Sally Hansen - Platinum

Lately I've had a thing for whites that don't look like white out. Like whites with shimmer, whites with duochrome, etc. So, naturally when I saw a new Sally Hansen Diamond Strength in Platinum I got ridiculously excited to see this white that looked like a pearl in the bottle. Sadly, I was really disappointed by the color on the nail.

For the following pictures -
Pointer/Pinky: 3 coats of Platinum
Middle: 2 coats of Platinum over 2 coats of Sinful Colors (white...can't remember the name, sorry!)
Ring: 2 coats of Platinum over 1 coat of SH Black Out.

Sunlight.

Shade.

Shade.

Shade.

Definitely not what I was expecting. It's too sheer on it's own, does nothing really over white and although it comes out beautifully over black, it's not anything that I don't already own or can recreate with other colors. I went through my collection last night and I've started to put aside colors that I'm getting rid of and this is definitely one of them. So disappointing. 

Have you ever been so excited by a polish in the bottle and disappointed with it on the nail? It's happened to me more often lately, and it's starting to suck. A lot.

CM

Klean Color - Bluebell

While browsing around eBay one day I came across a brand called Klean Color. And, of course, the most popular colors that were being sold were these chunky holographic colors. You say holographic and I'm on board! On eBay, they were going for $5-$10, which seemed a little high for a brand I had never even heard of. So, after some research, I found this site here that sold them for $1.75 each. DONE! So I bought six (I think...) and today I have the one that called out to me first: Chunky Holo Bluebell.

All of these photos are -
Pointer: 2 coats Bluebell
Middle/Pinky: 2 coats Bluebell over CG First Mate
Middle: 2 coats Bluebell over SH Black Out

As you can see, Bluebell is a sheer polish and best used for layering. Is it holographic? In my eyes, no. I see it as more of a duo/multi chrome chunky glitter. Do I love it? Yes! I love all of the colors that it brings to the nails, especially when layered. 

Caution...these polishes SMELL. And I mean really, really bad! So if you have a weak nose I would suggest doing your nails in a very open and aired out space. I'll have more posts later with the other colors that I bought, and perhaps even a comparison coming up! 

CM

Sally Hansen - Sturdy Sapphire

Today I have a new (ish) polish from Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails line, a blue called Sturdy Sapphire. Judging by the color in the bottle I was not expecting it to be as sheer as it was. It just looks so saturated in the bottle But I'll let the pictures do the speaking.

The shimmer that runs through it is really pretty. But so sheer! That's 3 thick coats for the pictures above and you can still see right through to the whole nail! And it's not the color blue that I was thinking for a sapphire, but maybe I'm mistaken.

So, anyways, I figured I would try layering it over 2 colors: Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in Black Out and China Glaze's First Mate from the Anchors Away collection. 

Pointer and Ring finger: 2 coats of SS over Black Out
Middle and pinky finger: 2 coats of SS over First Mate.

Pointer and Ring finger: 2 coats of SS over Black Out
Middle and pinky finger: 2 coats of SS over First Mate.

Pointer and Ring finger: 2 coats of SS over Black Out
Middle and pinky finger: 2 coats of SS over First Mate.

Pointer and Ring finger: 2 coats of SS over Black Out
Middle and pinky finger: 2 coats of SS over First Mate.

That's close to a sapphire blue, but I still think it's more of a cobalt blue. Layering it definitely helps the color become more opaque though, so I can't complain too much. As is with most sheer polishes, the formula was thin and runny. This can be bought at any drug stores such as CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, etc.

CM

Zoya - Caitlin (and layering fun)

Zoya Caitlin. What is there to say about her? She's pure perfection. She's a beautiful shade of blue (with some hints of grey), with the perfect amount of dustiness thrown in. So in other words, a dusty blue-grey (that was easy). The formula was perfect...she applied like butter. Zoya is really dependable with their formulas...I've only gotten 1 or 2 polishes out of several from them that I did not like. Let's see her! (And sorry for the bad application, it was a speedy manicure and I have yet to find my clean-up brush).

Caitlin - artificial light.

Caitlin - artificial light.

As is the case with most blues and purples, they switch up. Caitlin is much more blue in real life, and less purple. 

There's a better shot of the blue. This is under direct artificial light and with flash.

Now, there are a few big polishes on my lemming list. One of those is Raindrops by Illamasqua. I had recently gotten one of the new Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polishes. Glass Slipper is a silver flakie suspended in a clear base, and I figured that this would help create a dupe. Unfortunately, Caitlin isn't the right base, and Glass Slipper's flakes are a little bit too big (maybe Diamond will work better). But, nonetheless it was still a pretty combination and I really liked it.

Natural light.

Natural light.

Direct sunlight.

Direct sunlight.

Direct sunlight.

Direct sunlight.

The flakies in Glass Slipper are bigger, and pretty dense. This is one coat in these photos. The formula was thick, but that's ok seeing how it was really meant for layering. Still a really pretty combination. Hope you enjoyed it!

CM

Sally Hansen - Save the Date

Sally Hansen has some new diamond strength polishes out, even in a new bottle! And, I must say, there wee quite a few that I liked enough to pick up...6 to be exact! And some of those are flakies and duochromes! But today I have a shimmer for you.

Save the Date is a beautiful deep red/burgundy with mostly red shimmer and some blue shimmer thrown in there as well. Which was extremely hard to photograph, but you can see it faintly in a few photos.

Click to enlarge this photo so you can see the red and blue shimmer...it's faint, but there!

Save the Date in the shade.

Formula was great! It dried quickly and was beautiful. I love dark, vampy reds like this. I got all of these at Walgreens during a buy one get one 50% off sale, but I don't think that's going on anymore. I think these were $5-6 without the sale.

CM