Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Halloween 2021

There was no question that I was going to buy the new Insta-Dri Sour Patch Kids shades that Sally Hansen released for Halloween this year. That was more challenging than it might have been, since I had to get them from three different sources. Left to right: Full Moon (never saw this in a store, got from the Target website), Slime All Yours (Walgreens exclusive), Oh My Gourd, and Hallo-Queen (these last two were more widely available; I think I got mine at Bed Bath & Beyond but might be remembering that wrong).

 

Full Moon, a blue base filled with tiny white glitter, looked to me like a combination of two shades from last year's Halloween collection, so I had to pull those out to compare. One my index finger (top): Boo-lue (from 2020) topped with First Sour Then Sweet (2020, rereleased this year). On my other digits, three coats of Full Moon. So obviously Full Moon isn't quite the same blue at Boo-lue, being a touch more turquoise. Full Moon is also more sheer to let the glitter show through. It also lets some visible nail line show; I think I might try Boo-lue (or another blue) as a base under two coats of Full Moon next time I wear it.

 

 

Slime All Yours is a green microflakie shimmer with pops of blue and lime as well as a scattering of tiny white hex glitter.

 

I wasn't sure how sheer Slime All Yours would be, so I hedged my bets by doing another layering experiment on my index finger. So on my index (top) I have Hallo-green (green creme from 2020) topped with one coat of Slime All Yours, then on my other fingers I have three coats of Slime All Yours.

 

 

 

 

Oh My Gourd is a glitter topper with hex glitter in pale yellow satin and white matter plus tiny pale yellow satin glitter in a clear base. Just looking at it in the bottle, it didn't say Halloween to me, more like Easter, so when I tried it, I first did orange creme tips with Pump-kid (from 2020, rereleased in 2021), then put on two coats of Oh My Gourd. The look has a sort of candy corn vibe.

 

 

Hallo-Queen is a another glitter topper. This one has large and medium satin hex glitter in pale orange, medium hex glitter in black, and square glitter in silver holo.

 

I put two coats of Hallo-Queen over R.I.P.-urple (from 2020, rereleased in 2021).

 

 

There were also two glow in the dark shades in this year's Halloween display that fooled me into thinking they were new, because their names weren't on my spreadsheet, but when I got them home, they looked suspiciously like two shades from last year. Left to right: Glowing Night (2020), Creep It Real (2021), Fa-BOO-lous (2021), Happy Hollow-een (2020).

 

On the nails, top to bottom (all three coats): Glowing Night, Creep It Real, Fa-BOO-lous, Happy Hollow-een. The 2021 version of the pink seems a bit more pigmented than the 2020 one but not dramatically so. The two margarita colored ones are indistinguishable from each other.

 

In the dark, all four glow evenly.

 

Slime All Yours is the standout for me in this group. I do like the two glitter toppers, too.

Wheel B15: Orange-Leaning Red Cremes

Nail Wheel Wednesday can be so unreliable. Shows up for a while then takes a week off for no good reason. There's no shortage of polish, that's for sure. There is a shortage of mental energy to sort those polishes, though, and a shortage of focus to get the wheels painted and the photos sorted and the posts written. Okay, perhaps it's me who's unreliable. Definitely it's me. As Eleanor says, "pobody's nerfect".

 

1. L'Oreal Red Robin (2 coats)
2. L'Oreal Caught Red-Handed (2)
3. L'Oreal Plaid Please (2)
4. Rescue Beauty Lounge Gondoliere (2)
5. SinfulColors Cross My Heart (3)
6. Essie Gel Couture Rock the Runway (2)
7. NYX Vinyl Red (2)
8. Nails Inc. Chelsea Bridge Road (2)
9. Sephora by OPI Pushing Your Luck (2)
10. Fresh Paint Lucky (2)
11. Fresh Paint Burning Flame (2)
12. Deborah Lippmann It's Raining Men (2)
13. L'Oreal Because You're Worth It Red (2)
14. Square Hue Fifth Avenue (2)
15. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Heritage Red (2)
16. Pop-arazzi Info Red (2)
17. Zoya Soko (2)
18. Zoya Hannah (2)
19. Studio M Pro Clementine (2)
20. Barielle Protect Plus Color Blushing Beauty (2)

Bottles 1 through 5:

 

6 through 10:

 

11 through 15:

 

16 through 20:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pop-arazzi Vacation Vibes

During my travels this summer to the land of CVS, I picked up some Pop-arazzi shades. Today I have the one holographic I chose from the Salon line (white caps). I only got one because a) I really should be on a permanent no buy given the size of my stash and b) I wasn't sure if the holo promise made by the bottle would translate to the nails. I selected Vacation Vibes, a royal blue holo shimmer that in the store lighting looked to lean a bit purple. This applied very nicely, no balding issues at all like holos can sometimes be prone to. I needed only two coats for full coverage. Under indirect light, there are just hints of rainbows showing, mosty in the the bottle.

 

 

Under direct room light, the rainbows come out of hiding more. For the $4.99 price tag on this, I was more than happy with the look.

 

In direct sunlight, this showed a pretty decent linear holo effect. I was impressed, especially given the price point.

 

 

 

I immediately wished I'd gotten the rest of the holo shades. If there were a CVS nearby, I'd probably already have run out and bought them, nevermind the fact I already have plenty of holos in my stash.

Wheel A15: Yellow-Green Shimmers

After a week off during which I went with Mr. Karen to visit with his family in the next state over, Nail Wheel Wednesday is back today with lime green shimmers, most on the lighter end of the value spectrum.

 

1. Bee's Knees Lacquer I Was a Survivor and I Was Strong (3 coats) [definitely can see the indie in this, lots going on in the shimmer]
2. Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Super Charge (3)
3. Bonita Salon Pear Me Up (3) [super subtle shimmer]
4. SinfulShine Sea Glisten (2)
5. SinfulColors Curry Up (3) [really close to being a dupe for #4 but this one has some extra shimmer]
] 6. Models Own Edamame (3)
7. LA Girl Fruity Watermelon Splash (3) [would be better as a topper, I think, but there is some variety in the shimmer that's great especially for a drugstore polish]
8. Wet 'n' Wild Wild Shine Nerd Alert: Screech (2)
9. Wet 'n' Wild Wild Shine Ghoul Time (2) [functionally a dupe for #8
10. Wet 'n' Wild Megalast Limelight (2)
11. Venique Rainy Day Boots (2)
12. Spoiled I'm So Jaded (2)
13. Milani Green Glow (2)
14. SinfulColors Sassy Lassie (3)
15. Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Ivy League (2) [this one has a nice soft glow to it thanks to the gold microshimmer]
16. Revlon Colorstay Bonsai (2)
17. Icing Money Tree (3) [no idea what happened to the label here]
18. Color Club Fly With Me (3)
19. Studio M Fly With Me (3) [18 & 19 are dupes in name and color; not surprising since it's the same parent company that makes them]
20. Kleancolor Metallic Green (2)

Bottles 1 through 5:

 

6 through 10:

 

11 through 15:

 

16 through 20:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SinfulColors Saweetie's Xtraterrestrial Effects

With Halloween coming up fast, I thought I'd best get to swatching the SinfulColors I grabbed from the big display at Walmart. The four limited editions for this year are part of the brand's collaboration with Saweetie; these are the Xtraterrestrial Effects. Left to right: Lil Beast, Icy Monstar, Baelien, and Big Mamaz Ship.

 

I started my session with Lil Monster, a spring green, applying two coats without topcoat. The effect in question is bumpy, I guess like the surface of another planet. The base is metallic-leaning shimmer enhanced with bar glitter and texture, but not as much texture as the textured polishes that were on trend for a while in 2014/15.

 

 

We've seen this sort of thing before, with texture/glitter submerged in shimmery and metallic bases. I pulled out a couple bottles from the past to do a quick comparison. Left to right: China Glaze Crinkled Chrome Wrinkling the Sheets (from late 2013/early 2014), SinfulColors Lil Beast, Finger Paints Underwater Enchantress (from summer 2014, see the whole collection swatched here).

 

Left to right below: Lil Beast, Underwater Enchantress, Lil Beast, Wrinkling the Sheets (all two coats, no topcoat). It was easier to get the bar glitter in Wrinkling the Sheets onto my nail; for Lil Beast I had to make sure I didn't let it settle too long between shaking it and applying (though why I would worry about bubbles with that one I don't know). Underwater Enchantress is a different take on the "lumpy but not quite a proper textured polish" idea. I do like how it coordinates with the color of Lil Beast.

 

 

I was not enchanted by the effect, so combined the remaining three Xtraterrestrial Effects into one look. My index finger has a rough sponged not quite gradient with the trio. Middle finger is Balien, a warm light brown. Ring is Big Mamaz Ship, a medium pink, and litle finger is Icy Monstar, a dusty deep blue.

 

 

 

These do catch the eye for sure. I don't see myself wearing them much, same as I can't recall ever having done a full mani with the Crinkled Chrome shades or those lumpy shimmer from Finger Paints (though I didn't hate that one as much now as I did when it was new, maybe I'm mellowing). I think Halloween is a perfect time for them, though, as that's when we break out of the everyday and dress up based on our imaginations.