips.  If you want to try this, just apply two or three coats of HAN, allow to dry completely, and buff with a 100 grit file to remove shine so that the Gelish will be able to adhere to the nail.

Just to be clear – Hard As Nails is an entire product line. The product I’ve tested is the Hardener; I can’t vouch for any other treatments available from Sally Hansen’s Hard As Nails line.

Have you tried this product? What did you think? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments!

Gelish The Color of Petals live swatches

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My swatch video for the new Gelish spring 2019 collection The Color of Petals – released today – is up on the Smoke & Mirrors YouTube channel. If you like seeing real-time swatches before you purchase a color, be sure reference this video.

Spoiler alert: These are all gorgeous neutral polishes that would be great to add to your collection. Only one of them is a shimmer, and the other five are cremes. They’re perfect for work, spring weddings, dances, picnics, first dates, and everything in between.

You really can’t go wrong with a good neutral polish, and several of these fit the bill.  They’d be great for someone looking for a few solid muted colors, to keep on hand during the whole year.

I also received my order very quickly – about 5 days, which is awesome for free shipping.  These cost less than $5 for 50, so you’re looking at 10 cents each.The swatch sticks that I reference in the video are from natural color swatch sticks (available from eBay). I’ve received some questions lately about them, and promised I’d post the link. There’s no prep needed with these, if you don’t want to… I used to buff them and use base coat, but found that it’s not necessary. Now I just go straight away to the first color coat.

Have you already picked up any of these lovely spring colors? Let me know in the comments!