Given the current pace of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in my state and the large percentage of folks who refuse to act like responsible adults, I'm feeling it's going to be a long time before I can get back to display hunting the way I went about it in the Before Time, ranging far and wide and browsing in multiple locations of the same chains to see what I could see. Now, I mostly stay close to home, go into far fewer stores, and aim to get in and get out of those quickly. I did recently take a field trip to the county next to mine where they have more shopping options. I tried double masking for the first time, putting an N95 under a cloth mask, figuring with so many not masking at all around here, I needed to protect myself more. I didn't go to all the stores I would have in the Before Time, but I still managed to see a fair number of displays. Obviously some were already picked over since I didn't catch them soon enough after they were put out like I can when I'm in the stores every week or so instead every few months or more. That's life in the pandemic. Still, it felt good to do a bit of shopping in person and feel that thrill of turning into an aisle and seeing new polish.
At Target, I saw a brand of fake nails that was new to me: Clutch Nails. The package says they're reusable, so I'm curious how that works, especially since they appear to be glue ons.
Essie's winter collection was old news by the time I was out and about; I saw this sidekick at Fred Meyer. Left to right: Love at Frost Sight (slot filled with what looks like Licorice), Twinkle in Time, Bonbon Nuit (sold out), In a Gingersnap (sold out), Peppermint Condition, Sugarplum Fairytale.
The shelftop I saw at Walgreens had some of the winter shades and a whole lot of randoms stuck in there. Front row: Love at Frost Sight, Twinkle in Time (sold out), Bonbon Nuit, In a Gingersnap (sold out), Peppermint Condition, Sugarplum Fairytale.
Walgreens had a sidekick with the Essie Valentine's collection, Cupid's Beau, and the Not Red-y for Bed collection (no idea what season/occasion that's for). Top row (Valentine's): Glow and Arrow, Heart of Gold, Gilded Goddess, Cupid's Beau, Love is in the Air, Tug at the Harpstrings. Middle row: Pillow Talk-the-Talk (two slots), The Snuggle is Real, Gossip 'n' Spill, Slumber Party-on. Bottom row: Not Red-y for Bed, PJammin' All Night, Sleepover Squad, Wink of Sleep, From A to ZZZ.
Rite Aid had Essie Not Red-y for Bed in a shelftop display.
Fred Meyer had a shelftop display with Essie Cupid's Beau.
I saw the Essie Spring 2021 collection at a second Walgreens I stopped at (I was only going to do one store per chain, but this second one was right there on my way home and I was weak): Get Oasis, Cacti on the Prize, Retreat Yourself, Light as Linen, Infinity Coat, and You Know the Espadrille. Interesting assortment of colors for spring, I'd say.
There's a Target-exclusive Essie collection called Keep You Posted (in an annoying backlit section of the nail polish wall. Left to right: Happy as Cannes Be (two slots), Berlin the Club, Madrid for the 'Gram, Rome Around, No Place Like Stockholm (two slots), Been There London That (two slots).
There are new shades of Essie Expressie. I saw them at Fred Meyer. Front row: Millennium, Mall Crawler, Dial It Up (slot filled with Binge-Worthy), Up Up & Away Message, Shook. Second row: In the Modem, What the Tech, Turn Up the Century (slot filled with Buns Up), Skip the Track, We Don't Mesh. (Third & fourth rows are mix of new and old shades.)
There was a corner cap at Walgreens with Impress Color press on nails on top (a new line, all solid colors, some "creme", some shimmer) and Dashing Diva Gloss strips on the bottom (some solid color sets, some with accent designs).
Fred Meyer had an OPI display that once was filled with the holiday collection but now was a mix of empty slots, random OPIs that didn't belong, and some of the holiday colors. I was not going to take the time to straigthen it out what with the infection rate in that county. Top row: Merry in Cranberry (sold out), Red-y for the Holidays, Let's Take an Elfie, Tinsel Tinsel Little Star (slot filled with random grey and some blues), To All a Good Night (slot filled with random blue), Heart and Coal (slot filled with a different rancome blue). Bottom row: Naughty or Ice, Snowfalling for You, This Shade is Ornamental (LA Colors clear shoved in front of slot), Dressed to the Wines, This Gold Sleighs Me, Gingerbread Man Can.
Target had PopSockets Nails, kits with fake nails coordinated with a phone grip. That's new.
At the next-closest Walmart to my local one (an hour's drive from it), I found a new line from Revlon tucked into one of the makeup aisles. I only went looking there because I'd found a bottle I didn't recognize abandoned on a random endcap where I was looking for displays. It's called Revlon Ultra HD Snap, and is a one-coat quick dry line (also 20-free, which seems ridiculous to me ... at what point are they touting taking things out that were never going to go in there in the first plae, or things that were inocuous?). I thought the fake polish pouring out of the display was eye-catching (just hope it doesn't give the cretins who regularly deface displays any new ideas).
I don't know if these were selling fast or just being put out or what; there were several slots that were empty, so it was nice that the colors were shown on the labels below the slots. Top row: Early Bird, Keep Cool (strange name for a warm beige), Birthday Suit (empty), Basic, Marigold Maven, Hot Stuff, She's on Fire, Cherry on Top (empty).
Bottom row: Rule the World (empty), Berry Blissed (empty), So Shady, Get Real, Grounded (not here, but no empty slot ... oddly this row only has room for seven shades), Daredevil, Commander in Chief, Under My Spell. (These bottles were covered in what looked like cardboard dust; in the Before Time, I would probably have wiped them off.)
There are some new "Prismatic Shine" shades of Sally Hansen Insta Dri. Walgreens had them, along with a bunch of existing colors, in a shelf top display. Slots for new shades in front: Moonstone (sold out), Cosmic Blu (sold out), Glow Getter, Conjure Copper, Pink Aurora, Purple Prism, The Future is Fuchsia, Celes-tial, Powerslide (these last three seem to be new glitters, not Prismatic Shine shades), Confetti Pop, Twinkle Twinkle (sold out).
At the second Walgreens I went to, they seemed to be in the process of resetting their Insta Dri display, and they had new colors missing from the shelftop I'd seen earlier. Twinkle Twinkle is top row, fourth from left. Two slots over is Moonstone. Cosmic Blu is the darker of the two blues on the bottom row.
There are also new shades of Sally Hansen Good Kind Pure, which Walgreens had in a shelf top display with many existing colors. I had to wait 'til I got home to Google which new shades made up the Wildflower Collection referred to on the display. Front row: Hardener, White Tea, Frosted Amethyst (new), Pinky Clay, Lavender Haze (new), Pink Sapphire, Crystal Blue, Pink Cloud, Eco-Rose. Back row: Island Coconut cuticle oil (new), Top Coat, Soft Plum, Passion Flower (new), Warm Cacao (new), Honey Harmony (new), Natural Spring (new), Pink Cardamon, Laven-dear.
The Valentine's themed Sally Hansen Miracle Gel display I saw at Fred Meyer didn't have any new shades, but it did have six existing colors with special Godiva cap wraps. They're in the front row: Sheer Happiness, Out of this Pearl, Saturn It Up, Can't Beet Royalty, Beet Pray Love, Get Mod.
The other Sally Hansen Miracle Gel display I saw at Fred Meyer did have new shades in it, the Rainbow Lights collection. As with the Good Kind Pure, the new shades are mixed in with old ones here. Front row: Sunken Treasure, Saturn It Up (slot is for Once Chiffon a Time, which is new, and which wasn't in this display), Can't Beet Royalty (slot is for Tutu the Ballet, which is new, and is the beige you can see behind Can't Beet Royalty here), Rain-glow (new), One Shell of a Party (new), Get Mod (slot is for top coat), Shiny Top Coat. Back row: Beet Pray Love, Sun-shower (new), Giving Altitude (new), Sugar Fix, Crying Out Cloud (new), Beet Pray Love, Sugar Fix.
There wasn't much new to see at my Ulta, but I did spot this almost empty display for Scratch nail wraps (i.e. strips).
Neither of the Walmarts I was in this round had any new SinfulColors. For those, I had to go to Target, where the new scented Essenchills were tucked into the nail polish wall. Left to right: Bath Goals, Eucalyptahhh, Low Key Lavender, Chamomile Calm, Beach Vibes, Coffee Drip, Salt Bath Babe, Smoky Palo Santo.
In my local Walmart, where I sometimes have to go to get things my grocery store doesn't carry, I saw a new line from Wet 'n' Wild called Fast Dry AF. The display says of these: "Dries in 40 seconds. 5-day extended wear. 1-stroke application". Top row: X-Ray Vision (3 slots), Lovey Dove-y (2 slots), Ballerina Dropout (2 slots). Second row: Throwing Shade (2 slots), Sorry I'm Latte (2 slots), Cotton Candy (2 slots), Heels on the Beach (sold out). Third row: Red Light District (2 slots), Happy Rosy Day (2 slots), Get Stoned (2 slots), Toasted. Bottom row: Southern Belle, Potassium-Rich, Out of Pistachios (sold out), Mermaids Do Exist (sold out), Sin-derella, Putting on Airs, Married into Royalty.
I got lucky at the only Rite Aid I've been in in months: they had an untouched display of the Wet 'n' Wild Fast AF. Front row: X-Ray Vison, Lovey Dove-y, Ballerina Dropout, Sorry I'm Latte, Cotton Candy, Heels on the Beach, Happy Rosy Day, Red Light District, Southern Belle. Back row: Toasted, Potassium-Rich, Out of Pistachios, Mermaids Do Exist, Sin-derella, Putting on Airs, Married into Royalty, Get Stoned, Throwing Shade.
I look forward to someday being able to roam about at will again; until then, these infrequent forays to limited places nearby will have to do.
