Note: The shade in the photo is White On, a more opaque version of Bamboo Shoot. I was unable to take a decent picture of Bamboo Shoot coz my camera was acting up. Sniff. Sorry!
Emm….take a look at my nail polish collection. I don’t even want to look at it because it would be prohibiting my practical mind to buy some more, which I do once in a while. ( Howelse am I going to finish all those bottles? If I had ten pairs of hands, maybe! ) I just love collecting nail polish. I know, they dry up in time, and they’re not the best investments, but I like having them around just in case, by whim, I would want a nice mani-pedi, as I always bring my own bottles with me.
That takes into account on how discriminating I am with nail polish. Since high school, I’ve tried alot of brands, got to love some, and hate some. There are even well-priced nail polish brands that are so thin in consistency when dried on the nails that they chip so easily, and there are nail polish that take more than a gazillion years to dry. There are also some nail polish that thicken in consistency pretty quick that you would have no use for them after your third use, no matter how much you break your fingers to seal the bottles tightly. It’s a frustration, but once you find really good brands that dry quickly, and perform great, you’ll never look back. I’ve been ordering brands not only found here but also from abroad, but of course I’m not a member of the Chanel nail polish cult yet! Too damaging to the wallet!
Way back , way back, Sally Hansen was one of the first nail polish brands that I’ve tried. I remember being so determined to save up for a Sally Hansen French Manicure Set when I was in highschool fourth year. I also bought myself some as time went by, but I somewhat looked for something better because the drying period was pretty long and they thickened pretty easily. This was the Hard as Nails formula from 7 years ago, up til 2-3 years ago.
Fast forward to now, I decided to give Sally Hansen a chance on my nails because of the raves my pal the Swiper gave. I think that they have reformulated, as they have added “Xtreme Wear” to their product variant that it better live up to. Haha! Aside from reformulating the product quality, they have also let go of the Big 3 ( potentially harmful chemicals found in nail polish ) that are DBP, Toluene or Free Formaldehyde.
I have Red Brick ( a very Sharon Stone red ) and Black Out with me , but since my nails are pretty short, and are being “groomed” to grow nicely long again, I wanted something sheer to have a reason to wear nail polish, and actually grow my nails long! I picked up Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Bamboo Shoot, a very pretty sheer milky white shade.
First of all, the applicator is still as thin as the normal Sally Hansen nail polish, but a bit, bit thicker. The first color goes very sheer and almost a cloudy clear shade, and becomes more “transluscent” and semi-opaque on the second coat. Drying period has drastically improved, and the color payoff is really pretty. Very much like the famed Essie pastels, I would want to buy more Xtreme Wear pastels as of the moment!
As for streaking ( a common problem with sheers and whites ) , from my experience, there was streaking, but it was very minimal. The color smoothens out on the second coat. I wonder if my nail technician would be able to perfect this application on me, I am most curious because I’m not exactly an expert in applying nail polish - somehow, when I apply it not so evenly, I manage to experience a perfect mani-pedi from them! So I’m surely bringing this with me on my next manicure session because it’s such a lovely shade.
Staying power? Oh, this is such a revelation. Of course, we need a good base coat and top coat ( I used Poshe ), but one has to take into consideration also the quality of the colored polish. In my past experience, there are brands that chip quite easily or separate from the nail beds with one scratch, and I would have to say that Xtreme Wear is indeed extreme wear! The formula strikes to me as thick and “rubbery” ( as per Phoebe ) as it dries, so even if I wanted to “purposely chip” them, I would be having difficulty. They stayed a good 4-5 days on me as I did my normal stuff, and only chipped when I really forced to open something with my nails ( I know, sorry! ). Even if that one nail chipped, it didnt cause for the whole layer of polished to be removed altogether and still remained intact. Quite impressive.
Honestly, I didn’t quite expect this experience with Sally Hansen, but I have to say that I will never ignore a Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in the mall, ever. It’s made of good stuff. I’m a convert!
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another nail polish lover when I see your stock!
I love your collection, and I’m just like you, I was in highschool and I was saving up so much for the French Manicure set, when I finally got it..I wasn’t able to use it coz it is thick !!! I love your nail polish topic! 
I would give this a try as everyone’s been raving about this extreme wear 
Hi Nikki! Yep, Sally Hansen was off my radar for a while, to be honest. I was so surprised with the quality of this polished! They’ve improved alot!
Go go go get one! They have really nice colors from dainty to bold 
Eyeing a blue shade and opaque white next 
( goodness! )
Soph, I also got that shade (Bamboo Shoot).
I have Chocolate Nut, which can also pass up as Orly Very Sexy dupe. I got a bottle of Orly Red Carpet, Orly Hottie and Top2Bottom. I swear, nail polish is la-la-lurve.