Review: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Nail Color in Commander in Chic

I bought this shade back in the beginning of December but somehow forgot to post a review until now. For those of you who are into the gray-brown mushroom type shades that seem to be everywhere these days, Commander in Chic has been compared to Sephora by OPI's Metro Chic (click here to see Steph's Closet's awesome side-by-side comparison of Commander in Chic, Metro Chic and You Don't Know Jacques). After looking at Steph's pic, it's easy to see that Commander in Chic is a total dupe of Metro Chic, but not so much a dupe of YDKJ, which, to me, is the darkest of all the mushroom colors I've seen lately.

As you can kind of see in the above pic, Commander in Chic goes on much darker than what you see in the bottle. This pic was taken after two coats, with no top or base coat. I was really hoping it would be lighter and more similar to American Apparel's Mouse which is, by far, my new favorite gray-brown mushroom.

Also in Steph's post, you can see a side-by-side comparison of the SH Complete Salon Manicure brush, which is extremely similar to the SH Instra-Dri brush (flat, firm and pointed). I'm not a huge fan of this style of brush because, for me, it's extremely difficult to control the amount of polish during application. I have used Commander in Chic about three times since I purchased it and I still don't have the application down--I always end up with either too much polish on my brush or not enough.

When I purchased Commander in Chic (for a whopping $7.99 at CVS which is pretty steep), I also purchased Plum Luck (a gorgeous deep amethyst purple creme), and I also posted pics of the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure display (click here for that post). Here are my pics of the brush again so that you can see it from the side-view:

brush from the front

brush from the side

So what do I think of the formula of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes? Well according to the display, this formula promises the following fives steps, all in one bottle:

After using these polishes several times in the last month or so, I can tell you that it fits the "color" step but not much else. Without the help of a base coat, these polishes last a day or two on me before I see chipping and/or peeling. Without the help of a top coat, these polishes last a day if I'm lucky, before I start to see lines, scuffs and marks. So the finish is definitely not bullet-proof, that's for sure. Also, within a day or two the shine starts to dull, which again means you really need a separate top coat to extend your manicure and keep it shiny.

I can't really speak to the treatment claims because my nails chipped and broke as usual when I wore these polishes (granted, I'm VERY tough on my hands and I'm constantly chipping/breaking a nail). If I was able to keep these polishes on my nails for more than two days (without using a base or top coat) I could probably speak to you about the strenghtening qualities, but because of its performance when used without a base or top coat, I find myself removing my polish after day two. In other words, I never have this polish on my nails long enough to see if it actually does anything to improve my nail strength.

On the bright side, if you DO use a good base and top coat, you might be able to get 4 or 5 days out of your mani. So in other words, my suggestion is to treat Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes as you would any other polish in your collection. Use a base and top coat for maximum results.

As for the price, I think that might keep some of you away from this collection (understandably). But if you wait for a BOGO, and you want an easily accessible dupe of Sephora by OPI Metro Chic, then definitely pick up a bottle or two when it goes on sale. But if you were hoping that this would be five things in one bottle, I'm afraid that, for me, it just isn't happening.

Do you already own any Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes? If so, how do you like them?