Mmm, I can see myself! Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat
Written: Aug 31 '06 (Updated Aug 31 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Decent price for what it does, super strength, great shine
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat if you're looking for a strong, quality, no-chip nail protector for use by itself, or over colored nail enamel.
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| amelia_walpole's Full Review: Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat |
Well…ok, not really. But it’s a worthy headline for a nail product with so much strength and shine. Allow me to explain.
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Last week I was fresh out of my usual base-and-top coat, Sally Hansen’s Ultimate Shield polish. I went to Walgreens to pick up another bottle but I cringed at their price for it (about $2 more than what I paid for it at Wal-Mart). I must have been feeling pretty cheap that day. Walgreens had their Wet N’ Wild products on two for one, so I picked up a bottle of their higher-end clear coat. I used it as a base and top coat that evening. Now I don’t want to insult Wet N’ Wild because I love their nail colors, but the clear coat didn’t stand up to any abuse at all. Less than 24 hours later it was chipping like crazy. The shine didn’t hold up. Basically I got what I paid for. Sometimes it doesn’t pay to be cheap.
So I went to Target at the end of last week to get more of the Ultimate Shield. And surprise, surprise, Target was out of it. Should I consider some alternatives? I found this, the Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat for only a little more than the cost of the Ultimate Shield. With the promises of superior wear and super shine, I decided to give it a try. I removed what polish remained on my fingers and applied the base coat, a new color, and the top coat. I also painted my boyfriend’s toe nails (pretty exotic) with the Diamond Shine formula under and over his chosen color.
Product and Packaging
The first thing that caught my eye about this product was the really purdy bottle! The cap and the bottle are both silver. The product came in a small box that was hanging in the Sally Hansen section. The label with the product name and Sally Hansen logo is clear, allowing the silver shine to be seen. The words are in black. The bottle is about the size of a standard polish bottle, approx. three inches tall and 1 ¼ inch wide at the widest point. The cap unscrews from the bottle and reveals a long applicator brush. The brush applicator is nice and long, and reaches far down into the bottle so virtually no polish can be wasted. The brush itself seems to be very flexible and high in quality. When I applied the polish to my nails, I noted the neat and even application.
The consistency of the product is virtually identical to other polishes (perhaps just a tad bit thinner). The scent is also typical of a nail polish.
The bottle contains .45 oz of polish.
My Experience
The first time I used this product, I was impressed with the neat, even application as I mentioned before. The polish also dries quickly so you don’t have to sit for several hours before applying the next layer of color.
My boyfriend has had the Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat on his toes for a few days now, and they look exactly the way they did when we first painted them. I’ve noted no chipping, no color fading, no loss of shine, and zero cracking. If you dig at the surface of the polish with your finger nail, you can leave marks, but it would take an amazing amount of force to actually peel the polish off.
The product lists “diamond dust” as one of its ingredients. I’m not sure if this is true diamond dust or how much is in it, or even if it contributes to the strength of the polish. But something in the formula gives it tremendous strength to hold shine and enhance the color of the nail enamel.
I painted my fingernails again last night and the result looks beautiful this morning. My nails are very shiny and I see no evidence of chipping even after having taken a shower and washed my hands several times.
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Ingredients
Butyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetate, SD Alcohol 40-B, Heptane, Propyl Acetate, Isopropyl Alcohol, Nitrocellulose, Tosylamide/Epoxy Resin, Dibutyl Phthalate, Polyvinyl Butyral, Camphor, Etocrylene, Isostearoyl Hydrolyzed Collagen, Diamond Powder, Violet .2
Instructions
- Shake the bottle gently (I roll it between my hands to prevent air bubbles from forming).
- Apply one coat to clean, dry, bare nails as a base coat. Let dry for two to five minutes.
- Apply 1-2 coats of your favorite colored nail enamel and let dry. If the color enamel doesn’t dry rapidly, it would be best to wait for it to set before applying the top coat. Otherwise you can wait two to five minutes.
- Finish with one more application of the base/top coat for protection and amazing shine. Let dry.
Product Claims
The claims come from SallyHansen.com. My comments are in italics.
- Breakthrough liquid diamond treatment is a quick-drying chip-preventer that extends the wear of any nail color for up to 10 days (I haven’t had the polish on my nails for ten days yet so I am unsure of just how long it might prevent chips, but so far my nails are still flawless. The formula does dry quick, which is always a plus for me.)
- As a bonding base coat, this exclusive formula seals the nail surface leaving a smooth, diamond-hard finish that grips nail color (So far, so good. No chips and no cracking seem to support this claim.)
- As a superior top coat, this smudge-proof formula penetrates manicure layers and quickly dries to protect nail color with a brilliant multi-faceted diamond shine finish (Ohhhh yeah, totally. My nails are brilliantly shiny with no smudging. I feel that my nail color is protected so I can go about my business and not be concerned with how they will look at the end of the day.)
Finis
I plan to come back and update this review at the end of 10 days so I can let everybody know just how well the Sally Hansen Diamond Shine Base & Top Coat holds up over time. For now, I’m very happy with the results and satisfied with the price I paid for it.
I paid $4.79 for my Diamond Shine at Target. You can find it at your local B&M stores like Wal-Mart and Walgreens. On Walgreens.com the price is $5.99.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
amelia_walpole
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Member: Alisha M
Location: Arkansas, USA
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
A touch of magic in a world obsessed with science.
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