Franken - #2

I've been going franken crazy lately. I am not a big fan of pinks and reds, yet every time I try to mix something it turns into a shade of pink or red. Sigh. It probably happens because the polishes I don't mind losing through mixing are pinks and reds, and no matter what else I throw in there the pink/red pushes its way to the forefront to mock me. Oh, franken #2. You had such potential. I had pictures in my mind of a magical blue-shimmering-something and I have no idea how I thought putting pink and purple into you would make this dream happen.


Two coats, no top coat. It's overcast today, so my outside pictures are a bust.

This started as a super old bottle of Sally Hansen Nail Prisms South Sea Pearl. I know people go batshit crazy for the Nail Prisms, but this stuff was gross. It was a yellow tinted frosty polish that had a blue shimmer if you looked at it at exactly the right angle. I've read other reviews where the same polish flashed blue/pink and was supposedly nice, but mine was horrible. I threw some CQ Cranberry and CQ Mystique into the bottle to see what would happen.


You can see a bit of blue in the bottle here.

This is what happened. It's a sheer pinky-purple that still has a bit of the blue shimmer that showed itself once every 600 years with South Sea Pearl. I like this much better than the way it was before I threw CQ stuff into it all willy-nilly, but I'm not about to marry it or anything. I think I have to have disgusting amounts of glitter in my frankens in order to like them. This must be the key. I had a hard time photographing the shimmer because the sun hates me today and decided it would laugh in my face the moment I braved the spider-infested deck door (yes, they're still there) to take some photos. You'll just have to trust me when I say that the shimmer is there, and it's pretty. For a pink.

CURSE YOU, SUN! I WILL BEST YOU YET! I see a light box in my future.

Sally Hansen - Black Pearl (Chrome)

Natural light. Two coats with no top coat.

Sally Hansen Chrome Nail Makeup in Black Pearl is slightly darker than silver and definitely not chrome. This polish applies a bit streaky and dries pretty quickly. It smells strongly of chemicals and death. It might work for stamping, but it's not anything I'd ever use for a full manicure.


Natural light.

Black Pearl is not even a little reflective and has very little shine. There was obvious shrinkage minutes after I applied, and it started chipping within a half hour. Huge disappointment.

Sally Hansen - Lavender Envy

Natural light.

Lavender Envy is a very sheer polish with a slight purple tint and a blue iridescence. These photos show 4 coats with no base or top coat.


Natural light.

Without taking the sheerness into account, application was simple. The formula was smooth and applied evenly without streaking or dragging.


Natural light.

Lavender Envy is a very pretty polish, but it's basically impossible to get it to fully cover. I think it would be really nice over a nude shade, but since I don't own any (yet) I can't test this out.

Sally Hansen - Marine Scene

Marine Scene with flash.

Marine Scene is a really pretty blue that has a really nice shimmer in direct sunlight. I had trouble getting a good photo of the sparkle this polish can have because there's not really any light to hit it right now. I can't wait for the sun to come back!


In (minimal) natural light. Excuse the wobbly pinky.

The formula is a little streaky. It took me three coats to get it nice and even, but once it's on it looks really nice (especially in bright lighting.) Outside on a cloudy day like today this polish doesn't look very fancy. It's not super unique, but I love it anyway!

Sally Hansen - Rockstar Pink

I have not painted my fingernails in almost two years. The last time I did, I thought you were just supposed to slap it on. I'd get it all over my fingers and it would look like I let a four year old paint them until I jumped in the shower and the paint came off of my skin. This was my first attempt to paint my nails without making a gigantic mess. I think it turned out pretty well!


This is how it looks in natural light on a beautiful day!

I love this polish. It was really easy to put on and only needed two coats to be totally opaque. This was the fastest drying polish I've ever used. I don't know all the descriptions for polish types yet, but I know this one has a TON of glitter. There's blue, red, purple, and some teeny tiny gold flecks in here. It's pretty in the sun and inside.


See how pretty this glitter is?

I'm not sure how the wear is because I just put it on last night. A lot of the reviews I read online say that some girls' bottles of Rockstar Pink were goopy and thick. Mine was this way right when I opened it, but after rolling it between my hands for a little bit (read: maybe a minute) it was fine. I did have to roll it a few times during application, but I don't mind doing that when the end result it shiny glittery goodness. Another common complaint was removal, but I think all glitters are a pain to remove.

ETA (11/14): This is a first. I have used glitter polishes many times throughout my 23 years, and I HAVE NEVER HAD A POLISH JUST REFUSE TO COME OFF BEFORE. I spent over 30 minutes trying to get this stuff off after I got a big chip on my thumb, and it wouldn't remove. It took almost an hour of constant rubbing with a cotton ball and remover to get my nails clean, and I'm still covered in glitter 12 hours later.

Pretty color, not worth the removal time. :(

New Polishes!

Since I've gotten into nail blogs I've realized that my collection is AMAZINGLY SMALL. Every time I go out now I make a point to go to any store I can find that sells polish to see if they have anything interesting.



I've picked these two up over the past couple of days. The one on the left is CQ brand Mystical, and the right is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Rockstar Pink (I have this one on now). I only have access to WalMart and drugstores in the podunk town that I live in, so most of the polishes I have are less than fancy. I'm going to have to get out to Sally's more often to see what kind of stuff I can pick up there.

ANYWAY! I filed my nails the other night and noticed that they were kind of grossly uneven. They're now even, but a lot shorter. I don't mind, though, since now I can grow them and out just try to maintain the evenness I have going on.

The plan is to get some pictures of Rockstar Pink up tomorrow. I've got a few things to say about this polish, so stay tuned!

Sally Hansen Instant Cuticle Remover

I spent some time today doing a bit of research on the best way to try to tame my cuticles. It seems that most people believe clipping them is not the answer, but to use a cuticle remover and hydrate everything with some sort of product (oil, cream, etc.) I own a cuticle cutter that I bought to use before my wedding, but no remover. When my husband and I ran out to the store tonight I figured I would pick up a remover that had decent reviews.



I didn't exactly follow the directions perfectly. The bottle says to leave the product on for 15 seconds, gently push back cuticles and wash your hands with warm water and soap. When I read up on this product I found many people leave it on much longer than directed (some up to 5 minutes). My cuticles were in really rough shape, so I decided to leave it on around 2 minutes. I've had chemical burn incidents in the past with Sally Hansen products and was unsure of how my skin might react to prolonged exposure, but long ago and far away I tried this product and I remember 15 seconds doing nothing for me.

I pushed back my cuticles with a cuticle pusher while keeping an eye on the clock to make sure I didn't leave the product on any longer than I felt comfortable. When I washed my hands and pushed the cuticles back again, they were a bit better. The really rough bits that were cemented to my nail actually pushed away. It softened the rest of the cuticle. This product didn't work any miracles, unfortunately. It didn't remove anything. Soften? Sure. Remove? Nope. I had such huge flappy cuticles that I had to clip a few of them. I know this is frowned upon, but seriously, it was pretty gross.

My hands look a little better after this, but not as good as I was expecting. I'm pretty bummed out that this wasn't some magic potion that would fix everything in one go. I guess I'll have to keep looking for a HG cuticle remover.