You know what I like? Manicures. You know what I can’t justify spending money on in This Economy? Also manicures. Well, I can’t justify getting them as often as I would like, anyway. Enter the Sally Hansen Color Quick Fast Dry Nail Pen. I bought this on a whim at CVS after misreading the sign and thinking that it only cost $4. Turns out it was closer to $10, which makes it not as great of a bargain, but still less than many manicures. I figured it would be worth it if I could learn to give myself passable manicures. The nail pen’s major selling point is its pen shape, which gives you more stability in grip. This really works. I have never been able to paint the nails on my right hand without slopping half a bottle’s worth of polish all over my fingers, which I then try to peel off with my freshly-painted left hand, thus smushing all the polish on my left nails. You know the drill. Using the pen really made a difference, there was nary a drop on my right fingers. This must be how toddlers feel when they start to develop fine motor skills.
I tho
ught that because it was called a pen, that the pen would have a felt-tip like “¦ a pen. But it’s just a regular nail brush. At first I was annoyed because I th0ught that an actual pen would make the whole process a lot easier. It turns out that the brush isn’t as problematic as I first thought. I do wonder what it would be like if it had an actual pen tip, but for now I’m satisfied with the brush.
I bought “sheer pink” which is really quite sheer. I don’t have any pictures because you can’t really tell that there’s much polish on my nails at all. I have now used it twice. The first time I felt like some of the nails looked a little streaky, and it chipped after about a day. A few days later I tried again and was much more satisfied with the results. I put a clear top coat on, and went for several days without chipping. In fact, only one is chipped and I think that’s because I picked at it.
The polish does dry fast. You can’t dilly-dally when putting on your second coat. I think that’s where I went awry when I first put it on, because the first coat was a little sticky when I put on the second coat so it didn’t go on as smoothly as it could have. The second time I was more efficient and it looks a lot better.
Nothing will ever take the place of a salon manicure because, come on, they massage your hands! But this is a good fix for when you can’t get in to get your nails done. Now I just need to learn how to file them properly “¦
10 replies on “We Try It: Sally Hansen Nail Pen”
I am quite good at applying nail polish, but I still gloop extra polish on occasion when doing my right hand.
A great tip that was shared with me many eons ago was to paint your nails in the evening. Leave the mispainted bits until morning because they soften in the shower and come off super easy. And, because the polish on your nails is long dry, it stays immaculate. Following up with a top coat after your shower can help maintain the polish for longer.
I’ve always been so curious about these! My main problem when I paint my nails is that I either glob on way too much polish or not nearly enough and then all my little extra dabs never look smooth or even.
Actually, a top coat can help with the uneven polish. I’m not very good at applying nail polish and it’s often a little dodgy and uneven. But a top coat makes it all look nice.
Is there any particular brand you’d recommend? I have a top coat by Sally Hansen that says it will make polish last longer (that’s my other main problem, it begins wearing off right away), but the times that I’ve used it my polish chipped much faster. (I’m wondering if I blobbed it all on so thick that the top coat just made it even thicker and it all came off together.)
My top coat is probably the most expensive thing in my makeup box – I bought the one from Dior and am quite happy with it. It needs a bit of drying time, but after that it’s really good.
They have ones that have pen tips but they are marketed towards doing nail art. They would be good for funky french manicures.
Personally I much prefer the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polishes. They have fat brushes that allow you to cover most the nail in one stroke and contain a base and top coat. Plus they have pretty pretty colors
I just tried this this past weekend for a wedding I went to!
I liked the application of it, but should have gotten a top coat because I am rough on my hands & not used to having them polished or having to pay attention to how I treat them.
It chipped like crazy but reapplying was so easy I didn’t really care. I don’t know how much of that was the product & how much of that was me so I couldn’t ding it too bad. It gets an A+ on convenience for me.
Interesting product. I don’t think I’ll try it only because I’ve recently gotten okay enough at manicures that my polish lasts a week. I get it all over my fingers, but I just let it dry and then pick it off in the shower the next day, or while running my hands under water at the sink (at LEAST three hours after painting my nails, because otherwise the nail part gets messed up).
I do like getting manicures, though. Part of it is that you know your money is going local, which is good. I don’t have a good place in town, though; last place I went to, three days after my manicure, the paint was completely chipped and I broke several nails (because they filed them weird).
Oh yeah, if I could make my nails look good using regular polish I probably would just because you have a lot more color selection.
After I said this, I went and broke a nail yesterday, which took off a good 1/4 of the polish. D’oh!