It was in the late 1950s when Sally Hansen, together with her chemist husband, pioneered a nail protection formula called Hard As Nails. Touted as “the nail clinic in a bottle,” Hard As Nails helped Sally Hansen become the No. 1 brand of nail care.
 
While Hard As Nails continues to be a best seller, Sally Hansen, now owned by Coty, has developed into the leading mega brand of nail treatment and color sold in big box stores all over the globe.
 
Sally’s latest creation is a mobile app called ManiMatch. Users can try on a cornucopia of more than 200 Sally Hansen hues in real time, on their nails, before they buy, according to Jeremy Lowenstein, vice president, global marketing and product development, Coty, New York, NY. The launch of this app coincides with the release of the new Miracle Gel Top Coat and seasonal nail enamel colors.
 
Available for download for free on iOS platforms when it launched in 2015 and select Android devices later in 2016, ManiMatch is poised to revolutionize nail color shopping, both in store and ecommerce, according to the company. Sally Hansen hosted a kick-off consumer event in NYC to introduce the app in Fall 2015. The first users who “share” the experience in their networks have a chance to become the next Sally Hansen hand model for Sally Hansen social media. 
 
“The innovative technology uses bespoke skin tone analysis and an algorithm to map the hand,” said Kristen D’Arcy, global digital vice president for Sally Hansen. “It tracks the individual nuances of the user’s hands, analyzes skin tone, finds the nail beds, and photo-realistically simulates our nail polish shades, and the finished manicure appears instantly on the user’s hand.”
 
A scan with any smartphone enables the user to instantly consider and curate her own color choices. There’s no uploading, picture-taking or manual data entry. It also generates personalized-for-her-skin-tone color suggestions on demand. Using proprietary technology, the app senses and analyzes the pigments in each user’s hand, then matches its polish-shade suggestions to those most optimally flattering to her skin, according to the company
 
ManiMatch generates shade suggestions across all Sally Hansen’s product lines including Miracle Gel, Complete Salon Manicure, Insta-Dri and Xtreme Wear. Products are sold in mass market stores nationwide.
 
Parent company Coty as a whole is expanding its technology, as previously reported in Happi, as it recently acquired Beamly, a digital marketing firm specializing in social media based in both New York and London.
 
Sally Hansen is also very involved in New York Fashion Week with a variety of designer tie-ins. For example, Prabal Gurung recently collaborated with Sally Hansen for the 10th consecutive season to create three exclusive nail polish shades to compliment his Fall 2015 collection billed as a “graphic, modern take on effortless glamour.” The exclusive Prabal Gurung for Sally Hansen collection includes: Complete Salon Manicure in Midnight Affair, Complete Salon Manicure in Leaf Peeper and Complete Salon Manicure in Concrete Jungle.
 
The brand has experts who also work with designers at Fashion Week. Global Color Ambassador Madeline Poole, who works out of both LA and NYC, created exclusive nail looks for Gurung at his show this season.
 
Poole explained, “For Prabal's nails we chose ‘Mum’s the Word,’ a pale yellow shade, along with an organic flow of white shapes. Each shape mimics the artistic curve of a brush stroke, and the unique color combination gives the feminine silhouettes a sporty edge.”
 
As part of her collaboration with Sally Hansen, Poole will help set the artistic direction for a new generation of modern nail looks and collections with her fashion-forward vision on a worldwide basis.
 
For Spring 2016, make your own manicure creations with the new Sally Hansen I <3 Nail Art Brush Kit, created in partnership with Poole.
 
“If there's one tool I can't live without it's my brush kit!” she said. “The Clean Up Brush is one of my most important and frequently used brushes for perfecting a painted nail. While the Glitter & Gradient and Fan Brushes are imperative for effortless application of a variety of nail designs. With this new kit, designing nail art looks is now readily at your fingertips!”
 
Together with the new app, the future is bright for this classic nail care brand.