What they are: Rimmel‘s Lasting Finish Pro in Steel Grey and Sally Hansen‘s Complete Salon Manicure in Commander in Chic.
The catch: Because these are often said to be (a) “likely similar,” and (b) possibly as close as the drugstore will get to “greige,” I wanted to get these and compare them for you; pick a favourite so you didn’t have to. What I didn’t expect was finding that the two are completely identical!
The colour: Okay, so I guess there’s one tiny silver lining to this? If they’re the same, I only need to describe the shade once! I personally wouldn’t call it a greige, as far as greiges go… it’s too violet if you ask me, and much too dark. However, as for the shade aside from that? I think it’s very love-it-or-hate-it, and I can’t decide which side I’m on. Depending on the lighting (as you’ll see in the swatches,) its undertones seem to vary quite a bit.
Sometimes I absolutely love it, especially in indirect sunlight (where it’s a lovely deep grey-violet,) but I hate it in dim tungsten lighting (where it’s a muddy, indiscriminate brown.)
The stats:
The formula and wear time seem the same, just like eveything else. They don’t feel like they’re going on thinly, and don’t streak, but it takes about three coats to make it to opacity for the pair of them. I always worry about wear time when something goes on like this, but these seem to be okay. After about a week on my toes, they’re all still in tip-top shape, save for a dent on one toe!
(But that was my fault because I opened a door on it.)
(Which hurt, for the record.)
(Thanks for asking.)
Additionally, both polishes feature the same applicator tip, a fairly thick but not too wide brush with rounded edges. Personally, my favourite brush head is OPI’s Pro Wide (which a lot of people hate,) but I found this one easy to work with as well! The LFP and CSM heads are optimal for fingernails, but they’ll work just fine on toenails, too.
Random sidenote: The Rimmel is also known as a dupe for Sephora by OPI’s Metro Chic. From what I’ve seen, I’d say the three of them are the same — perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that the folks at Sally chose the name “Commander in Chic!” $5 on Sephora polish? Saved!
The verdict? If you were hoping these would be greige, take your hands away from your wallet and back away slowly. However, if you were looking for a strange but likeable brown-grey-violet, these would be a pretty good place to start! The shade is very much in the moment right now in terms of trendiness, so if this is your colour, buy one and wear it STAT — before it gets overdone and goes out of style. As to the lines themselves, I think these are both very solid fomulas, which I’d buy again should I come across other pretty shades!
Personally, I’d go with the Sally Hansen if they were the same price, simply because the packaging is lovely. However, with the Sally at $8 and the Rimmel at $5 (I told you we get charged more in Canada for everything!) I’d choose the latter, as there’s no loss in polish quality.
