Fanatic Feedback – Drugstore Hunting
One of the questions I hear most is about where to find limited edition polish collections from the drugstore brands. Unlike salon and prestige lines that you can find at department store counters and chain salons, locating mass market brands can be very hit or miss. Store managers decide whether to carry the collections and just because you find the spring colors, that doesn’t mean the fall ones will show up.
Knowing that the Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen collections are notorious for causing a frenzy of drugstore hunting, I mentioned the issue to Bill Boraczek, Sr. VP of Marketing for Coty (Sally Hansen’s parent company) backstage at NYFW. The question Bill posed to me, I now pass on to you…
Where do you look for seasonal collections from any mass market brand? What chains do you have the best luck with? Drugstores? Superstores (ie Walmart, Kmart, Target)? Grocery stores? Obviously in a perfect world every retailer would carry them but if you had to choose, which one chain would you prefer to find seasonal collections?
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
I would prefer to find them at Walgreens.
Thanks for bringing up this issue to the powers that be. If I had to choose one store to carry LE polish lines, I would say a superstore (Target, WalMart or KMart) because drugstores and supermarkets are very often regional.
As far as what I look for in a collection – something unique! Interesting colors, finishes or even a new twist on an old classic. I’m really hoping I’ll be able to find the Sally Hansen HD polishes. Those look so neat!
Although I tend to agree with SolSister, whenever I try to find LE nail colors at these superstores, they’re always picked over, poorly displayed, or simply unavailable. Due to that fact, I’m going to say Walgreens or Longs Drugs.
Also, because they seem to have their stores pretty well stocked, and their displays (at least at my neighborhood Walgreens and Longs Drugs), are very well put out.
I would love to see them at Target, because I go there all the time anyway. They have a huge nail polish display at my local Super Target with OPI and Nicole, Seche Vite, and Sally Hansen, and then they have the regular drugstore brands including a rather awesome selection of Rimmel colors, so I think it would fit in.
Rite Aid would also be good.
Thank you SO much for asking that question! I have never been able to find any of the Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen collection – and I have looked EVERYWHERE. I would love to see them at Walgreens. Theoretically I would love to see them at Target too, but makeup/nail displays at Target never seem to be very well taken care of, and always look like a 4 year old has been playing in them.
Yea I thing walgreens rite aid or eckerd etc the drugstores are being put out good you can find atleast sum of the stuff you are looking for I don’t have a problem wit them
It matters less to me where than the consistency. I would prefer Target, because that’s where I go the most. But even if my local RiteAid or CVS carried them *consistently*, I would be happy. So happy that you are pursuing this. We all thank you!!
I’ve only found the Sally Hansen special editions at Longs Drugs, and even then they’ve shown up late (I think I found the fall ones in November, after stopping inside the Longs every week since, um, August). I haven’t seen them show up in Walgreens, which is my other drugstore of choice.
I would perfer to find these items in PharmaPlus or Guardian Drugs. If worst came to worse, Wal-Mart wouldn’t be a bad option either.
Have you ever tried Sally Girl nail polish? They are 99 cents (or 89 with a Sally card) and are at Sally Beauty supply. They are mini bottles. I’ve never tried them, but I wanted to know if you have heard of them? I may try the Sally Girl brand.. their lip glosses look cool too.
I say drugstores (Walgreens, CVS)
Walgreens, definitely. It’s soo quick just to run in and check stuff out and np is usually at the front for easy access!
I would prefer to find them at easy to locate drugstores such as Walgreens and CVS. The only thing we have in our town is a Walmart, but the polishe displays there are always a mess and I tend to look forward to a monthly trip to a neighboring town’s Walgreens to buy my polishes.
Definitely drugstores like Walgreens, CVS, or RiteAid. I agree with Michelle that the selection at Target is always picked over and a total mess — I kind of hate shopping for makeup at Target because the whole section is a mess. But I guess that’s another issue.
Anyway, another vote for drugstores!!!
I would *prefer* to be able to find them for sale on Sally Hansen’s website, but barring that I would be happy to find them at WalMart or Walgreen’s.
Thank you all for weighing in on this. I will be sending your responses off to the PTB so all your feedback is appreciated.
I know personally that Walgreens and Bed, Bath & Beyond stores with expanded beauty centers seem to be the best places in Cleveland to find LE collections. CVS is iffy.
And I agree, the Targets and Walmarts of the world seem to have the most disheveled beauty sections.
I did not have luck finding the Tracy Reese’s (I live in Canada). All the Sally Hansen’s were either pink, red, white or really ugly beiges
To be honest, I would most prefer that the LE shades be available online. Except for Walmart, none of these stores are local for me, and there’s enough info available online for me to decide whether or not I want to try a shade.
For me, Walgreens or CVS – but honestly, I’ve had it with Sally Hansen Salon Nail Laquer and Tracey Reese for Sally Hansen. I live in Chicago. There are 5 Walgreens, 2 CVS, 1 Ulta, 1 Sally’s, and 1 Pure Beauty (or is it Pure) stores within 7 blocks of my house. People buy product! Yet I have the hardest time finding these two brands and I still have not seen Emerald Ring!!
thanks for doing this
I say drugstores like cvs or rite aid. I feel those are usually in better order and better at displaying LE than superstores such as walmart and target
I would prefer to find these polishes at CVS or Target. I found the fall Sally Hansens in a Duane Reade. I do agree that generally the polishes are not displayed well.
You can get the Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen polishes at Shopper’s Drug Mart and Superstore in Canada. I don’t think you’re missing much though, they NEVER dry! With only two coats, they still get sheet marks after 5 hours and are still dentable after more than 12 hours. Does anyone else have this problem with them?
Thanks for bringing this matter to Sally Hansen’s people! I emailed them through the website inquiring about the Tracy Reese collection but of course got no response whatsoever. And I’ve been stalking every drugstore I come across with no results. It doesn’t make any sense to market these polish if they’re next to impossible to get. I’m down for any of the major drugstores in the US to stock them and to stock them well! Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Long’s Drugs, Target!
Oh and to answer the question directly, I’ve found seasonal collections mostly at Long’s Drugs and Rite-Aid but not necessarily from Sally Hansen’s Salon line. In fact I’ve never seen the season salon lines from SH anywhere, ever. But the other name brand season collections I have seen at these stores.
Hi, I'd like to find these at CVS & Walgreens. Thanks for asking!
I’d pick drugstores because the polish at Target/Walmart is all sampled and a big mess.
CVS or Rite Aid would be my pics. I much prefer shopping in smaller stores for polish and honestly for just about everything. I would also love to see the Tracey Reese collections show up with better distribution in a timely manner. The fall collection arrived to one CVS in the area in late November. I haven’t seen winter or spring yet! Thanks so much for passing the information on. I truly appreciate it!
I go to CVS mostly. If I knew that they were guaranteed to be at a certain store, I would go out of my way to go there.
I’d love to be able to find these polishes at drugstores like Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc, since they are scattered all over my city and I walk by them all the time!
BTW – I sent an email via the Sally Hansen website asking where I could find the Hansen/Reese polishes in Seattle and have received no response…
We have mostly Walgreen’s, CVS and Rite-Aid in my area (central Jersey/Bucks County) so that’s definitely the most convenient – if one doesn’t have it, hopefully another one will. They do tend to carry SOME LE’s but I agree with the other poster – I have yet to see emerald ring at any of them!
Am I missing something/ Where’s the rest of the story? Did he give an answer to your question? I’m curious.
I want to see these at CVS. I’m partial to them because of their generous $5 off $25 coupons when I’m buying several in one collection. I would just love it if there was one release date and a set location where they could be found. I’m tired of looking for the Spring SH TR collex already!!! Has anyone seen them on the market yet??? I’m dying!!!
Oops – I need more coffee. I see. I would prefer to find them at Walgreen’s or Ulta and maybe RiteAid. It would be nice if they were easier to find and that we could actually find them when the collection is released and not six months later in a clearance bin.
I’d prefer to see them at a Walgreens or CVS — places that actually take care of their beauty departments rather than leaving them looking like a disheveled mess (Target, Walmart, etc). My Walgreens USED to see the SH Salon collections but we have been seeing nil for the last year or so.
My first choice would be Target, since I shop there instead of drugstores (i guess I’m in the minority?). Then Ulta–I think Ulta would be a good fit since they carry the SH Carmindy line, and have room for “displays”. Also, online!!! you should be able to get everything online these days-and if SH doesn’t want to do this directly then they should partner with drugstore.com/beauty.com.
I would love it if they were available for purchase online, but if that’s not possible, I would say CVS, Duane Reade, Target or Walmart.
CVS, RiteAid, Duane Reade
So far the only place I’ve found them in Iowa are CVS and Walgreens. I would prefer Walgreens since I visit them more often. Thanks for asking!
I put in a vote for “online”. Put it on the internet and then we don’t have to drive all over looking for it (which I usually won’t bother to do). Somewhere like CVS would be great too, or even Target. I’d say Wal-Mart since that would be cheaper, but there’s not one near me (crazy, I know) and they take horrible care of their displays.
And can I put in a request? Please for heaven’s sake stop stores that just stock one or two LE colors instead of the collection. I get so excited when I see those colors, then inevitably they don’t have the ones I want. Bah.
~Amanda
http://onehappypanda.blogspot.com
Online, preferably. If not, then I’d like to see them marketed at one store or several stores reliably. If, say, BBB is going to stock them, then BBB should stock each collection as it comes out.
PS: does Sally Hansen just have horrible logistical issues all around? Remember the Carmindy line of makeup that we were all excited about until everyone realized that their local drugstore had two items from it, tops? It seems to me that Sally Hansen stuff is really sporadic in their stocking- I won’t get too “attached” to something from the line because who knows if they’ll have it when I run out.
~Amanda
Quite honestly I haven’t had too much trouble finding collections that actually make it to Canada if I look. More than anything it’s the braindead store managers that stick the displays near the floor or who make that executive decision whether something will be popular or not. Case in point, I found the ENTIRE collection of Xmas OPIs at a bottom of a standalone table in MARCH with the display turned away from the aisle that the average passerby would never see it.
I would rather find them at Walgreens or CVS. Maybe Target, cause they are pretty much all over the country. But I can’t find Sally Hansen’s Spring collection and am super sad! Hopefully someone will change their mind so we can find them more easily.
I’d rather find them at CVS. Otherwise, Rite-Aid all the way!