Prabal Gurung for Sally Hansen Fall 2013 Nail Polish Swatches and Review
For the sixth consecutive season, Sally Hansen has partnered with Prabal Gurung as part of its limited edition fashion designer series. Prabal Gurung for Sally Hansen Fall 2013 represents the military-inspired “urban warrior” look, seen on the Prabal Gurung Fall 2013 runway last February.
Prabal Gurung for Sally Hansen Fall 2013
The military trend that was so huge a few years ago, when collections like Chanel Les Khakis came out, is hotter than ever. And wait til you see my attempt at Manicurist Jin Soon Choi‘s signature “V-Shape Manicure” that she created for the runway show.
Formula & Application: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish is 5-Free (Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin and Camphor). The formula is designed to serve as base coat, color and top coat. Plus it packs in ingredients to help promote growth, strength, extended wear and high shine. The claim is a 10 day wear and as I’ve shown in the past (click here), it lives up to that claim.
The hefty glass bottles are topped with a smooth chrome cap that has a rubberized grip around the base. The grip makes opening the bottle easier and keeps the brush from slipping while polishing. The brush is the same flat, paddle style as the Insta-Dri line, cut with a curve at the tip. The bristles are firm so use a light touch to avoid streaking or dragging the polish.
All three colors in this lineup are thin with a great flow. They spread under the brush well, easily covering the nail while creating a smooth curve at the cuticle. In terms of pigmentation, they pack plenty of punch delivering full coverage in two coats.
Sally Hansen Coat of Arms is a pale pewter metallic with a foil-esque appearance. It does suffer from a bit of brush mark madness but with controlled strokes, you can get a smooth finish.
Application Tip: Apply metallic/chrome polishes to the side of the nail first, finishing with one smooth stroke down the middle. (Obviously, I should take my own advice)
Sally Hansen Coat of Arms
Sally Hansen Loden Green is an olive green creme. Those of you who missed out on Chanel Khaki Vert or MAC Fatigues, this is definitely warmer yet a totally acceptable substitute. FYI, it’s nowhere near as yellow as Illamasqua Hectic or RBL No More War.
Sally Hansen Loden Green
Sally Hansen Night Watch is an inky, navy creme. It teeters on “almost-black” territory but never quite crosses the line. For instance, it’s not quite as dark as Essie After School Boy Blazer.
Sally Hansen Night Watch
Jin Soon Choi is one of the driving forces behind the Chevron Nail Art Trend of 2013. Her take on the look, a skinny chevron dubbed the “V-Shape Manicure” started making waves during NYFW last February and continues to dominate nail trends. I decided to try my hand at it, replicating the design she created for the Prabal Gurung show, using Coat of Arms and Loden Green.
Get The Look: You can free-hand this, like Jin, if your skills are up to par. Mine are not.
1) Apply 1-2 coats of Coat of Arms to achieve opacity and wait til it’s completely dry. 2) Cut squares of blue painters tape and layer them on top of each other. 3) Cut the skinny chevron shape and peel the layers of tape apart. 4) Lay the tape on the nail with the skinny point just below the tip. 5) Polish over the tape with Loden Green and immediately remove the tape.
V-Shape Manicure Nail Art
Bottom Line: I feel like with this collection, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” On their own, each color is pretty and well made but not necessarily wow-worthy. Together, they make sense and create a color story I can get into. The one shade that stands out to me is Loden Green. Olive green is a tough color to get right, they usually make me look sallow, and this one is pretty perfect.
The Prabal Gurung for Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Fall 2013 nail polish collection is available now, in limited edition, at drugstores and mass retailers nationwide. Sally Hansen CSM nail polish retails for $7.99/ea for a .5oz bottle.
Are you into these new Prabal Gurung shades? What do you think of the V-Shape Manicure? Is this a look you woul try? Which shades do you plan to hunt down?
Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Sally Hansen. Affiliate links appear via skimlinks. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
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I wish I had better luck around here even finding the special edition shades for Sally Hansen. My luck has been sporadic at best.
That sucks. My Rite Aid and Walgreens are usually pretty good for that. And the new CVS Nail HQs too
No Nail HQs in Columbus, yet, but I’m holding out hope that the new CVS they’re building near my house will have one. Also, no Rite Aids down here. At least not anywhere near where I ever am. Sadness.
Boo to that! Stupid Columbus
Very nice collection. I’m definitely gravitating towards colors like these now that fall is on the way here in NY!
I don’t like the first color, but the others are very beautiful.
Really nice swatches (as usual!)I like Loden Green the best too
Thanks Terri!
!!! I swear you are reading my mind lately. I was JUST looking at this show and trying to figure out what that metallic was. Thanks for the awesome timing and insight!
You’re so welcome Lara! Glad it was helpful
I have been very lucky with these, finding them at a lot of my Walgreens and even seen at Target. I had been waiting ages to try that mani, but when I got Loden Green I liked so much I had to wear it as a full mani! Love the Sally Hansen Complete Mani colors. Got Nightwatch, New Wave Blue and Stocking Nude, too. Thinking about going back for Perfectly Poppy and Malbec.
They do make a stellar polish. I just with they would add more of the amazing seasonal shades to their core collection. The designer shades are so limited.
Is Loden Green comparable to Zoya Dree or OPI Uh Oh….Window?
They’re definitely in the same shade family. Dree is lighter and more yellow. Uh Oh has a very similar base color but it’s not as pigmented or as dark as Loden. It looks a bit muted next to Loden. I don’t know that they’re different enough to justify owning both but I prefer Loden.
Whoa! What’s a CVS nail headquarters?
Sorry, they are special nail displays that CVS rolled out to select stores. They consolidate the majority of the nail polishes in the store into one display and feature the seasonal collections.
The coat of arms looks like the perfect champagne metallic.A personal favorite of mine.Oh my the Loden green is gorgeous!luckily for me there is a CVS, Target, Walmart, Walgreens and HEB within 5 miles of my house. Some are 24 hours so I could go right now!I haven’t had great luck using the painters tape but I’m going to try because I love this manicure.
Lucky you! I have a lot of drugstores near me but the ones with the best seasonal stock aren’t as close so I make the trek.
I’d really like that Loden Green. There is this one RA that is out of the way for me, but they usually have the SH special collections. I should take a hike there soon. Actually, all those colors would go well together for nail art.
The RA I go to is more of a hike but worth it. I try to go one day a month to see what’s new.
I think the shades are rather boring and already done, to be honest. But I do love the V mani you did with them!
I hear you Pam. When worn together, I’m all about them but singly, they don’t stand out.
I like them all, but I really like the metallic one, Coat of Arms.
I like the chevron mani. It looks very wearable.
Thanks! It’s a fun but sophisticated look. I see myself wearing that design a lot this fall.
Is there anywhere to buy these online? I’m obsessed with Loden and Night Watch, but I can’t find them anywhere around here!
I’ve been looking to see if they are being sold online anywhere and haven’t found them yet. If I do, I’ll shoot you an email and post the link here.
Loden Green was a definitely lemming for me, because of you! I finally found it at Target this weekend (it’s on their website now too). I just posted a quick swatch of it!
It looks fab on you!
Has anyone noticed that the limited edition colors in the Complete Salon Manicure line often contain items that are very similar to regular line colors? For instance, Coat of Arms is the same general color as Gilty Party. However, Gilty party appears to have a stronger foil effect with the tiny pink sparkles. New Wave Blue appeared very similar to Please Sea Me when doing a side-by-side comparison of the bottles.
In past seasons, Buttercup was similar to Yellow Kitty, an Purple Posey was nearly identical to Cherry Cherry Bang Bang.
Hi Leigh! I haven’t really noticed that. Thank you for sharing. I loved Yellow Kitty but it wasn’t selling well for Sally Hansen which, I think, is why they pulled it. Maybe they brought it back as Buttercup to see how it would be received. Just a theory
Love the colors! I discovered you while reading Marie Claire Oct 2013 edition. I have to say: I’m addicted!
Hi Nori! I’m so glad you found me