Tag Archives: Sally Hansen

Celeb Nails: Taylor Swift

Posted on May 23, 2012 by | 6 Comments

I have publicly admitted previously that I, Allison, love Taylor Swift. I just can’t help it! Her songs are so catchy. And I know I’m not the only one! I was forced to admit this slightly guilty pleasure after I purchased Deborah Lippmann Today Was a Fairytale, though straight up copying Taylor’s manicure may be a bit more crazy….

After seeing this picture of Taylor on what looks to be a coffee run I just had to replicate her nails. I don’t know if she did it on purpose or if the manicure was a total accident but she had all her nails except her pinky nail painted a light blue. The pinky nail was a bright cherry red. This was the perfect opportunity to use 2 of my favorite nail polishes; Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Barracuda and Madame X.

As I was doing this manicure I was very unsure of it. I thought it might look really strange. But as it turns out I ended up  loving this combination of colors. I even tweeted about it from my car while I was waiting on my boyfriend to get his morning coffee. Clearly I was obsessed!

In the original picture I couldn’t tell if Taylor had any nails on her right hand painted red. I decided to do my pointer finger on my right hand in the cherry red color just to add some continuity to the look.

This is a manicure I could see myself doing again. Maybe even trying out some other color combos…. What do you think? Is this something you would try?

There are quite a few more pictures below the jump (including a proper swatch).

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SinfulColors Cinderella

Posted on April 28, 2012 by | 2 Comments

I’ve been searching for this polish for what seems like forever but could never find it. Finally, I spotted it at Walgreens in the permanent SinfulColors display during their $.99 sale. To say I was excited would be an understatement. I couldn’t shut up about it on Twitter!

Cinderella is a gorgeous somewhat sheer baby blue with shimmer that flashes anywhere between white and orange. It is a bit sheer so I had to use 4 coats to get an opaque color. But it was totally worth it….Cinderella is gorgeous on the nails.

Due to the sheerness of this polish I wanted to try it over another light blue polish. I used 2 coats of Sally Hansen Barracuda and topped it with just one coat of Cinderalla…gorgeous! I got all the pretty shimmer without any of the work. Using Cinderella as a top coat is definitely the way to go.

I’m so happy I finally have this polish in my collection. I can’t wait to try it over all kinds of blues!

Below the jump there are macro shots and swatches of Cinderella over Barracuda.

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Sally Girl Epic

Posted on April 26, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Finally! This is the last of the polishes I picked up during Sally’s buy 2 get 1 free nail polish sale. The other 2 Sally Girl polishes (Coconut and Orange) I picked up were from their scented collection, but Epic is from their permanent line.

Epic is a gorgeous periwinkle blue creme. It applied wonderfully in just two coats. Can’t ask for much more from a polish that costs less than a buck.

As I was wearing Epic I realized it reminded me of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue. Turns out they are dead on dupes. Epic’s formula is slightly superior. So if you want an even cheaper version of Pacific Blue or for some reason you’re having a hard time finding it, Epic is a dupe!

Make sure to check out the comparison shots below the jump. If you can tell a difference your eyes are better than mine!

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Celeb Nails: Pretty Little Liar Hanna Marin

Posted on March 15, 2012 by | 4 Comments

It is no secret that we are fans of Pretty Little Liars around here. I can’t count the number of bbm’s I’ve gotten from Katie that start “OMG PLL!!!”. Along with the show, I’m also currently reading the books, which I’m also enjoying. Anyway, when I was catching up on the show I noticed Hanna Marin’s manicure in episode 16 of season 2 (to see a picture click here!). I’ve done an Ashley Benson inspired manicure before, but this one is even more fun!

The manicure is a mixture of leopard print and a bright red creme. On one hand it’s alternated every other finger and on the other hand the leopard is on the pointer finger and pinky with the red on the middle and ring finger. This is pretty different from what I normally go for manicure wise. Occasionally I’ll do an accent nail, but otherwise I like my nails all the same color. But as it turns out, I ended up LOVING this manicure!

For the leopard print nails I used Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Kitty Kitty. As a side note, I’ve done a manicure previously with Kitty Kitty and had some left over. I just put them back in the box saving them for later. Well, as it turns out, when the polish strips are not in an airtight container they lose their stickiness! Total disaster, I ended up having to use nail glue to put them on. Lesson learned!

Anyway, back to this manicure. For the red I used wet n wild fastdry in Everybody Loves Redmond. I think it’s a pretty good recreation of Hanna’s manicure and I totally love it. I got so many compliments on this manicure. It’s different yet doesn’t look crazy if you know what I mean…

There is another picture of this manicure below the jump :)

 

 

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Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Gunmetal

Posted on January 26, 2012 by | 1 Comment

I passed over this polish SO many times. It always seemed interesting, but inevitably I’d find something else I’d want to purchase instead. Finally I bit the bullet and picked up Gunmetal. And I”m quite glad I did.

Gunmetal is a dark blue-gray with tons of shimmer. It is what I would call steel gray which makes the name rather appropriate. There is alot of shimmer but not so much that I would call this frosty. But it is definitely inching in that direction.

The formula is good. I did use 3 coats but realistically I could have gotten away with two. And as with all of the polishes from the Xtreme Wear line, it wore extremely well.

This does remind me a bit of OPI Light My Sapphire just quite a bit lighter.

Make sure to check out the macro shot below the jump :)

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Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Purple Pulse

Posted on January 21, 2012 by | 2 Comments

Oh look, it’s yet ANOTHER purple nail polish! I clearly have a problem. A purple nail polish problem. Despite the fact that I know this, I continue to buy more. I just can’t help it!

Purple Pulse is a blue based purple with blue and red microgitter. The color is really quite gorgeous. And the formula is also fantastic. Two coats were all I needed for an opaque, even application.

One of the reasons I was drawn to this polish is that it looked very similar to Avon Matte Violetta. Matte Violetta is a GORGEOUS color but is an awful polish. So while Purple Pulse isn’t exactly unique, I’m glad I picked it up.

There is a macro shot below the jump :)

 

 

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Holiday Sparkle: OPI A Sparkle Yule Love

Posted on December 23, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Worn alone, this is definitely not a sparkle I love! I was pretty luke warm on this polish the first time around. I wore it alone and it just didn’t impress me but I didn want to try layering it over a red polish. After wearing Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Diamonds & Rubies for a couple of days I grew bored with the color, so I topped it with one coat of OPI A Sparkle Yule Love. What an improvement!

I definitely thing A Sparkle Yule Love’s strong point is it’s ability to be used as a top coat. It would look great over pinks and reds, and it is also perfect to use for an accent nail.

There is a macro shot below the jump :)

 

 

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Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Diamonds & Rubies

Posted on December 17, 2011 by | Leave a comment

My nails are as strong as diamonds! They can CUT GLASS! No seriously, Sally Hansen told me (and by told me I mean I read on their website….) that their Diamond Strength line of polishes has a “micro-diamond formula that instantly bonds to nails with a diamond hard protective shied to help stop breaking.”

I will address those claims later, but first the color. Diamonds & Rubies is, as you can probably figure out from the name, a red creme nail polish. The color is not particularly unique, but is a bit warmer than my favorite Summer reds, making it more appropriate for the cooler weather yet still flattering.

Application was fantastic. The formula is very pigmented and covers well in just two coats.

Now…as far as Sally Hansen’s claims regarding the polish….I don’t know. I’ve worn this polish twice. The first time I actually had a nail break. I don’t have brittle or weak nails so I rarely if ever have a break. Of course this polish was not to blame for the break, but it didn’t prevent breakage, either.

On the front of this bottle is also said “no chip nail color.” Of course, all nail polish chips, but I didn’t find this polish wore particularly well either time I wore it.

Basically….buy these Diamond Strength polishes for the color and nothing more!

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Sally Hansen Smooth and Perfect – Dune

Posted on November 20, 2011 by | 7 Comments

Smooth and Perfect - Dune I have to admit I was intrigued by the idea of the Smooth and Perfect line when I first read it about here on Nouveau Cheap – which is one of my favorite go-to blogs for beauty deals and swatches for drugstore products. I’m always excited to try new brands and lines so I picked this up yesterday at CVS for a little over $6.

Even though I don’t have ridges, I though this might be a nice fit for me since I do have problems with a few nails splitting. Since I can’t find any information on the SH website, let’s tick through the claims on the display, shall we?

  1. Breathable/Allows 20% more Oxygen to Reach the Nails – I’ll go ahead and admit here that this reminded me instantly of Scrangie‘s April Fool’s Post – which had me immediately removing my nail polish and feeling like a complete moron afterwards) – my nails haven’t mentioned to me an increase in their oxygen intake so I’ll just have to take this one at face value.
  2. Porcelain Smooth Finish – sure why not. It does give a very smooth finish.
  3. Streak Free – Ahh… after 3 coats I still had a little bit of streak action going on, maybe with a 4th it’d go away.
  4. Promotes Stronger, Healthier looking nails – too soon to tell on this one and since I rotate through polishes so often, I doubt I’ll wear it long enough to find out – although it did say stronger & healthier looking…. not stronger & healthier nails.

Now, time for my opinions!

  • Color: I’m a big fan of nudes so I was anxious to try another, this one is a very light nude it has the slightest bit of shimmer to it and can every so slightly pink at times – it translates well from the bottle and Dune is a great name for it. In some light’s it matches my skin exactly and it almost makes me look like I have corpse hands. I will say that the color is very elegant looking. My grandmother always tells me that your nails are meant to be an extension of your hands not an accessory – and that was the first thing that came to mind – she’d love this color.
  • Application & Formula: Application was so-so, the brush is a wide brush – very similar to the brush that comes with the Insta-Dri line – I think a smaller brush would have worked better for me. The polish went on very sheer at first and took about 3 coats to build up. While you can still see visible nail lines, for some reason it doesn’t bother me like it usually would.
  • Overall: I wish I’d picked up another color, nudes are always so hit or miss with me.  The line is all pastels and before I pick up another I’m going to wait for other reviews. The price in my opinion isn’t worth it – I see this as a $3-$4 polish. I’ve only found one nude that I absolutely love and that’s Sally Hansen’s Nude Now. I could see this as a nice toe color though which is probably what it will end up being for me or I may give it away since I only used it on one hand. We’ll see!

Have you tried anything from the Smooth and Perfect Line? I’d love to hear what you think! Also I’d love to know what you think of this longer type of review. Should we do more or do you prefer the short and sweet posts?

I hope you have a relaxing day.

Cheers!

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Trick or Treat: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear – Pumpkin Spice

Posted on October 30, 2011 by | Leave a comment

It’s almost Halloween! Even if you have already been to some Halloween festivities and have to return to the daily grind tomorrow like I do – you can still show off your holiday spirit with some festive nail looks.

After wearing the Salon Effects Ghoulie Girl for a week I was reading for a change  – (by the way – Ghoulie Girl wore fantastically – I lasted 6 days and only had one teeny chip on the last day). So I present to you my Halloween nail look for this year. Pumpkin Spice is a great layering polish – I only tested it on it’s own once and knew the sheerness would irritate me – so I saved myself the trouble and put it on top of essie’s Licorice – which is my go to black polish.

The glitter distributes very evenly – I put on 2 coats of Licorice and 2 coats of Pumpkin Spice for this picture. If you can still find it – definitely pick it up. It’s a look I like a million times better than Hard Candy’s Mischief (Dupe of China Glaze’s Ick-a-Body) – which is just too much orange glitter for my liking.

A few other looks I’m loving: Cristina‘s Water Marble, Salon Effects in WishNets, and Brooke’s Candy Corn nails.

Happy Halloween (Eve!)

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