Fans of gel effect polishes take note! Launching today is
Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel manicure system which promises up to 14 days of colour and shine without needing an LED lamp. "Quoi?" I hear you say? We're talking 18 shades (for now, there'll be more coming soon) broken down into five categories, Flawless Nudes, LovePink, Street Pastels, Runway Shock and Mad Mod. So if you like your neutrals, brights or more intense shades, you should be able to find something you love.
I got these five to try out after getting a manicure with a dark wine shade, I can't remember the name but I'll know it when I see it and shall buy it because it was autumn in nail polish form. I think it was Dig Fig actually. Joanne and I have been playing with them since and yes, I think we will be collecting them in the future. Especially once we head to New York and get our paws on more colours!

Let's talk about the technology a bit. What makes this gel effect so different to others on the market? Basically, ingredients in the coloured coat interacts with a photo initiator in the top coat to essentially cure it like a gel polish. Whatchoo talkin' bout Karen? What I'm saying is that daylight will help the topcoat do it's job and work with the colour underneath to give you a grand shiny manicure that lasts for days. The topcoat comes in a black bottle to block out any daylight so it doesn't harden inside. I didn't get the 14 days out of it, more like 5, and it's nobody's fault but my own because as we all know, I'm a professional nail polish picker offer and am really hard on my nails as it is. Joanne got a good 10 days before her manicure started chipping. I never comment on longevity of nail polish on the blog for that reason. That and I change my polish all the time because a) I get bored with the colour and b) I have more to test out. Some day I'll attempt to leave my polish on for a fortnight!
Instructions say to apply two coats of the coloured polish on and when I had my manicure done, we applied a coat, let it dry, applied the second coat, let that dry and then applied the top coat. There was some transfer of the coloured polish onto the topcoat brush, so keep a paper towel handy to wipe any mess off the brush. The topcoat dries in about 10 minutes or so, but continues to dry and harden in daylight, so any excuse to paint your nails in the morning and sit outside for a bit eh? The girl who did my nails said she applies a new layer of the topcoat every couple of days to keep the high shine in place and keep the manicure going strong, so I need to give that a go.
Let's have a look at some of the swatches shall we?
Birthday suit is a nudie lover's dream. The only thing is this needs 3 coats to be fully opaque or it's streak city. But if you can be patient and wait the extra couple of minutes then it's worth it for this creamy nude manicure.
B Girl is a minty greeny/Tiffany blue shade that is Spring time in nail polish form. Again, this pastel shade needed 3 coats to be fully opaque but look at it. She's a beauty.
Street Flair only needed the 2 coats for full opacity and this is the perfect transition shade heading into autumn. This dusky purple mauve shade will be on constant rotation in the coming months I tell you!
Pretty Piggy was this close to being the colour I chose for my manicure a few weeks ago, but I decided to freak
Pamela Laird out who knows I love me and my corals, having done my nails in a coral the week before! It's a fabulous pinky, salmony, corally shade that needed 3 coats to hide all the ridges in my nails.
I blame EssieButton for this one because I cannot say the name of this without going "Oh Reggie"... Those who watch her vlogs will know why!
Redgy is two coater is a bright, punchy red that is perfect for those who like to make a statement with their nails. Everyone needs a red like this in their collection.
Now, despite it's gel effect appearance and feel, you remove the polish with normal nail polish remover, with or without acetone, depending on what floats your boat. No need to soak or scrape the nails. Also, in case you're wondering, the top coat won't work in the same way with a regular polish because it won't have that ingredient to bind with the topcoat. It'll still give shine over other polishes, it just won't cure in the daylight.
Each bottle will be €9.99 as will the topcoat and there'll be duo packs with one colour and a topcoat for €15.99, so a proper bargain altogether. Will I be buying more shades? Hell yeah! I've already got my eye on All Chalked Up - a pale lilac shade, Hydro Electric - an electric blue and Dig Fig - a delicious wine shade.
Click here to find a list of stockists and let me know which shade is your favourite!