Miss Professional Nail was nice enough to send me a couple of Sation polishes to try out and review. I did not previously own any Sation because it is not sold in my area. You also don't see many Sation swatches popping up on nail blogs. I don't know why that is.
"Sation has recently been rebranded, with a custom-designed bottle/brush, and a fresh modern image."
I have to say that the first time I even heard of Sation wasn't exactly positive. I read this article that said a study tested nail polishes that claimed to be free of toulene, DBP, and formaldehyde... but Sation being one of them, actually DID contain those chemicals. I did not see anywhere on the Sation bottle that it claims to be "3-free," but it is stated on their website page and each polish's description. The article concludes with a comment from Miss Professional Nail's vice president saying that they are disputing these findings and "We will look at the report and challenge it." Sadly I don't know anything further on the matter. Perhaps we'll hear something soon.
With that being said, let's look at the product.
These first 3 are from the Limited Summer Collection, “California Gleamin."
They will be available online this week and/or at select beauty supply stores while supplies last.
Board Girl Blue
Shown below is 2 thin coats. I could have easily gotten away with 1 careful coat. This is also without topcoat. The polish is just that shiny on it's own! Dry time was moderate to fast. It was a great and easy formula to work with. True medium blue creme.
Gumdrop Glitter Red
I usually associate gumdrops with winter and Christmas songs, not typically a summer thing, but maybe that's just me. This was 3 thin coats. Small red glitter in a red jelly base. The glitter spreads out evenly and applies easily. Dry time was moderate.
Sunset Silk
Very shimmery light orange. Not frosty like I feared. Formula was great. 2 thin coats. Dry time was fast. This might not be up everyone's alley though. It's can be a tough shade to pull off.
The rest of the colors are all from the Classic Collection and they are always available on the website or select beauty retailers.
Sheer it is. This polish builds up nicely though. 3 coats reached full opacity, but each coat goes on so smooth and even, you can stop at whatever point makes you happy.
1 coat
2 coats
3 coats
Could the name be any longer? Lol. This is 2 coats. Formula was great, dry time was fast. But it looks a little familiar....
Swatch Stick Comparison
Left - OPI It's All Greek To Me
Middle - Essie Tour De Finance
Right - Sation A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose
I can't tell the difference personally. Judge for yourself.
I think the name is spot on for this polish. It is a very red toned orange. Lots of shimmer as well. This was 2 coats, and you can still see a tiny bit of visible nail line in this photo. It wasn't noticeable in person. Easy formula, fast dry time.
Pros:
- Each polish applies evenly.
- Dry time is moderate to fast on all.
- They are all incredibly shiny on their own without topcoat.
- Some good staple colors with a few standouts.
- Full size 15mL bottle that is sturdy and doesn't feel delicate.
- $5.00 price tag on the website.
- Some dupes are obvious.
- Uncertainty about harmful chemicals being included.
- The "custom brush" was kind of a pain. See below.
- Not sold locally, only online.
Left is a China Glaze brush, middle is the Sation brush, right is a regular OPI brush.
You can see it's quite WIDE, but it fans out even more when pressure is applied. So I had a really hard time on my pinky nails. It worked great on my thumbs, but it's not for you if you have small nail beds.
Left is Sation, Right is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. I know there are mixed opinions on Sally's paddle, but I personally like it. It works for me. If the Sation brush was rounded off on the sides like Sally, it would be perfect. The bigger brush has a bigger plastic wand to the handle, so it has the tendency to hold onto excess polish if you don't wipe it off carefully. That is, when you're pulling the brush out of the bottle.
So what do you think about these colors? Do you have any Sations?
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