Friday, May 4, 2012

Sally Hansen Barely Blue Bell

Today I've got Barely Blue Bell from limited edition collection of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure that's in stores now. Apparently this is one of three colors from that collection that were done in partnership with designer Prabal Gurung (per the New York magazine website; the other two are Loves Me Not and Purple Posy). Barely Blue is right; I see more green than blue in this creme. I used two coats, no topcoat, for these swatches.





I would not have been at all surprised to find an exact dupe for this in my stash, since it's been well documented that minty green cremes of all tints and tones are a real weakness of mine. Holding my tips up to various nail wheels, the closest I could find was Essie Turquoise & Caicos, which you may remember from the recent Choc Mint comparison. From even earlier entries, you may also recall that I haven't figured out how to hold two bottles at once&msdash;but I'm still working on it.



On the nail, the Essie was just a touch more green than the Sally Hansen (so I guess the blue in the name of Barely Blue Bell does has some merit). The Essie was three coats to Sally's two. Left to right below, SH, Essie, SH, Essie.



Look closer; you can see the difference, right? Essie on the left, SH on the right:



At a bit of a distance, it is hard to see the difference; unless you're a serious collector, you probably don't need both. Barely Blue Bell would be my choice if I only could keep one, since it was only two coats (and I'm long since used to the fat flat Complete Salon brush) and the touch of blue makes it more flattering to my skintone.



Just for fun, I added some glitter on top of my comparison swatches. This is Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Let's Dance, also from a limited edition collection in stores now. It's silver and turquoise hex glitter in a clear base; I used one coat of it on top of the cremes.







I bought some other colors from this Complete Salon collection, even though none really looked that unique. What can I say? Sally Hansen and I go way back. If Cutex brand were still in stores here, I'd probably be powerless to resist those, too.

24 comments:

  1. Ooh I love that Let's Dance Jewel Overcoat is beautiful!

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  2. Pretty colour. I love that bottle style. Pity we don't have them here. Well, not impossible to get but never the current ranges.

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  3. I don't have minty greens so this one would be a nice shot! And more so if it's a 2 coater! :)

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  4. Really nice color - and I would have guessed that it was adupe, nice to learn it isn't :)

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  5. Such a dreamy color and I love the silver glitter paired with it!

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  6. I love these kinds of colors!!!! The glitter looks good!

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  7. wow thats such a pretty creme. it looks so smooth and creamy. & i love the glitter you used :)

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  8. Ooooh, I love what the glitter adds to this polish. Brings it all together nicely :D

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  9. these colors are my weakness as well!!! tempted to get this but my t&c will suffice! thanks for comparing!

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  10. I like the shape and length of your nails. They're pretty.

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  11. I kinda love this colour! Reminds me of China Glaze for audrey. I especially love it with the glitter on it :D

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  12. Oooh another mint green! Love these colors...I love Let's Dance with it!

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  13. I like this one more than the Essie since it is a bit more blue, but they are both gorgeous polishes!! ^.^

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  14. this looks stunning! love sally hansen over the top!

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  15. Let's Dance is so pretty! And I love it over that blue, too.

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  16. I like it! But I always buy shades in this color family so I had to resist picking it up. I really don't need a dupe.

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  17. I like the Sally Hansen the best! Both are lovely though!

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  18. I like Barely Blue Bell!

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  19. I'm powerless against these types of blue-y greens :( I love them so much! Thanks for the comp. I can't wait to the the next few SH swatches.

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  20. It may be dupey but its very pretty! The addition of the glitter took it to a whole different level though!

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  21. Tell us about the day you first met Sally-since you go way back! I need to get this Turks and Caicos since I don't have this color in my stash! But I'm trying really hard to be good-of course it starts again today since I bought 4 holos last night!

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  22. Where did you buy this?? I've been looking for the Prabal Gurung 2012 collection EVERYWHERE and I can't find it :( I'm so in love with Purple Posy and Barely Bluebell, and I really want to get them

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    Replies
    1. Nikki, I got Barely Blue Bell at CVS; I also saw the display at Ulta. I think some Walgreens got them, too.

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