Sally Hansen Salon Mangoes Loco

I'd always feel confused every time I'd see a "mango" colored anything, as I felt it looked nothing at all like the color of mangoes that I grew up with. Apparently, it echoes the reddish/orange tones of the particular fruit variety that's readily available at your local grocer. The mangoes of my childhood, however, had always been sweet-smelling, golden colored fruits that I could eat a whole bag of. And then some. The fruit is succulent and not as stringy as the ones I often see in the fresh food section. They taste like a tropical heaven in your mouth. So with a name like "Mangoes Loco", I had very high hopes for today's featured polish.

 What I like to think of as "fake" mangoes.

You haven't had a real mango unless you've had one of these. Trust.

Not quite the yellow I usually associate with mangoes...

The Quick Take

Brand/Name: Sally Hansen Salon Mangoes Loco
Color: Mango/Warm leaning pink
Finish: Creme
Price: $1-5 CDN
Seen at: Warehouse sales, Amazon, eBay
Note(s): This particular Sally Hansen line is an older, discontinued line that the new Complete Salon Manicure line replaced. I doubt you'd find any from this line at your local beauty supply store but older salons or discount beauty supply stores might still have it. I got mine for a $1 from a recent Lisa's Cosmetics Warehouse sale from earlier last month.


The Fun Facts

Token bottle shot.

SH on the rubberized brush cap.

Back of the bottle.

Note the skinny brush that most older polishes have.

Ingredient list.

Creamy, warm leaning pink.

While not the golden color I'd usually associate with mangoes, this is still one pretty pink. It leans warmer than your average pink and I'd say it borders coral territory. This would definitely make for a great summertime mani or pedi as it has that summer-y vibe to it. Also a great alternative to the dark reds of the cooler months.
***All nail swatches were done with Nail Tek II Foundation Base Coat and two coats of Sally Hansen Salon Mangoes Loco unless stated.

Natural light/No top coat/No flash

Surprisingly shiny, even on its own.

Natural light/No top coat/Flash

Great coverage in two coats.

Sunlight/No top coat/No flash

Definitely leans more orange in the sun!

If you have issues with skinny brushes then I can safely say that you'd best stay away from this entire line as this brush is just as skinny as your standard Essie brush. It does fan out nicely when you want it to, to give you better coverage per swipe but it's not as effortless an application compared to the wide brushes that come with today's newer nail polishes. Luckily, the formula makes it easier to maneuver despite the thin brush. It's a nice consistency that borders on runny so a little care should be taken not to have too much polish on the brush to prevent flooding. Dry time, I'd say, is pretty average taking about 5-8 minutes before the surface was dry to the touch. I do have to mention that I was pleasantly surprised to find it had a lovely shine to it, even without top coat.

Natural light/Top coat/No flash

Strangely reddish here.

Natural light/Top coat/Flash

Hammie says: Such a pretty summertime color!

Sunlight/Top coat/No Flash

Hammie says: It feels like déjà vu though.

Top coat doesn't do much, although it does up the shine level some.


The Lowdown

I know what you're thinking. "Haven't I seen this somewhere before?" Yep, I was thinking the exact same thing. With all the pinks that every brand out there has, it's very likely that there are a few good matches to this particular pink of Mangoes Loco. I actually found some really close ones that I'll show in a comparison post later this week. But despite the not-so-very unique color, I do love the price I got it for. I mean, really. How much cheaper can you get a pretty pink than for a dollar? Sure, availability isn't exactly on your side if you're after this particular color. Heck, even warehouse sales aren't very reliable as they don't always carry the exact same stock as they did from previous sales. But you can't beat that value for price. For the chemically aware among us, it does still have the bad stuff that the newer polishes have abandoned, so that's another point of contention. But at the end of the day, it really just boils down to your own preferences and your budget. As for me, I'm quite happy to count this in my stash.

Hammie likes Mangoes Loco well enough. For an older polish, he enjoys the pretty shine as he calls it, as he didn't expect it to be so shiny even without top coat. That ensures the magpie in him is satiated. However, he's not overly fond of how this particular shade of pink seems easily duplicable. Granted that this might even be the grandmother or great-great-grandmother of all the other similar pinks out there. The non-big3free nature of the polish also had eco-conscious Hammie docking other points to give Mangoes Loco a respectable total score of:

8 Hammie Points!

Happy Tuesday! I'm enjoying the cooler weather despite battling the bug I must've picked up from the Cutie Pie the weekend before last. I was feeling a tad under the weather on Friday but it didn't really sink in till Saturday and I've been hacking away since. Luckily, I've not been feverish since Sunday but I'm so over all this coughing and spewing out green gunk. Anyway, that should explain why I had to postpone this post to today. (Sorry!) Would you buy an older polish? What's the oldest nail polish in your collection? Do you go loco for mangoes (I know I do!)?