Last Sunday I blissfully wandered into the Sephora in Union Square with a friend. We browsed the usual suspects: Bite, Make Up Forever, the lovely travel section, and after we had done our damage, we blissfully walked over to the line. Right before I was about to be called, I saw it. The much-anticipated spray-on nail polish. I practically accosted the man by the line, "Is it real?" "But does it actually work?" "What are its magical powers?"

He tried his best to answer my unanswerable questions, and I impulsively picked up the spray bottle and marched on over to the cashier to pay. I looked at the Nails Inc. can and hurried home to try it out.

I didn't even stop to see what color the polish was--I was lucky enough to get a bright pink, which is hard to rock. But I was excited.

Here's what I learned.

1. As if it wasn't obvious already, this product is an aerosol spray, like hair spray of the '50s aerosol can. I've always been afraid of using them for the environment's sake. The aerosols of this day and age are less harmful, but still I got a creeping sense of guilt. It also smelled horrible. Like, poison-I-shouldn't-be-inhaling horrible. My whole room stank, but hey, if it's a good manicure? It would be worth it.

2. Let me start off by saying that I didn't use the bottom coat that Nails Inc. recommended; instead, I used Sally Hansen's 2-in-1 base and top coat, and figured that would get the job done. I shook the can, like the instructions said to, and sprayed away. What was left was an uneven, sloppy manicure. It didn't look like I put enough on after one spray, so I added more until I was satisfied with the even-glossy look we all crave.

3. This resulted in me spraying two or three more times until I got the look I thought was sufficient. And guys, let me tell you: This is a small can. By the end result I had used up the entire bottle. But again, I thought if the results are as good as everyone was saying they were, then it would be well worth it. I waited for it to dry and quickly washed my hands. I was surprised at how easily the polish came off that wasn't on my nails.

4. I then applied the top coat and admired my nails. And the result? An uneven manicure that wasn't worth the 20 dollars I had paid for it. I decided to keep the manicure on however, because I figured that from far away it probably looked fine. But even after it dried, it chipped very easily, and by the end of the day I had frustratingly pulled the polish off. It came off in large, slimy chunks.

All in all, the idea for easily-applied, spray-on manicures is one we're all excited about. The reality, though? Not so much. It seems as we're still not at that point in civilization yet. Alas, Essie will have to do for now.