I have a sizeable collection of Sally Hansen polishes at this point, and I do love to keep an eye out for any new releases. They’re the main drugstore brand still putting out shades, and they often have some unique finishes and releases. So when I saw posts about these shades, I went on a nice little hunt to scoop them up! Or should I say fish them up? Hook them up? Idk I’m going for the mermaid theme here.

I happened to visit my parents for a week (safely of course), and made my normal trip over to their closest Meijer – Chicago doesn’t have Meijer, nor does it have larger stores that get in newer limited collections, so at this point my parents just know I’ll disappear to go look for nail polish. And I found this collection and snatched up 3 of the shades!

This is the ‘Mermaid Vibes’ release in their Mega Strength line. It features 6 new shades. I only have 3 to show you here. The other 3 shades I didn’t grab were ‘Sea Shells’, a baby pink with gold shimmer; ‘Queen Trident’, a bright purple cream; and ‘Mermaid Parade’, a clear topper of golden glitter and larger pink pieces. I just have colors like the other 3, and I wasn’t as interested in the topper.

They seem to be more permanent shades overall as they’re still available on the Ulta website, and you might be able to find them in drugstores as well! They retail for $3 each.

Let’s get into the swatches of the 3 I grabbed!

‘Make a Splash’ is a medium blue cream base with bright pink shimmer to it. This had a sheer but smooth 1st coat, but it starts to build up well with a 2nd. It can be pretty well opaque with a 3rd coat, but I do recommend a thicker one for the last coat.

I do also recommend floating the polish on, and then leaving it after application. I had some patches near the base of my nails where the brush pulled off the polish from a previous coat. So definitely be sure to let it dry fully, and then gently float it on, and you’ll have a great time.

Obviously a little more finnicky, so it’ll depend on how much you want to work for this shade. It wasn’t my favorite formula, and I do wish it was a little more pigmented.

And listen, I had just gotten a new matte top coat, so I was matte happy so of course I had to mattify this bad boy. It’s got a lovely glow to it, and I’m just going to keep topping every shade with matte top coat from now on, okay?

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‘Keepin’ it Reel’ is a super light mint cream shade with a lovely mint shimmer throughout. Man, I loved the idea of this color and what it could look like, but I did not love this formula. This was 3 thicker coats, and it was still uneven and patchy on the nails, and just too sheer for my liking. Unfortunately the two creams I picked up were beautiful colors in theory, but just a little bit too much work for me to deal with.

A bit of a fail for me, but not every polish can be a winner, and I’m always here to … Keep it Reel for you all, okay I’m sorry I had to.

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We’re ending on a positive for this little trio of polishes at least! This is ‘#Finning’ and it’s a stunning copper shimmer. Again, a little more of a thinner formula, but this built up easily with 3 thin coats. The first coat is sheer, but smooth, so it can also be worn as a 1 coat nail look, if that’s a look you enjoy!

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Not all winners here, but they can’t all be! And I’m here to show it all, the good and the bad. Those first 2 shades are nowhere near the worst polishes I’ve dealt with, but still being sheer after 3 coats is just something I’m not willing to work with when I have so many other polishes. So I think they’re a pass. If you do find ‘#Finning’, it’s a lovely copper shimmer to add to a collection!

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