Sally Hansen Loves me Not

Sally Hansen Loves me Not is from the new Spring runway collection. This one spoke to me the most, and my word it's gorgeous.

In the bottle shot below, you can see there is some gold glitter as well as bright purple and indigo. The gold never showed up on my nail - however, the sun kept disappearing on me so it's hard to say if it was the weather, or the polish itself.

All the photos are two coats with one coat of seche vite on top. The seche really seals this color and gives it a beautiful glass finish. Loves me Not is a dark purple base filled with indigo and purple glitter. The glitter gives the nail this amazing multi-colored finish that I haven't seen too often in the lacquer-world lately. It's an effortless glitter gradient.

Run, don't walk, and go buy Loves me Not!

Sally Hansen HD DVD

During my little swatch-marathon today I grabbed Sally Hansen HD DVD. I swapped for this a long time ago, put it away, and never pulled it out again until today.

Wow. Was that the biggest mistake I've ever made? Not quite, but it makes the list somewhere.

I'll just let the photos speak for themselves. Guys, there are TWO colors on my nails AT THE SAME TIME. This is more than a duochrome, it's just..GAH. Spectacular, spectacular, no words in our vernacular! I saw all of the HD Sally Hansen's at Ulta the other day for 2.50 a piece. I wish I would have bought them all! Keep your peepers peeled, these are still in random drugstores!



One coat of DVD.

Three coats of DVD w/Seche Vite.

Woooo, bottle shot.

CORAL SHOWDOWN.

L-R: Wet n Wild Blazed, Sinful Colors Island Coral, Butter London Trout Pout, Sally Hansen Coral Fever

I have a coral problem. They speak to my heart and are the perfect shade for my skin tone regardless of the season. I was going through my collection and noticed these four shades look super similar, so I swatched them on a nail wheel to see how they all compare to Trout Pout..and ... here we are!



WnW Blazed is more peach toned and darker than Trout Pout. Sally Hansen Coral Fever is also darker, but more pink toned.

Now, Sinful Colors Island Coral is a bit thin. That's three coats. I obviously didn't wait for any of these layers to dry so it looks like my nail wheel is melting. ANYWAY! Sinful Colors Island Coral, in my opinion, is a dupe for Butter London Trout Pout. Trout Pout has a much better formula. It's a bit thicker. That's two coats in the photo. But, ignoring the bald spots in Island Coral and the colors aren't that discernible!

If you want Trout Pout but don't to shell out $14 for it, go buy Sinful Colors Island Coral for .99 cents this week (regularly 1.99 at Walgreen's). The formula is different but the color is the same! I'm sitting here with my nail wheel right up to my face and I cannot see a difference.

Thoughts?

Intergalactic planetary, planetary intergalactic

I tried my hand at galaxy nails last night and can't say I was terribly successful...but it wasn't a huge fail, either. The pointer finger is the only one that really turned out so I took a separate photo of that one. I'm definitely going to be putting these back on the "try again" list. I didn't have a toothpick for my stars so they came out more like angry comets.

I used Sally Hansen Black Diamonds for my base and sponged on Zoya Creamy and Gia, Sinful Colors Snow me White, Nail Junkie, and Hottie, and Sally Hansen Loves me Not from the new 2012 Spring Runway Collection (WHICH IS AMAZING and I will be showing you this color alone later this week)

MEH. I did both hands but I can't really photograph both hands that well.

glitter sandwich

Here is my first attempt at a glitter sandwich. I started with two coats of Sally Hansen Barracuda and then added two coats of Rainbow in the S-kylie. After that dried I added one more tin coat of Barracuda and then added seche vite on top! I am in LOVE with this manicure so much. I feel like eating my nails because they look like candy. I look at my nails and feel like I'm at a carnival with cotton candy in one hand and powdered sugar on my face.

Unfortunately, we've had quite the bout of clouds and rain here lately. It's great for the Earth, but not so great for taking photos. All these photos are overcast and drab looking. I'll see what I can do about getting better photos when the sun is out. :)

I was looking at my previous post and thought about how neat a glitter Bridal Veil is. It's just so unique. I feel like giving a bottle away. :) Enjoy, everyone. Giveaway ends Saturday.

Sally Hansen Bridal Veil

Yesterday, I was in Walgreen's and came across the new Sally Hansen glitter top coat display. In the pictures, Bridal Veil looked interesting. I couldn't pass it up in the store (although I should have!) because it looked so neat. The name is very fitting, but I think the glitter kind of looks like spider eggs.

First, I used Leotard Optional from the Seophora by OPI urban ballerina set. It's a very pretty neutral. It's described on the sephora site as a mocha beige but I'm not seeing much mocha here. Mocha is a bit darker, in my opinion. Anyway - the application was easy and effortless. This is three coats (not sure what happened at the corner of my pinky. Random bubble?)

Then I applied one coat of Sally Hansen Bridal Veil. Round white glitter with small, gold hexagons in it. The hexagons really reflected light outside in this photo.

Here's a less shiny photo. This glitter is really unique. It's why I picked it up in the first place. The application is a little on the thick side, but certainly not unmanageable. I haven't seen a glitter like this before, at least in a drugstore. It's not subtle, but it's not in your face, either. At 4.99, it's very affordable. I'll have to try different color combinations with this glitter and see if it works with more than just neutrals. I can't say I'll wear this too often for anything other than an accent nail. But I'm just not a huge fan of glitter (I know!)

Sally Hansen Barracuda

Here I have one my favorite polishes of all time: Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in Barracuda. This came out last year, I believe, and I didn't buy it. I quickly regretted it and always came up empty handed when I searched for it. I went to a Walgreen's I never go to and they had TWO. I only bought one..I think I should've purchased the second one.

Here's a quick and dirty swatch on a cloudy day. It's actually the perfect cloudy day polish. Such a beautiful pastel, baby blue creme. Love it. I used three coats+Seche Vite.




A few happy notes today:

1. I fit into a favorite shirt of mine from before I became pregnant.
2. My FLOAM arrived.
3. I'm just awesome.

I will do a "what's in my bag" post later. I'm planning on going to the park with the kiddo to get some Floam swatches. I have a few other polishes in my bag just in case I get an opportunity to swatch and snap photos while she plays.

pastels

I love pastels. They're fun, happy, and remind me of spring, flowers, the light scent of rain. *sigh* Summer is almost here. I cannot wait to bask in the sun, splash in the pool, draw all over the sidewalk with chalk (er, with my daughter..of course) and get a wicked SAFE! tan :)

Here is my attempt at a pastel mani. I'm thinking I should've used Sally Hansen's Lacey Lilac on my thumb instead of Essie's Play Date, and maybe involved Zoya LuLu in this mani well:

Thumb: Essie Play Date
Pointer: Essie Absolutely Shore (the nail polish color that started my interest!)
Middle: Essie A-Crewed Interest
Ring: Sally Hansen Barracuda
Pinky: Sinful Colors Unicorn

Pastels win my heart over every time. The only downside to a pastel is it can be streaky and difficult to apply. I didn't have too many issues with any of these colors except for A-crewed Interest. That one needs to be applied in very thin coats. Sinful Colors Unicorn is 4 coats, the rest are 3 coats. Absolutely Shore is a smidge darker in person.

Barracuda is easily my favorite. :)

If you haven't heard yet, there is a new ZOYA promo happening: use the code SPRING3 - buy any 3 zoya polishes and get 3 free!Click here for the details. Unfortunately, I'm cash strapped so I cannot buy any right now but I have them in my cart, just in case my will is weak LOL. Loredana and Tobey.

Drugstore Week, Day 4: Sally Hansen

Sally Hansen is a very versatile company with their hands in many many pies. They have polish from 1.99-9.99 and are definitely don't shy away from color! Here are my favorite Sally Hansen's that I own:

Black Diamonds

I usually don't wear black because I find it a little harsh with my skin tone, but this is a beautiful sparkly black. That's an entirely different ball game! I love Black Diamonds, it's simply stunning on the nail and helps make any outfit extremely sophisticated! This is two coats (two!). I always need at least 3-4 coats for a black polish. I think the sparkle really helps cover any potential bald spots. The diamond strength line is around 3.99 and so worth it, I have many colors from this line and they are fantastic.

Gun-Metal

I bought this color because my S/O liked it. I wasn't completely sold on it but he was gushing over it so I had to buy it, because how often is it that our better halves gush over polish? The first time I wore it I did not like it at all. Then I applied it a second time and it grew on me. It doesn't look as streaky in person as it does on the nail in this photo. I did three coats. Gun-metal is so shiny and unique, I don't own anything like it. The x-treme wear line retails for 1.99-2.99.

Lacey Lilac

Purple is the most sparse in my collection and this is the only lilac I own, but I'm pretty sure it's the only lilac I NEED to own. Look at how pretty this is! It's a little streaky but after 3 coats you get this beautiful pastel shade that's perfect for spring. I didn't notice until now that I flubbed my middle finger. Oh well, the polish is still super pretty! If you don't own a lilac you should buy this one, it's anywhere from 1.99-2.99.

 Glass Slipper over Black Diamonds

Glass Slipper over It's Chiff-on!

 

HI. It's a flakie. A beautiful, beautiful flakie! This is a white flakie called 'glass slipper'. First, I layered it over Black Diamonds. -falls over-. So sparkly and fun! I did two coats of glass slipper for optimal intensity and I love it! It looks like winter. I also did a coat of glass slipper of it's chiff-on! I'm not as in love with this one as I was black diamonds but it's still a fun flakie. There is a second flake in this line. It's pink and reminds me a little bit of I Lily Love you by OPI.

In the Spotlight over Fruiti Petutie

This is "In the Spotlight". It's a holographic bar glitter and looks like a fun mess of confetti on the nail. I put two coats over sally hansen "fruiti petutie". "In the Spotlight" is very inexpensive if you're looking for a bar glitter but don't want to spend a lot of money. It's anywhere from 1.99-2.99 and looks awesome over everything.

Save the Date

MY FAVORITE. Out of everything - this is "save the date" and just looks beautiful. It's a deep, rich, exciting plum-burgundy with a hint of shimmer to it. You NEED this polish. If I had to wear one polish for the rest of my life it would be this one. It's so gorgeous I can't get over it. It's like sex on my nails. My swatches do not do this color justice at all!

Cha-Ching

 

Cha-ching is from the Gem crush line. Out of all the colors this red one stuck out to me the most. My S/O surprised me with it after seeing me stare at them for 15 minutes. I layered two coats of Cha-Ching over three coats of revlon Fired. How fun is this glitter? There is red micro glitter and then larger red and silver glitter. It's so blinged out if you love glitter you need this polish! The other one from this line I really want is "razzle dazzler" but I can't find it anywhere!

It's Chiff-on

Here is "It's Chiff-on!" This is a very delicate, feminine, airy pink - my favorite type of pink! It's very neutral and has a subtle shimmer to it.

Strobe Light

 

And finally we have another shade from the Xtreme Wear line: Strobe Light. Strobe light is a pink based micro glitter with a bit of holographic sparkle to it, but not much. I have two coats here over Lacey Lilac. I usually only wear this over pink and am very surprised at the outcome with the lilac. I wasn't expecting it to look so nice but the two colors really work well together. This is subtle but so loud at the same time. And for a glitter it's very shiny. This is sans top coat.

I love Sally Hansen. I love their versatility, their color range, the quality, the price. They get it right every time and are a wonderful drug store brand of polish. Hopefully I helped you narrow down or list. Or maybe I made it larger. :)