Showing posts with label sally hansen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sally hansen. Show all posts

Thursday, March 5, 2009

More drugstore awesomeness: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri

This time I have something from the drugstore that isn't discontinued or limited edition or hard to find... In fact, it's brand new and I've seen it at every store I've been to in the last month.

Sally Hansen has a new line of "Insta-Dri" (why did they spell it like that? Weird.) shades that come in ugly bottles and are supposed to be super-quick-dry. There are a bunch of shades- a blue or two, a red/orange, a plum - but only two of them really caught my eye.




Lightening. Their spelling, not mine! This is a creamy yellow. Not neon and not too muted. Not as bright as a lot of other yellows. It's streaky like all yellow polishes are, but doing three coats eliminates the streaks and unevenness.




Jumpin' Jade. A shimmery blue-tinged green. Really pretty! It's not as green as I would like it to be, but it's still beautiful.

The colors are great. There are, however, a couple of weird things about these polishes!

For one, the bottles are a really weird shape. They're long and almost triangular, and I think they're pretty ugly.

What's weirder than the shape of the bottle is the shape of the brush. It's a huge, wide, flat and slightly curved monster of a brush. It's really... unique? It's gigantic! One of the strangest looking brushes I've seen. I have heard a lot of complaints about the brush in these, but I actually like it. The size and shape of the brush is intended to give you one-stroke coverage on all of your nails, resulting in a very fast manicure. This is the case for me- while the brush is a little too wide for a couple of my nails, it gives me perfect coverage with one brushstroke. Similar to OPI's Pro-Wide brush, but, uh, wider. And flatter.

The formula is a little three-freeish for me. It's thick but runny. The polish really does dry super fast, so that's a bonus. I did three coats of the yellow, no topcoat and it was dry in ten minutes. Two coats of Jumpin' Jade was dry in around five. That's without my usual coat of Seche Vite! Pretty cool.

I think these are on the pricier end of drugstore polishes. These are around $5, though they seem to go on sale often. Usually when I buy drugstore polishes, I expect them to be under $3, so sometimes it's a shock to see them cost upwards of $5 each. To put it in perspective, you can get OPIs, Essies, China Glaze, Orly, et cetera online for $2.60-$4.75 each. It also seems that the prices on drugstore polishes are steadily rising.

Overall, I love the gigantic brush and the quick-dry nature of these polishes. I like that I was able to go to a grocery store and get green and yellow polishes. I don't like the bottle shape, but that hardly matters...

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Blue...

I'm feeling pretty sad today, so I thought I'd post some swatches to match my mood.



China Glaze Blue Sparrow


China Glaze Blue Without You



China Glaze Drinkin' My Blues Away (Which may or may not be what I'm doing...)



China Glaze Martini Pedicure


China Glaze Rain Storm



Nicole by OPI It's Up To You



Lippmann Collection Rehab


NARS Midnight Express




Misa Pour Me Something Tall And Strong


Misa On The Edge


Sephora Brand Glittering Nail Polish Blue Sapphire



OPI Glacier Bay Blues


OPI Blue My Mind


OPI Blue Moon Lagoon


Naturistics Crystal Blue Pearl


OPI Midnight Blue Glitter



Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm



Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup Blue Aura



And now I'm going to go listen to...



Clarins 202 Metallica.....


.... Damn it, where's my picture of Lippmann Collection Fade To Black when I need it?!?!


*sigh*

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The Glam Is A Lie

EDIT: Forgot to add that I did send Sally Hansen a letter on December 18th and as of today have not received a response. I will give them a couple more weeks to address the issue and then I'm taking this crap back to the store. :)

I was out shopping one day and something caught my eye as I was walking past the cosmetics department: bright, colorful boxes full of Sally Hansen nail products. I immediately went over to inspect. "Hmm, six great nail colors, two treatments and some tools, eh? Looks awesome! I have to have this!"

Since the set was $9.99, I decided I could wait to get it- it didn't seem to be in danger of selling out- the shelves were packed with these Sally Hansen Nail Glam party things.

I came home and asked the ladies on Makeup Alley's Nail Board if they had seen these, and they warned me that there was nothing good inside. I had a hard time believing that there was nothing good inside this bright, colorful, fun-looking box of polish, but now I know that I was wrong. Very wrong.

I couldn't get this kit out of my head, and I ended up buying four of them- two of the large, and two of the small.

Just look at this box! How could I pass this up?! I needed this! The box says:
Sally Hansen Nail Glam Party Pack
13 Amazing Nail Essentials
Get Great Stuff!
Your Party Pack Includes:
6 Great Nail Colors
2 Nail Treatments
5 Manicure Tools
____________________
13 Amazing Nail Essentials

Glam party! Amazing nail essentials! GET GREAT STUFF! Six great nail colors!! How could this be anything but awesome?

I mean, look up close at what the lady on the package is wearing:
Blue, hot pink, red, purple and silver 'skittles'! Wow, this is just the coolest nail gift set ever!!!

But I must have been a naughty girl this year, because all I got in my stocking was a big fat lump of FAIL:


WTF?!!!!! What the hell is this?!?! Where are the bright cheerful colors advertised on the front of the box? WHY WOULD YOU PLAY THIS CRUEL JOKE ON ME, SALLY HANSEN?! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?!?!?!

Look at this! Out of the six "GREAT NAIL COLORS" I was supposed to get (oops, left one out of this picture! It was a duplicate and it's pictured below), this one was completely clear:
No, you're not imagining this. That bottle of clear nail polish clearly says Sally Hansen Nail Color on the front. Yes, Nail Color. What color is this, exactly?

But, hey, it's not all bad! Look! I got one of those amazing Sally Hansen Fire Opal Nail Glazes!



...NOT!

Seriously, what kind of a sick, demented joke is this? Putting clear nail polish inside a Fire Opal polish bottle. Some sadistic bastard must have created these nail sets. "They think they're getting a Fire Opal Nail Glaze but it's really just clear polish in a clever disguise! Muahahahahaaa!!! "

This just pisses me off. I try not to get too worked up over nail polish, but come ON! WTF IS THIS SHIT?!?! ARE THEY SERIOUS?!?!?! Does the package not clearly say, "Get Great Stuff!"? Does it not say, "Nail Glam Party Pack"? I don't know what kind of party they had in mind... a wake? Whatever party they're having, I'm glad I wasn't invited.

How about we take a little peek at what the other sets had inside.

Like I said, I got two of each kit. This is the second large kit. Let's see here, we have pale pink (duplicate from the first set), clear inside a Fire Opal bottle, yet another clear, ugly mauve, ugly coral, boring ugly mauve red in a square bottle (also a duplicate from the first set).

Here's one of the smaller kits:

Oh, this one is a Nail Glam Salon. How special.

I think this salon probably won't be in business very long. Two sheer pinks and a red. Tres chic, no?

What's even worse is that none of the bottles even have labels:



They're all completely blank. No shade names. Nothing. You aren't even allowed to know the name of the ugly colors you got in your kit.

It's like they just took whatever leftover bottles they had sitting around and filled them with the lamest polishes they could think of. Instead of just throwing out what they couldn't sell, they packaged it up in a deceptive little package and sold it for $10! Genius! Make them think they're getting what's advertised and then watch the disappointment on their gullible faces as they open the box only to find clear, pink and mauve!

I have always thought favorably of Sally Hansen. They consistently make some of the most beautiful and creative polishes of all. I have so many awesome Sally Hansen polishes. Nail Prisms, Fire Opal and Star Opal Nail Glaze, Magical Nail Makeup, Salon, Lacquer Shine, Xtreme Wear Hard As Nails, Chromes, I could go on and on. How could a company that has made such incredible and unique products sell such a horrible and deceptive box of garbage? It's not like they have a shortage of good polish to put in those boxes! At least give me one out of six! If I got one good polish out of one of those boxes, maybe just one Magical, a Prism, or even just a color that's not pink, mauve or red, I would be a happy girl. But no. Nothing. At all.

I wouldn't have a problem with these Nail Glam sets if they weren't so deceptive. The box is bright and colorful, decorated with blocks of vibrant colors. The model is clearly seen wearing several different shades of polish. The box even says,"Nail Glam" and "Get Great Stuff!". It is false advertising, plain and simple. If the box had said, "Boring Pink and Mauve Nail Salon" or "Grandma Gertrude's Ladylike and Uninteresting Nail Party Kit" or "Polishes We Put In The Wrong Bottle And Can't Sell Because They're Defective Super Awesome Happy Fun Time Value Kit" I wouldn't be complaining. But I am complaining because that's not what it says on the box. The box is bright pink and blue and says Nail Glam Party Kit. It's a lie.


I have no tolerance for false advertisement. The consumer gets screwed enough as it is even without false advertising. This really gets my panties in a bunch. Bright packaging. Model with cool polish. Claims of "glam" and "great" product. Clear nail polish being sold as a color. Fire Opal bottle filled with clear polish. Am I over-reacting? Should I not be upset about this? This is deceptive and dishonest! Of course I should be upset about this!

So, I suppose this is my warning to you, my fellow nail junkie. Beware of false advertising or anything that seems to good to be true.


Tee hee.... Had to do it.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Reader request: Silver Holographic Comparisons

Ack! I've been meaning to post this for over a week, but my life has been crazytown and I just haven't gotten a chance.

Here's a couple of comparisons between some silver holographic polishes.


Index and middle: Color Club Magic Attraction
Ring and pinkie: OPI Paris Couture For Sure


Index and Middle: OPI Paris Couture For Sure
Ring and Pinkie: OPI Designer Series Coronation

The biggest difference between Paris Couture For Sure and Coronation is that Coronation is slightly darker and more grey with more scattered looking holo, while Paris Couture For Sure is more silvery with somewhat more uniform holo .



Index: OPI Designer Series Coronation
Middle: China Glaze OMG
Ring: Sally Hansen Magical Nail Makeup Crystal Ball
Pinkie: OPI Paris Couture For Sure.

Sally Hansen Crystal Ball is by far the most "holo" holo I own. I don't own Chanel Holographic, but I can see them being close in level of holographic awesomeness. I don't even know why I put the two OPIs in this picture because, as you can see, they don't even begin to compare.


Hope this is helpful! I have a lot of things I want to post this week. Let's hope I can actually be able to sit down and post them :)

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Scrangie Goes Green!

That's right... I'm giving up my nailpolish and my car and my AquaNet and I'm gonna SAVE THE PLANET!!!!!!!!!!!!!


LOL, you didn't think I was serious, did you? Me, the Queen of Chemicals???

Well, one thing I *am* going to do is post pictures of green polish. There are not enough green polishes in the world, but I've rounded up the greens from my collection and I'm going to post them here for all to admire.

I will most likely have to do this in three or four installments, so consider this Part One!

On to the greens!

I'll start off with some more common and well-loved greens:


China Glaze Gussied-Up Green


Color Club Limelight


Misa Green With Envy


Misa Toxic Seduction


NARS Zulu


Zoya Suvi


Zoya Tangy


Sinful San Fransisco


New York Summer Amaranth


Nubar Green Tea


NYX Las Vegas


Nubar Grass Green


OPI Green-Wich Village


China Glaze Outta Bounds


Rescue Beauty Lounge Recycle


Sinful Show Me The Way


Sally Hansen Glow


Rimmel Camouflage


Revlon Lush Lime


Sally Hansen Emerald City


Many, many more to come!

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