Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hydro Electric

I had crazy high expectations for the Miracle Gel line from Sally Hansen. The claims and the science behind the claims are not only interesting but promising. I’ll put all the science mumbo jumbo from Sally Hansen under the jump but essentially Sally Hansen promises with this line a high shine, durable manicure without the costly visit to the salon and time consuming removal process.

Hydro Electric is a beautiful, medium bright blue creme. I love the color. It’s bright but not over done. The formula is a tad streaky but covered well in the 2 coats Sally Hansen recommends you use.

So, I applied 2 coats of Hydro Electric and 1 coat of the Miracle Gel Top Coat per Sally Hansen’s instructions. At this point I’m happy with the manicure.

The first thing I noticed was my manicure was taking a very long time to dry. And when I say very long time to dry I mean a very long time to dry. I’m not a fan of fast dry top coats so I don’t expect my manicure to be dry in several minutes. But I do expect it to be dry in an hour. This manicure was not.

The theory behind this slow drying process (and why quick dry top coats don’t wear very well) is that it allows the nail color to be more pliable. This leads to less chips and cracks in the nail color which of course means longer wear time.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to translate to the Miracle Gel line. Despite the long dry time my nails chipped on day 3. And the tip wear was already pretty noticeable.

Anther problem I had with this manicure is the top coat doesn’t seem to be self leveling. The brush strokes were still prevalent regardless of how thick or thin of a coat I apply.

Right now my opinion of this line is not a good one. The polishes and the top coat retail for $10 a piece. I’d be totally fine with the price and even the drying time if I got the promised 14 days of wear out of this system.

I have another color to try and I do want to try Hydro Electric again but my motivation to do this isn’t exactly high right now.

If you are brave enough to try this line out yourself it is available at Ulta.

Anyway. Under the jump you will find swatches of Hydro Electric, my nails on day 3 and the scientific info from Sally Hansen.

The product(s) used in this post were provided to TDV for review. For more information check out our disclosure policy.

THE TECHNOLOGY: The Miracle Gel manicure contains patented Tube Technology. This allows a higher level of actives and continuous care ingredients to release into the gel lacquer film, prolonging the integrity of the filmresulting in beautifully durable, shiny nails. The advanced Color Coat, which is a combination base coat and nail color in one, and Top Coat formulas contain an oligomer, and the Top Coat also contains a photoinitiator. The photoinitiator in the Top Coat formula reticulates with the oligomer contained in the Color Coat, thus curing the formula without the need of an LED/UV light. As the manicure cures over time, it becomes more durable due to the increased hardness of the film. So LED/UV lamp curing is not necessary, only natural light. Then, when you’re ready to change up your look, Miracle Gel comes off easily with both acetone-based and acetone-free nail polish remover – no soaking, wrapping, scraping, or filing necessary.