Tuesday 10 May 2016

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel

Like many of you I'm sure, I absolutely adore having my nails professionally done. I also love the finish and hassle-free longevity of gel manicures, but realistically I rarely have the time to take a few hours out of my day to treat myself to getting them done, it can also be a seriously expensive habit and let's face it, if you need to take them off in a hurry, it's a total nightmare!
Being a blogger, I'm also constantly trying out new formulas and colours, and a lot of the time having gel on my nails just isn't practical for work either. If I need to try out a new shade, or change my nail colour for a shoot, gels just end up being a bit of a nuisance. Therefore, with the exception of holidays, I tend to reach for gel-effect nail polish most of the time and over the past few years I've tried and tested most on the market. Sally Hansen has always been my go-to brand for nail-strengthening treatments top coats so when they asked me to test out their range of Miracle Gel polishes, I naturally had very high hopes for them...
They have a patented natural light curing system that claims to give comparable colour, volume and quality to gel nails whilst also lasting much longer on your nails than normal polish. I've been testing out the range over the past few weeks and I've been really impressed.

The shade range is massive, with over 45 colours, so it wasn't hard to find shades I loved. I was especially happy to see they do a beautiful cornflower blue (called Sugar Fix), one of my absolute favourite colours for spring and summer (and one that seems to be everywhere in the shops at the moment too!) I think it's just a really clean, flattering shade which is sometimes hard to find with blues. They also do a brilliant shade of red that has just a slight hint of pinkness to it that I love (called Red Eye) This is the shade I'm wearing in the pictures.
The polish works as a two step system: you apply two layers of your colour, followed by a thick layer of the top coat to seal it in and add volume. The first thing that struck me when I first used these were the brushes. Both the colour and the topcoat have those wide, rounded brushes that make applying the polish exceptionally quick and it makes it easier to get a neat line at the base of the nails too. The colour formulas are rich and opaque, two coats being more than enough to give you an even finish. The top coat then adds the volume to the nail that really makes it look like a gel manicure. It actually doubles the volume of the polish, and leaves it with a shiny, plump finish that looks almost identical to real gel, but is as easy to remove as normal nail polish.
When it comes to the all-important staying power, the polishes definitely don't last quite as long as traditional gel on my nails (which usually last 2-3 weeks depending on how well it's been applied) but they do last significantly longer than normal nail polish, easily lasting a week on my nails chip-free. They do claim to last up to 14 days and I think if I was more careful with my nails (I'm terrible at chipping them!) then this would be realistic.

You can purchase the colours and top coat separately and they retail for £9.99 each, although they are currently on offer in Boots (online here) for £7.99 each. They also have a duo pack with the pink shown above and the topcoat on offer for £12.99 at the moment.

Have any of you tried this range before? Do you prefer polish or gel, I'd love to know!

*This post is sponsored by Sally Hansen. All thoughts and opinions remain my own. I never work with brands I don't genuinely use and products that I love.
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30 comments

  1. I love gel nails but it's just a faff taking them off!! These look amazing though <3

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  2. The colours of these are gorgeous, deffo going to make sure I try them asap!

    http://www.taintedblues.co.uk/

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  3. I have seen these in the store before but have yet to give them a try, I guess I will have to now. I am never without polish on my nail, but I do love a good gel.
    Great post Fleur!
    https://thenewoldfashionedgirl.blogspot.com/

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  4. I tend to wear polish but do want to try gels as the finish is so much more glossy. Lovely colours x

    franklyflawless.com

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  5. I really want to try them. They seem so nice and I really want something that hasthe shine and a longer lasting power.

    www.andreeaserban.ro

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  6. I keep looking at these then get distracted by BarryM and Essie, should really give them a go, especially as they are usually going cheap in my local TK Maxx too! Such good value at £3.99!! :)

    Erin || MakeErinOver

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  7. is there a base coat as well or do you just use what ever you have lying around?

    www.impossiblejen.com

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  8. Didn't last at all well on my nails, I was very disappointed.

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  9. These look amazing! I wonder if you could simply purchase the gel topcoat and have it work with other types of nail polishes.

    www.beautyfromkatie.blogspot.com

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  10. Really agree that gel nails are a bit of a nightmare in terms of removing them. Plus they seem to reek havoc on my poor nails! I struggle with normal polish as it just seems to chip within the day for me. *Sigh*. I've tried the Barry M 'gel' range with the daylight curing topcoat and didn't find it amazing, so Id be reluctant to shell out for this at it looks similar. Tempting though....

    A Small Note to Self 

    Rach.xx.

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  11. So excited about this as I really love Sally Hansen nail polishes :)

    www.whynotblog.co.uk

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  12. I've not tried this collection yet but it sounds extremely similar to the OPI collection which I love. I'm also terrible at chipping my nails so anything that is long wearing is key for me. Otherwise I'll have chipped nails in 3-4 days! I'll have to check this collection out!

    Brittany | thechicette.com

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  13. Oh i love Sally Hansen nail polishes! Super cute shades x

    Nev | Miss Nev

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  14. I used them, and while the staying power is good on my nails, they did take a long time to dry, which was a bit annoying.

    Linda, Libra, Loca: Beauty, Baby and Backpacking

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  15. 14 days would NEVER be realistic for me. If I got a weeks' wear out of them I'd already be extremely happy.

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  16. I love her stuff!
    http://my--socalledlife.blogspot.com.au/

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  17. I love Sally Hansen and love the colours of these so I'm definitely going to have to pick them up! x

    Liz ~ Dreaming of Diamonds

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  18. I love painting my nails but they always chip really quickly - maybe a gel effect nail is the way to go! Thanks for sharing! x

    alicered.co.uk

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  19. That colour is gorgeous!!!

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  21. Great review I have always wanted to tried this line of nail polishs but never did. You sold me on it! What beautiful colors

    http://www.Fatima8450.blogspot.com

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  22. I love that red colour on your nails :} I've tried this gel polish before and wasn't that impressed... however, what I didn't realise I needed was the top coat, so it's no bloody wonder haha! I might give this another go this summer; I'm always on the lookout for long-lasting nail polishes as I ALWAYS seem to chip mine after about a minute!

    N xx | Lovelaughslipstick x

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  23. I have a pale blue colour similar to this one, which I featured in one of my blog posts, and I think they are really great! It's so annoying that I can't wear nail polish to school! I can't wait to try out some more in this range.

    www.mybeautyandbrownies.blogspot.co.uk

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  24. Loving the blue, but it is way to popular, wonder if they do a mint green just to be different, will have to go & look.

    www.familyclan.info

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  26. Thank you for this review. I will definitely give these a try. After having gone through an infection caused by real gel nails, I've rather gone off them. This could be the answer - if they really are better than the other ones I've tried. Essence, for example. It doesn't stick for me at all.

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  27. I just love the finish of professionally done gel nails, and these come pretty close to that! These nail polishes aren't too expensive either which is great!
    Aleeha xXx
    http://www.halesaaw.com/

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  28. I HATED these polishes! They took forever to dry- after almost 2 hours they still weren't completely dry and were easily messed up if I touched anything. I bought several of the colors since I had heard such great things about them, and I returned them all the next day.

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  29. I HATED these polishes! They took forever to dry- after almost 2 hours they still weren't completely dry and were easily messed up if I touched anything. I bought several of the colors since I had heard such great things about them, and I returned them all the next day.

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  30. Looks great..
    http://latattv.com/

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