Chateau Stamping

As you know, or mayn't, I am pulling photos from my old stash of "to be posted" along with some new polishes. Kind of mixing it up as I get back into the stream of posting on a regular basis.

Here is one that I almost passed on posting, but it keeps catching my eye.

Sally Hansen Silver Lining (a 2010 Tracy Reese collection original!) topped with Color Club's Take Me to Your Chateau:

 I love the combination!

Silver Lining has a faint blue sparkle built in and my photo doesn't do it justice at all.

I did not write down the plate number, so I don't have any idea what it could be, but I think it's a Pueen.

thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Brushing off the Cobwebs on Sally Hansen Opals

Spring is here, hope and sorrow combined. 

Here's a polish from happier days.

Sally Hansen Star Opal 05 Pale Pink.

This is two coats over navy blue and the emerald green flash really wails under flash.

Alone it is just a sad and milky polish that didn't thrill me enough to make a solo shot.

Here is the purple shift:

You can see the navy/purple and it is a pleasure.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal! 

Pax!

Old Sally Hansen and Her Roses

 Here I am with another vintage Sally Star Opal. 

Rose Gold 04. The Rose part is a mystery, but onward.

A deep stem green, perhaps, but a blackened green for sure. 

This is two coats over black. You can see it is a somewhat loose formula.

But the deep green satisfies.

Then the shift:

I mean, really! The deep plum with a scant pink shimmer just delights me.

I did try it alone, but there was no rose or gold.

Findable on the usual suspects for vintage polish: eBay, blog sales, vintage polish groups on Facespace. 

Thanks so much for reading my little nail polish journal!

A Star, A Star

Been playing with the old Sally Hansen Opals. In retrospect those were some crazy great times in nail polish with pigments that only now are approaching that kind of greatness.

This one is Star Opal 03 Fire Opal. Let's play with the light, shall we?

 Two coats over black, a delightful deep redwood shade that seems fitting with the current trend in lip colors.

But it just keeps getting better:

It shifts to this golden yellow that is so pretty.

Then:

Here is this deep mushroom shade with the golden shimmer peeking out.

Altogether a very unique shade in my collection. I am sure there are pigments in the indie realm, but I don't know if a pure shimmer one exists. 

You may be able to find this on eBay or a blog sale.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Sally Hansen Star Opal 02 (reboot)

I am going through my older polishes with a more stern eye, so I've got a project of redoing the Sally Hansen Opals with an eye on thinning out the collection.

I purged 01, as it was too thick to layer and to unimpressive and difficult to use on its own. 

Here is Star Opal 02:

One coat over navy, the green really popped, but it's more of a chartreuse than a bright Christmas green.

Here is the more common shift:

A pretty eggplant shimmer with a silvery highlight.

I tried a second coat, but it got milky and virtually useless.

I am keeping one bottle but purging any backups of this one. The payoff just isn't there. And as I delve deeper into my duo and multi chromes I am sure there will be better representatives. 

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A Closer Look at Sally Hansen Spectrum

Please note: this is a post from 2013(!!!) The link to the image was broken so I scouted out the original and fixed it.

Sally Hansen Spectrum, an older Hi Definition collection polish.

Since summer is here, these swimming pool blues seem appropriate.

(as an aside I love how SH uses skewed spellings like Xtreme and Hi Def and Insta Dri)

Sally Hansen has had three iterations of this line, that I am aware of: A more neutral line that looks like it was LE, then the Crayola colored shimmers, finally the glass fleck shimmers.
The most recent collection is on the Sally Hansen website, but it doesn't appear that consumers can do more than favorite, wish list, or review them.

Alright!

Spectrum is a rich glass fleck shimmering turquoise blue which possesses a green/purple shift within.

Here it is alone:

Four coats. Sheeeeeer. But you can see pops of blue and green. Under lamps the green fluorescent light pulls green. Tried to correct it, but you can see that it does have a greenish tint here.


Here it is over black:

Now the blue comes out a bit more, cerulean blue waters on a moonlit evening.
Enlarge and the purple is also apparent! Nice!
This is two coats of Spectrum.


I pulled out Maybelline Cosmic Blue. It's been blogged before and holds up as a bright, clean, sky blue turquoise.

I thought it would be an interesting base.

Two coats.

I am not sure I feel this is super great, but it really looks as though it is the right match for the original color which takes care of the sheerness. The other colors don't really show up as much. But, the color shift in the bottle is nominal and really requires peering at the bottle a little bit more closely under lamps or sunlight, nothing will come in normal room light or a cloudy day.

Enjoyable color, Sally definitely did a fine job though I can't understand why her formula is just slow to dry. I figure her ingredient list is just at some profitability margin that keeps these polishes at their price point. OTOH, the drug store price point has never been super low. These ran originally at least 5.49, and I somehow am unable to ever time/find coupons.
Fortunately it's on the 'bay and all over blog sales.

If you love this finish, love a layering polish, I recommend Spectrum, Byte, DVD and Laser in this Hi Def line.

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Thanks for reading!

Sally Hansen Emerald Amethyst

I have a stash of Sally Hansen Prisms that I found at the Dollar Tree (oh the day!) and realize I haven't really swatched them excessively.

Here is Emerald Amethyst:

It's a metallic purple with a hint of warmth from a wine undertone. 

I could not capture the green shift, despite my best attempts.

Three coats and no top coat here.

I really enjoy the metallic finish of the shimmer. 

These are available on eBay and blog sales on occasion, so if you are a fan or a collector you may want to keep an eye out.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

A Not Quite Right Nude for Me

I am so excited by the progressive change in lingerie, foundation makeup, and a whole inclusive arena that lends itself to more products for more people.

As someone with thick hair on my head that is also very dark, I have heard hundreds of hair dressers squawk at how thick it is, how much there is, and how long it takes them to cut it. I even had one gal shave the nape of my neck against my better judgement (I need to just stop being so nice, that took a solid 3 years to grow out). I won't discuss the percentage who can't seem to add layers without making me look like Bozo.

In the "nude" nail polish category I find the thinking still is along the beige lines and any other shade gets yet another name rather than "nude". Nude is a huge range, just like people on earth.

My personal "nude" is still probably out there, or at least untried, for sure. 

Here is OPI Baring It All topped with Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Crystal Watermelon:

I think it's a nice shade, but a bit light for me, though it is fairly neutral as far as light beige goes. 

My favorite thing though is to top the polish off with a glass fleck, the base of which is a little pink in its base and thus caused the whole thing to look, well, a bit too pink.

I have two coats of the OPI and one of the SH.

I think that the glass fleck is the redemption for me.

Formula thoughts: OPI was a bear. It is a black label, and the formula did that terrible thing where the top coat dries it and then it is molten underneath: slow to dry and inevitably I ding it.

I did peer into the OPI lacquer site (they don't call their extended wear or gel "lacquer", but I digress) and didn't see this one, though I did see a blog post where someone found it at TJ Maxx, so who knows where I found this one, I think the same place. 

Their splash page for nudes is filled with a pale graphic aesthetic, then the do populate with more shades. You can see it's a work in progress. That is, to quote Martha Stewart, a good thing.

Looking at the old Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Crystal Watermelon, well, I have such low expectations about dry time, that it must have been a bit of a formula clash with the OPI, because I am sure this was a contributor. On the other hand, it's a gorgeous topper and as I thin it, it's hard to fault.

OPI will move along to maybe some stamping as it does cover deceently, and of course SH will go back into it's topper drawer.

Little Jemma update: since she has been really down and introverted due to sudden blindness we have sort of been her "seeing eye people" while she learns the ropes. The book by Caroline Levin (apparently the best thing ever) spends a lot of time on training, etc, but Jemma is sort of a little pug person who is very introverted for a pug, so there isn't any choke chain or bossing her around. Trying to make the world she lives in friendly, safe, and easier to navigate.

It's long days and long evenings to help her do the basics like getting enough hydration, potty breaks, eye drops, etc.

I have found a stash of old photos that I will be tossing out because it's always fun to do that.

This manicure is fairly recent, from the 11th.

I keep my mildly blog on the down low, but I am not pumping out all the latest stuff, so I appreciate all 20-30 of you who actually read this! A LOT!! ;)

Marching Forward, Carrying the Old on Our Shoulders

Here's a kitchen sink of layering that I won't say didn't turn out just right.



Here's a combo that I really enjoyed:

This is in the sunshine.

I admit my cuticles are so dry, many apologies.

It's so weird how my camera couldn't pick up the depth and play with the flakies.

The layers:

• Revlon Top Speed Emerald
• Color Club Lady Liberty (blogged here)
• Sally Hansen Aisle Be there (blogged here)
• Finger Paints Motley

I really liked it.
Sally Hansen Aisle Be There is a pretty oddly shaped flake, almost a semi glitter, like a flake of pearl or something akin to it, I have nothing like it, really. Sadly this whole line has gone the way of the Dodo. You might find it at the dollar place, or ebayland. You never know. Worth a look. Unique.

Here's Revlon Emerald all alone:

I call this more of a Kelly green, but it works out as a nice base.

And now we have it with Color Club Lady Liberty:

I confess this was the scene-stealer for me! I wore this for several days and just adored it. Well done Color Club!

Here it is again:

Here it is with flash. Loved this a lot.



Thanks so much for reading my little nail journal!

Old Polishes Making New Layerings

Normally I try to hit the new stuff, but sometimes I want to share the old stuff. I do that a lot on this blog, so this isn't the home of latest and greatest ever, really.

I have blogged Rimmel Steel Grey before as well as Sally Hansen Take The Leap, in fact, the Sally Hansen has had two outings!

Here is the combo:

My goal was to find a base that would work with this not wholly transparent topper.

I love this a lot.

It's three coats of Rimmel (a total favorite liver-y shade of taupe) and a couple coats of Take The Leap.

Then I added a matte top coat (Old NYC, now discontinued).

It reminds me of a cloudy day, evening, it's late winter, it will snow, but the dusk still has let the purple creep in before it's dark.

Winter has been hard for many, even if it's a late one. We have a phenomenon around here called the February Fake Out. Normally winter, well winter: snow, wind, cold, dark. Then in February there is this spate of springtime that just makes me love it around here. I wash my heavy down coats, I nearly put my thermals away. Then March trots in and reminds me that my notions of spring are cockeyed and to put my coat on.

This winter we had a balmy, mild one, then February just lost its mind. It's still in need of a back rub and a good talking to.

Meanwhile this polish fits the dreary bill.




Polygel Notes

Much flatter, though it's not super apparent, and shorter, too.

I've been bolder about replacing things that lift and even more bold about filing. Own it, basically, not pussyfooting around to get a better shape.

It's still hard with the non-dominant hand, but we are working around it.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Rainbows

Back in the Early Days of this blog, I found a lot of Sally Hansen Prisms at the Dollar Tree. One stood out. Rainbow Presents.

I don't know what syllable the emphasis is on in the word "presents" but I kind of like it when it's on the last one.

Here are some shots:

Three coats, over the Polygel. It's a blast to see the shift from aqua to blue through to purple. I didn't push it into the red berry shade, but it can go there.

A beautiful pure shimmer that really works out the color shift. 

Formula is typical Sally of that era: a bit slow to dry, and a bit touchy, but not really as bad as I seem to be making it out. I think this shift is not uncommon and available in the indie realm. Though at this writing, I think finding a plane Jane version would be a challenge.

Segue into my next offering, Noodles Nail Polish Warm Bodies.

Some photos: 

This is from a limited edition collection through For The Love of Polish Box from October 2017. It's on the Polished for Days site, and there is a supporting Facebook group.

This one is a beauty. No love lost for the mixed media of shimmer, holo and glass fleck, it's a color bomb.

It shifts with the same precision as Rainbow Presents, so the underlying pigment is the same.

The polish is not on the Noodles Nail Polish site now, but there are some other tasty items. Definitely take a peek. If you really need Warm Bodies, check out some blog sales, destashing might be the only option.

I have wanted to swatch Rainbow Presents for years. Too many years. Sally was doing some magic back in the day!!!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Prim and Proper

Bye and bye I knew that Zoya would produce a blue that I would love so much.

Prim is just that shade.

Prim is a beautiful metallic "velvet" blue according to Zoya. I call it a dusty cornflower, or muted periwinkle.

Metallic is a tough finish. The particles are super fine, so it can show brushstrokes, which mine definitely does. It also shows flaws, so in a lot of ways it's like a chrome. I think this is why I love foils, because you get the metal, but a highly forgiving finish!

I think it shows my old nail damage too much, so I tossed on a couple coats of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Watermelon Crystal, a sheer glass fleck.

Prim would be wonderful for stamping, it just covers so well.

Zoya has been kicking up the colors. For me they've replaced OPI as my "go-to" for exciting collections and interesting salon brand finishes.

Their sales - which seem to be at least two big ones a year at this point - bring their price point much lower than most drug store brands, save just a few. I will say that they are worth a look. I buy through the sales and though turnaround is often a product of high volume, I get the loot and life is good.


I will be stamping more, it's just that my nails are a really wonky and weird, so I am just pushing through until things grow out more.


Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Leaping Back In To Layering

So, I have been remiss. I admit it. Since getting into facespace I've been getting tangled into sad kittens, cute pugs, indie limited editions, the horse stuff, beading stuff and....well...all the stuff.

I have been accumulating some swatches, plus I have some old ones. The time is, in a word, now, to get it done.

Here's a pretty combo that mimics a lot of the new multi combo polishes that indies are concocting.

Color Club Alter Ego topped with Sally Hansen Take The Leap and Glass Slipper:

The base: Alter Ego
Middle: Take The Leap
Top: Glass Slipper

My Glass slipper has turned yellow, it always was a champagne color, but the large almost flakie size component is very unique.

Here is another photo:

You can see the silvery glass fleck.

It does look otherworldly and very ethereal.

If you try this, it would be super easy to add a holo topper into one of the layers or as the last layer. I skipped that part, but it would easily fit.


I believe with some poking around you can find these polishes pretty easily online. I know that the Sally Hansen's are no longer at the stores, but definitely on eBay and places like that.


Thanks again for reading my little nail polish journal!

Vapid Seire

Here's a sheer, dupable polish I think is pretty, but am sorry I spent a dime on it.

Vapid Seire

Two coats over Sally Hansen Gray after Gray.

I will admit that I could probably dupe this with the SH and Pure Ice Heartbreaker just fine.

This is where indies need to slow down.

Ugh.

I am so disgusted with myself for buying this polish.  Normally I'm like, hey, whatever, but when I'm buying a dupe of cheap layering polish that's enough to tick me off a bit.

THEN to see how darn sheer it was, just make me so mad. I mean two coats and it's just not happening without a base. 

I don't mind lots of layers, but when a brand is so hyped and the result is such a drag and such a disappointment, it's time to just steer clear.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal.

Reblog: Sally Hansen Star Opal 02

Here's a quickie: Sally Hansen Star Opal.

These are quite old compared to the array of multichrome choices coming out of the indie world.

I popped this over Nicole by OPI Bah Plumbug. Wait, I think I have this for sale on the blog sale, but  it's not selling, might as well use it! (I am doing more sorting/purging/etc...shipping is free, go take a look!)

Sally Hansen Star Opal 02

Late night photo sessions with the phone and flash and a secondary daylight corrected 100 watt LED bulb. 

Two coats and not able to grab the silver/green shift, but it's there. It's like a frosty Zoya Ki.

In less direct lighting, the purple diffuses into a soft silver purple, not dissimilar to Dior Silver Purple. Then if you move at certain angles it starts out sage green and will, with some work, give you a nice green.

One coat is probably recommended, as it can get milky and you can see it somewhat on my ring finger.

These are, as expected, slow as heck to dry. You can see a smudge on my index finger.

Poking around the usual spots, it's not hard to find these Opals, and they do sell, so prices aren't rock bottom, but they aren't super popular, either. Though some prices surprise. Good to see the vintage market isn't deader than a laboratory frog.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Cap Matching

Back in the day "matchy match" beat "goes with" all day, every day.

There was a bespoke quality to it: your shoes and bag, your belt and gloves, your nails and your lipstick. You looked not merely coordinated, but it looked back on to pre-industrial crafted clothing made from materials that were not mass produced and workmanship that was by hand.

I have had these old Dollar Store Sally Hansens around for a long, long, long time. I love the shades, and I really regret dumping many of these after trying out this franken. (Gah!)

Okay, so what was I doing? I wanted to do two things:
1 - Add enough body to the polish without losing its shade intention to give a sheer polish better coverage
1 - Match the Sally Hansen cap.

Simple enough, no?

Well my biggest challenge was that this was a finite quantity of polish and that if messed up, game was up.

See what you think.

Sally Hansen Zippy Frost frankened with Color Club Ready to Royal

Ready to Royal is a deep vamp purple (blogged here, crying for a reblog) that has a red violet undertone. I think colors like this are superb for frankening into pale shades.
To keep on track, though, I added about 1/2 a teaspoon to this bottle. There was a fair amount of evaporation and usage!

I blogged Zippy Frost a long time ago here. I think the purple just adds a richness it lacked in its first iteration.

I love this chocolate mauve shade. The purple comes out a bit, but it doesn't really do it on the nail, which is fine. I may add more Ready to Royal as space allows, but right now, it's so creamy and frosty a the same time. Love it!

Here's a photo of the bottle and cap:

You can see the red violet purple coming out here much better.

Nearly a match!

Now you can see why I have sudden regret over purging a lot of my old Sally Hansen matching cap polishes!!




Sally Hansen No Name frankened with Color Club Secret Rendezvous and  Sally Hansen Lively Lilac

It came out of a Dollar Tree pack and had the bottom half of the back label scraped off and there was no top label on the cap.

A gorgeous soft mauve pink with a great green shimmer, I tried to make it a topper, but it was in that realm of too milky to be a topper, too sheer to run solo. I really never found the right combo.

Here is a really old swatch. The green flash is not well served in any of my photos, but you can see it slightly in the early photo.

Looking at Lively Lilac, (blogged here and here) I knew it would add enough density, but could go too dark, so I grabbed CC Secret Rendezvous (blogged here) to lighten it up. CC SR isn't a one coater, so I knew it wouldn't obscure the shimmer.

This came out so well, I love it.


Such a win for both. Brushstrokes, I celebrated them!

I normally find frosts too sheer, but these are now quite a pair of favorites.

Thanks so much for reading my little nail polish journal!

The Unexpected Dupe

I've got a quick one: Sally Hansen Insta Dri Ruby rush and Sparitual Against the Grain.

Left to right:

Sally Hansen Insta Dri Ruby Rush

Sparitual Against The Grain

Sally Hansen Insta Dri Ruby Rush

Sparitual Against The Grain

Both are deep red wine shades, but both are so identical I really had to take notes on application.

I love the shade and think that the depth of the shimmer just makes me agog. It flames and dips into black. Gorgeous.

Against the Grain you can find on eBay, it is no longer on the Sparitual site that I can see.

Insta Dri is no longer in the Sally Hansen line up, either, so, too, eBay may be a good source.

Personally I love both, so I will say the difference my be the brush: Insta Dri brush is not for the faint hearted - or the small nail-bedded! 

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!!!

That Autumnal Feeling

Longer nights now, but not impossibly so, not like the dead of winter, just that long mellowing until dark.

Here's a polish I really have had for a long time, but needed to post, Nicole by OPI Bah Plum-bug.

To me less plum than purple, but naming certainly often falls into a realm that has less to do with color than punnage.

Here it is topped with Sally Hansen Glass Slipper

This is a translucent, well more like transparent, semi-flakie large glass fleck.

It has turned a bit yellow in my bottle, but goes on like a transparent white. More fleck than flake, but the size is nice.

It was a hot little wedding collection SH came out with a few years ago, no longer on the site, but easy to find to buy. I recommend "Aisle Be There" for toppers, it's a great one.

No complaints on this one, either, just not a thrilling combination.

I wonder if I am getting jaded! 

LOL!!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Twin Cupids

Eros got all the stories, Anteros but a few lines in Ovid.

Truth is love is nothing without love returned, hence Anteros.

Here's a polish that I picked up some time ago from Different Dimensions.

It's from their Valentine's Day 2015 collection.

Different Dimensions Anteros over Sally Hansen Strike It Rich Mauve

It's a micro glitter: packed with a soft rosy pink, gold and silver holographic metallic glitter.

I love how it feels like a Victorian novel, yet somewhat scifi at the same time. 

I put it over an oldie and just love the combination.

Blogged here, this creme is still in the stable after many a purge!

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!

Deep Olive Brown

I've been wanting to swatch a pair of polishes that are beautiful in the bottle and beautiful on the nail, too.

Here are Revlon Enthrall and Sally Hanson Complete Salon Manicure Sequin Scandal

From left to right:
Revlon Enthrall
Sally Hansen CSM Sequin Scandal
Revlon Enthrall
Sally Hansen CSM Sequin Scandal

Three coats each and though I think though they are super close, Revlon has a bit more luminosity to the glitter. I think the base isn't quite as dark as the Sally Hansen.

I found the Revlon at Big Lots! and the Sally Hansen I might  have paid full retail (yoiks!).

I like the Revlon a bit better.

Thanks for reading my little nail polish journal!