Press Sample
I received a surprise package in the mail the other day that contained a couple of Sally Hansen's Salon Chrome kits in Gunmetal and Rose Gold. Of course I wanted to play with them and try them out so I used a black base and the gunmetal powder first. After a day, when I knew that was fully set, I went back in with their suggestion of polish in Frill Seeker and the rose powder for my flowers.
So just a few tips and tricks I discovered:
- Buff the powder with the pad of a finger from your opposite hand instead of the included sponge applicator, it makes the particles lay smoother. Plus you get better pressure control.
- Remove any remaining powder from the nail before topcoat.
- Apply the water-based sealer coat VERY thin before final topcoat or it slides around and never dries.
- The box says the polish needs to be tacky, but it should not be wet at all. If you can lightly rub your finger across your nail and it doesn't smudge but still isn't fully dry, you should be good to go.
- The powders are actually very transparent unless over a solid base color, so trying one powder over an entire nail of art, or a color block of multiple colors for a sheer wash of metallic might look pretty neat!
All-in-all, these didn't have near the mirror-finish I've seen from a lot of other powders, and the rose gold is not even close to being rose gold (if you use the beige polish they recommend as a base that is, it makes the mani more peachy; I may try something more pink next time), but I've seen worse. I mean I was never able to even get the Born Pretty Store powders to stick to anything so they're a step above BPS anyway. Then again, Sally Hansen never claimed these had a mirror-finish, although the picture on the box looks pretty reflective. They are, after all, simply called "chrome" pigments, and that they are, more so the gunmetal than rose gold though.
I had no issues with actually using the product effectively. After the first nail, I got a good feel for how much pressure I needed as to not ruin my polish, and it really was so simple to use! I haven't seen these in any stores around here, but I've heard and read the going price for them is around $15 USD which is ridiculously overpriced in my opinion, considering you get a tiny bottle of water-based "special effect" topcoat, the applicator, and 1/3 of a small pot of powder in each kit.
Maybe it is just me, but I have been over the mirror chrome mani trend since about the time it started. You can only see the same shiny finish so many times before it gets boring. It isn't something you can really add to. Add glitter, pretty much lose the mirror finish which was the whole point to begin with. I have seen some nice art done with 3D acrylic using mirror pigments for say a gold pocket watch for instance, or a 3D beetle using multi-chrome powders, but I just can't seem to get into the trend.
On the plus side, I've gotten lots of compliments on my "cool metallic" nails at work for the week and a half I've been wearing the chrome!
