Now this is what I call sorbet! Sally Hansen Smooth & Perfect Sorbet and Sea

Hey guys!  Long time, no blog?  I have been painting my nails and I have been taking pictures . . . sometimes, but for some reason the time slot I set to actually edit pictures and write a post just turns into  me looking for inspiration for my next manicure and the occasional bout of binge shopping.  I need this posting sesh right about now, because I have a final take-home exam due on Tuesday AND the final draft of my journal draft due Thursday night.  Usually I'd at least pretend to budget my time and work on one in advance, but I really only had a week between receiving my exam and the due date, and didn't receive comments on my note to get going on my draft until the night before that.  I'll get it done, cuz that's how I roll, but I'd rather be watching some fun tv, enjoying the weather, shopping, painting my nails and - wait - did I mention shopping?

Sally Hansen Sorbet and Sea (3 coats), topcoat, artificial light

Anyway, if you can remember a few weeks ago, I was obsessing over the coral and mint trend.  It has quickly gone from hard to find, to EVERYWHERE I look.  Even Sally Hansen got in on things with her new Smooth & Perfect collection which contains 8 lovely pastel shades.  One of our lovely readers recommended these and I was actually already wearing the exact shade she mentioned!  Great minds think alike.  I'm pretty sure they are 4 Free but that list of ingredients is mighty long.  I didn't read anything about these when I bought them, or even realize that they were new, but I did notice that they have a very unique texture.  They are definitely some sort of jelly/creme hybrid.  I've used that in the past to describe Zoya and Essie polishes, but this description seems even more true with these.  I think it's pretty funny that the coral shade is called "sorbet."  Does anyone remember the OPI Texas collection releasing the sorbet finish, which was actually just a straight up juicy jelly finish?  I think the name sorbet should refer to this squooshy pastel-ness.  According to the Sally Hansen site this is some new technology that allows more oxygen to your nail that it might "breathe" better.  Whatever it is, I like it a lot.

For this mani I used Sorbet, a light coral, for the majority of the mani and then did an accent nail with the pastel mint green color, Sea.  The formula on each was great and I really like the flat rounded brush that they include.  It takes 3 coats for opacity and they dry to a satin finish (even though I've seen some say it dried shiny?).  I used a coat of So Wet topcoat over these and liked the semi-gloss finish I ended up with.

Hope you all had a nice weekend!  Good luck with Monday!

~Shbecky

Old Mani Turned Monochromatic French Mani

Hello!! Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend. I've spent much of mine getting some work done and today I went dress shopping for a wedding, which was fun (minus the part about not finding a dress). Today - I turned my Wet & Wild mani into a monochromatic french mani, and wanted to share!

(glad I took a pic of this - looks like I have some clean up to do on my cuticles!!)

I noticed some tip wear earlier today and was SO eager to either take the polish off entirely or do SOMETHING to touch it up. And when I was having dinner with my mom, our waitress's mani (below) inspired me to paint on some tips.

I used a SUPER old Sally Hansen I had in my stash. There isn't even a name on this polish bottle, but it looks like a deeper red and applied like a berry color. I'm eager to try this polish as an entire nail but I was pretty stoked with the look. It is very subtle but different - and most importantly, no more tip wear to drive me NUTS!

Do you have any cool french mani color combos? I am eager to keep using this trick to cover up any premature tip wear.

Sony T

Sally Hansen: Plum Luck + Color Club Tru Passion

As much as I adore solid, opaque manicures. I had to throw something on these plum puppies to spruce 'em up a bit. Luckily, I had a bottle of Color Club Tru Passion. I bought this ages ago, for a couple of bucks max and I am so glad I finally got around to using it! This polish applies like a dream. It is made up of small square and larger hex glitter. The glitter is a bright purple, that in some light looks almost pink and in others, looks blue-ish.

1 coat of Tru Passion over Plum Luck mani (I had to show you the glittery gloriousness close up)

The more layers you apply of Tru Passion, the more opaque the coverage gets. I tried to show you this a bit in the pictures. My middle finger has one coat of True Passion while my ring finger has two coats. You can easily get away with wearing this glittery goodness on its own over a base coat - four coats should do the trick. But, I have to warn you - this polish is a PAIN to remove. This should come as no surprise, since each coat is packed with a ton of glitter. But I felt I had a "duty to warn" - that's for the legally educated followers out there, for the rest of you.. be happy you don't get the joke cause torts class was miserable.

1 coat of Tru Passion on middle finger & 2 coats of Tru Passion on ring finger (with flash, to show you the glitteriness), artificial light

1 coat of Tru Passion on middle finger & 2 coats of Tru Passion on ring finger, artificial light

1 coat of Tru Passion on middle finger & 2 coats of Tru Passion on ring finger, natural light

1 coat of Tru Passion on middle finger & 2 coats of Tru Passion on ring finger, natural light

I love this polish that packs a punch. But I will definitely use it (sparingly)! Court is adjourned.

Sony T

Sally Hansen: Plum Luck

Recently I've seen a TON of commercials about the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line - base coat, polish, and top coat in one. I had a few of these stashed in my giant polish drawer, so I pulled one out - a pretty plum, appropriately named Plum Luck. I was curious if this polish would live up to the commercial, and I think so far - it has!

4 coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Plum Luck, artificial light

4 coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Plum Luck, natural light

I am a fan of Sally Hansen polishes. They are affordable, available at most CVS's (and some grocery stores), and I always see a few must-have colors when I walk by them. This color grabbed my attention immediately. I adore deep, dark colors and this one stood out to me because the plum color had a warmth to it rather than a blue-ish cool undertone. And the color looks just as great on, as it does in the bottle. In natural light, as you will see below, the polish took on a cooler hue. I think this had a lot to do with the reflection off the sky, because in artificial light the polish takes on a beautifully warm dark purple color.

I did have to use four coats to get solid coverage though, which was a bit frustrating. I had a few bare spots after coat three and I think a part of that problem has to do with the Complete Salon Manicure brush. I know there are some mixed reviews on this brush, and Sally Hansen brushes in general. While I love the thickness of the brush, it is a bit stiff. I had to be SUPER careful not to drag the polish from the base of my nail with the brush, every time I added the next coat. On the plus side though, once I had all four coats applied, I didn't need a top coat. The polish has a super high gloss finish. I am assuming this is the faux top coat that the commercial speaks about. Looks great, but I am eager to see if it helps my manicure last.

Has anyone else used the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line? What are your thoughts? Did your manicure last?

Sony T

Sally Hansen Salon Effects: Laced Up

Hey all! Sorry it's taken me so long to post. I had a first post ready with Essie's Carnival but my cuticles were deemed too disgusting to show. I digress. I'm Eisenbrat, Shbecky's roommate and bad influence. We have lived together for 2 years now, and I feel almost fully responsible for starting the nail polish obsession. However, she has fully surpassed me in terms of amounts/types/brands of polish. I call it "Helmer status."

I am extremely brand loyal (or maybe stubborn) and you will hardly ever see me in anything but OPI or Essie, with the occasional Chanel splurge. Until now! My nails have turned an unsightly shade of yellow so I decided to take this chance to take a break from lacquer and try the much talked about Sally Hansen Salon Effects.

[Laced up]

Apologies for the awful photography. Hopefully we will all get better at shooting in artificial lighting as we get more experience.

Anyway, all salon effects come with 16 strips in varying shapes, detailed instructions, and a nail file. The instructions are extremely easy to follow and one hand only took me a few minutes, which is awesome. I love quick manicures and almost always finish mine off with Seche Vite quick dry top coat, so the easy application of these strips was appreciated.

[Finished product: I could not for the LIFE OF ME find a strip to fit my pointer finger...clearly]

[Thumb shot]

[One more for good measure, minus the wonky pointer finger]

I have also just painted my toes with OPI's San Tan-Tonio but I will spare you a snapshot of my feet. You're welcome. Pretty sure we are trying to gain readership, not lose it.

Verdict: Will definitely be using these again, although I will take more care with the application process.

-Eisenbrat