There’s just something so exciting to me about a new release from Sally Hansen and I can’t explain why. Maybe it’s because it’s a “drugstore” nail brand, and it’s just a little something different from the mainstreams, and it’s always exciting hunting through the shelves of a Walgreens or CVS for them.

This time it’s for the Insta-Dri line, and I do love those little bottles, especially as they’re so affordable to grab! They’ve also had some quite interesting releases, especially with the Crayola and Jelly Belly collections, so anytime they do something new I’m intrigued and have to test it out!

When I saw this collection posted by another nail account, I was immediately intrigued. There are 8 new shades and they all have ‘Prismatic Shine’ right on the front label. Sally Hansen describes them as “8 new iridescent, out-of-this-world shades to add to our Insta-Dri lineup.” So it seems like these will be permanent and not just a limited release.

I grabbed these off of the Walgreens website because I’m impatient and love the convenience of online shopping. They retail for $4.49 there, while on the Ulta website they’re $5.59 and just mixed in with all of the Insta-Dri polishes.

So let’s get right into the swatches!

Up first we have the most sheer shade of the group, the one that is definitely a topper of the group. This is ‘Moonstone’ and it’s a clear jelly base with lots of blue-iridescent sparkles to it. They’re larger sparkles than just plain glitter, which you can see for sure when it’s topped over black.

I did still want to show it built up on its own, in case anyone was curious. So this is 3 coats built up and as you can see, the sparkle builds up but there’s still very visible nail line. It could be a cute sheer nail look if that’s something you enjoy.

And as a topper, especially over deeper shades is where it really shines. This is one coat over a plain black, and you can see the blue iridescence of the sparkle is a lot more prominent. It has a good distribution of sparkle but still allows the base underneath to show through. Definitely my preferred way of wearing!

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Up next we have ‘Cosmic Blu’. This is a clear base with lots of super shimmery icy blue sparkle. A little more sheer, this is 3 thicker coats built up and it doesn’t feel fully opaque overall. It definitely doesn’t fully match the look in the bottle, and will need some sort of base to be fully opaqe and smooth.

A more icy look, but I will say I was hoping for something a touch more opaque and like the bottle is showing.

But of course, where it SHINES is as 1 coat over black. It really makes the different colors of the sparkle just jump out and I loved this look.

So I highly recommend it as 1 coat over a deeper base shade.

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‘Glow Getter’ is one of the most opaque shades of the bunch! This is a beautiful light pink, almost lilac base shade with a bright orange shimmer to it. But it did still take 3 thicker coats to build up, so not the most opaque polish of all time, but still workable.

For most of these shades, I did hear of others with longer nails having issue getting them fully opaque within 3 coats – my nails are definitely a little shorter right now, so it’s always easier to build up the color on that length. Something to keep in mind for sure!

We do have a slight touch of brushstrokes just with that shimmer throughout, but they’re not super noticeable in day to day life.

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‘Conjure Copper’ is a bright orange shimmer with a red flash to it. Again a little more sheer formula, but this is 3 thicker coats built up and it is fully opaque and I cannot see visible nail line through it. It’s not quite as depe as the shade in the bottle, and is very shimmery.

I ended up liking this more on its own than I thought I would! It seemed like it would be super sheer, but I’m glad it did end up building up on its own!

But of course I had to put it over black. And of course, just LOOK AT IT. With one coat over a deeper base, you really see that red shift to the shade, and the more sheer base allows the individual glitter to show. It also helps to show that this is a clear base with dense glitter to it, so that’ll affect how it builds up on the nail.

I might be wearing this one purely as a topper just for that beautiful look!

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‘Pink Aurora’ is one of two more jelly-ish shades of the collection. This one is a fuchsia jelly base with tons of different sized pink and purple and holographic glitters all throughout. I was able to build it up to fully opaque with 3 thicker coats.

I will say on this one the 3 coats does feel thicker than the other shades because of the more jelly base. Make sure to fully let each coat dry or else it can get a little goopy and pool on the end of the nails.

This is another one that I felt could struggle to get opaque on longer nails where it’s harder to fully build up the product, so it could be more sheer. I didn’t put this one over a black base just because of the more colored jelly base – it’s going to tint whatever shade it’s over, and show less of the base underneath.

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And it’s purple counterpart is ‘Purple Prism’. This is the same formula as ‘Pink Aurora’ above but instead with a deeper grape purple base. I found this one was more opaque, and this is 3 coats built up to fully cover. Each coat definitely deepens up the base color, and with the 3rd coat it matched the shade in the bottle.

I was surprised at how much I ended up liking this shade! When I first swatched it, I was afraid of how sheer it was showing, but it built up well on itself. Again, the disclaimer that that could be different on longer nails where it’s harder to get a thicker coat.

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‘The Future is Fuchsia’ is again a more opaque shade, and is similar to ‘Glow Getter’ above in finish. This is a bright fuchsia pink shade with a super bright purple-pink flash to it. And this is the one shade that could be pretty well opaque in just 2 thicker coats – I did do 3 just to make sure it was fully smoothed out, but I think most will just need 2.

And it’s a super gorgeous shade overall, and the purple flash is very prominent here.

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Last up we have ‘Celes-teal’. This is a deeper, almost smoky blue jelly base with fine bright blue shimmer. And unfortunately, this one disappointed me on its own. This is 3 coats built up, and it’s still a sheer, almost patchy look on the nails. It no way matches the beautiful and rich shade that you see in the bottle and that you’re expecting when you first pick it up. So on its own, I would say it’s a pass.

It felt super thin and almost watery, and from that I could feel it would be hard to fully build up.

But of course, I had to put it over black. And WOW. This just might be my favorite over black. You can truly see the bright blue to a deeper blue shift, and it’s just gorgeous. I do wish this was the look we got right out of the bottle!

Super beautiful, and will definitely be using it over dark bases.

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And well, that’s the collection. Definitely some mixed feelings with this one, and the only time I was blown away with any of these shades was when they were used over a deeper base. SO if you’re expecting fully opaque shades that immediately match up with the bottle – I think you’ll be disappointed. And that’s one of the big reasons I enjoy blogging! It’s all about showing what the product ACTUALLY looks like.

If you want to grab some to add some interesting looks to deeper bases, I say absolutely go for it. It can bring up the debate of wanting a polish to just work on its own if it’s not advertised as a topper. So in that regard, most of these don’t hit the mark. It’s like 50/50, and most shades will take 3 thicker coats to get fully opaque if they do get opaque on their own. Thanks to the Insta-Dri formula, those 3 coats will dry more quickly and go by faster. But it could still be more coats than you’re looking for. AND as I mentioned many times throughout the swatching – this is just what they look like on my shorter nails where it can be easier to build up color. With longer nails, you might have more issues to get it fully opaque.

Not every polish will be a winner! I’m here to show it all, and this doesn’t sway me from keeping up with Sally Hansen releases in the future! They’ve done some beautiful things with the Crayola collab, and this one just might be a little bit of a miss!

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