New nail varnishes {Sally Hansen}

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No-Chip Nail Varnish

Sally Hansen’s all-new Diamond strength varnishes (R69.95) have got me pretty excited of late. I used to use these varnishes back in my school days, as I’m sure you all remember their famous ‘perfect French mani kits’ with the half moon stickers et al!

I found these brushes allow for a pretty slick nail paint which lasts beautiful (although takes a fair amount of time to dry). The colours I received were varied – some lovely but other’s looked more like my Granny (I am definitely a plain colour kinda girl, unless it’s full on shimmer and shine!) I did have a look at the other colours in their range and they are really divine, so this is no indication of their whole range.

The main benefit of this range is the fact that it is a ‘no-chip’ polish. On my finger nails it lasted for 8 days. Given I washed dishes with my hands and type furiously all day long, I think this is really great. I am really loving the Diamond Strength Top Coat, has a brilliant shine and makes my colour last – exactly what all top coats should be doing

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Varnish

This is Sally Hansen’s range that replaced the Salon brand and has been causing quite a buzz with a few people claiming they are die-hard fans. The first thing I noticed was the application brush. It’s tapered and quite wide and supposedly a little easier to navigate on your nails. I personally prefer the Diamond Strength brush, but I have quite small nail plates (reading other reviews, I seem to be alone on this one). On painting my nails, I flooded the plate twice, as I just found the brush/bottle top a bit awkward to use. On wearing, the colour looked great, but sometimes a bit streaky so needed two coats. It lasted beautifully and maintained its shine.

This polish retails for R90 (pretty pricey I think) but you certainly do get a fair amount of product – it’s a nice big square bottle with a small rubberized ring around the cap.