Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!
I recognize that I talk a lot lately about Smith & Cult, but I have reasons! They last, and they’re super saturated, and they also have lots of colors I don’t see anyplace else, like grayish green Bitter Buddhist, an oldie but a goodie that still knocks the cat lady socks off my feet.
Problem is…Smith & Cult is well aware of their fabulousness, and they charge you like they mean it.
$18 a bottle.
But relative to Chanel ($28, wha!?) and Tom Ford ($37, OMG!), that’s a steal…except that it’s not, so what is else is out there?
Here’s something comparable that costs less than half (!) as much: I swear on Jeremy Renner’s makeup brushes that Sally Hansen Color Therapy Nail Polish is just as good as Smith & Cult.
There, I said it.
I’ve been wearing one of their new fall shades — a rich, dark reddish brown with bronze microglitter called Falling Deep.
I’ve been wearing it for the past seven days and, quite frankly, I am shocked by how well it held up. It withstood a family plague of three consecutive colds (first El Hub, then Connor and now me), typing 2,000 words in less than 48 hours, and it made it through a moms group get-together that I went to last night in which I awkwardly pretended to be an event photographer (more on this is a second).
“Sally Hansen’s Color Therapy Nail Polish gives you color that cares while you wear! Intensive nourishment for healthy looking nails and up to 10 days fade-proof, chip-resistant Wear. 9 out of 10 women experienced a noticeable improvement in their natural nails.”
— ulta.com
Falling Deep looks like a Smith & Cult or even a Chanel polish, but it’s only $7.99! And right now at Ulta the entire Color Therapy line is marked down to $4.79, which makes them a steal.
I sandwiched two layers of Falling Deep between the same Smith & Cult base coat and top coat I’ve been using throughout the “Desperately Seeking” series, and after seven days it still looks pretty good.