Category: Sally Hansen

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri x Sesame Street Collection – Swatches & Review

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Miss Sally Hansen will NOT be stopped, and she’s just been on a release kick lately. And I’ve gotten it into my little brain to review as many of them as I can, so now there are just various Miracle Gel and Insta-Dri bottle covering my desk. Works out for you, because there are a lot of reviews and posts on the way, so you’ll be able to peruse digitally first before deciding whether or not to grab one of these on your next Walgreens run. (They’re just always so tempting sitting in their cute little displays).

This current release we’re looking at is the collaboration with everyone’s favorite learning program, Sesame Street. There’s a lot of colors happening throughout those characters, so they’re perfect to give us a nice little fun color palette. I always get excited when Sally Hansen is releasing a new IP collaboration, as they often really commit to the theme and give us some interesting and unique finishes. (I’ll be thinking about that Crayola Glam Rock collection forever, as well as the Jelly Belly ones). So with cute characters promised, I was in.

These are from the Insta-Dri line, so they’re the 2nd tier of bottles in their lineup, both in size and price – but one that can vary wildly depending on the retailer. I’ve seen these at Target and Walgreens, and other drugstores for about $6, and they’re also available on Amazon for $9 each. There’s even this cute little set, as well as some duos from Ulta for a nice little bundle deal. They’re scattered all over, and I’m sure there are still some displays inside various stores.

There are 10 polishes total – I will say I am missing just one shade from my post. It’s called ‘Perfect Blendship’ – for Bert & Ernie – and it’s a clear base topper filled with blue, red and yellow bar glitters. But otherwise we’ll be looking at the 9 other shades – 4 creams, 2 shimmers, 2 more jelly-bar glitter shades and 1 topper.

So let’s get on into these swatches!

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Sally Hansen Miracle Gel ‘Totally 90s’ Collection – Swatches & Review

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Listen, somehow I’ve ended up with a large amount of newer Sally Hansen releases, all sitting on my desk, just staring at me, waiting to be swatched up. I can’t fully explain it, there’s just something about seeing a set of their Miracle Gel bottles all lined up, in a beautiful new color story, I just want them all. And then on the other side they’ll have cute little collaborations from their Insta-Dri line. And then suddenly, with all of these different lines all concurrently releasing new collections, I end up with just a pile of new Sally Hansen polishes. It’s a problem.

Now, I can’t just let them go to waste, I can’t just let them collect dust, unreviewed – they need to have their PURPOSE. (I’m making this all more poetic than ‘I’ve spent money on these, I should get content out of them’). So this is all to say there’s going to be a lot of Sally Hansen reviews coming up later. I know you’re curious as you glance at those polishes sitting on their little displays as you browse in Walgreens. I know you want to know, “are those any good?, are they worth the $12?”

So I bought them so you don’t have to, time to TALK ABOUT THEM.

We’re starting out this stream of Sally Hansen reviews with the newest release in the Miracle Gel line. The Miracle Gel line is their most expensive, with the larger bottles, and they just look the fanciest. With any of these “gel” lacquer lines, you don’t need a lamp or to cure it at all – but they’re not going to wear long term like gel. I fully ignore the Gel claims and just treat them like regular lacquer, which they are.

This particular release is called the ‘Totally 90s’ collection, and with that we have 8 shades in a rainbow of creams and shimmers, all inspired by the bright colors of the previous decades. I was so excited for those colors right away, so I had to see what we were working with.

You can find these at Sally Beauty (for a discount!) as well as at Walgreens and other drugstores.

Alright they’ve been waiting long enough, let’s look at the swatches!

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Sally Hansen x Peeps Insta-Dri 2023 Collection – Swatches & Review

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Y’all know I love a themed collection, an unexpected collaboration, and a weird little texture. So if any of those things have your ears pricking up, keep on reading, and this collection will be for you.

Today we’re looking at the newest release in the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri line: a collaboration with Peeps, just right in time for the Easter holidays. If y’all aren’t familiar with Peeps, they’re a marshmallow company known for releasing chick and bunny shaped sugar covered marshmallows each year in the spring time – mostly for the Easter holiday. As a child I loved eating them (as they were just pure sugar) or microwaving them so they would inflate and blow up (it’s fun, I tell you).

Sally Hansen has collaborated with other candy brands before for their Insta-Dri line, such as Jelly Belly for jellybean themed polish, so honestly this collection and set made sense in my opinion. We have 7 shades here, 6 full color textured shades, and 1 topper. They all have the Peeps logo printed right onto the cap, and they’re named after the different shaped and colored marshmallow creatures they release. 6 of these shades also dry with a textured finish, just like a sugar coated marshmallow. I always love when a brand commits to a theme and of course, so I was very excited when I started seeing promo for them. (And I’m even more excited to see what they continue with in the future).

These are available from Ulta (although always beware their terrible polish shipping), or other drugstores like Walgreens and Walmart. Let’s get on into the swatches!

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Sally Hansen NEW 2021 Color Foil Polishes – Swatches & Review

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A BLAST FROM THE PAST. That’s right, Sally Hansen has re-released their Color Foil line!

The original line released back in 2014, and had 10 shades. Now that was back before I fully got into polish and swatching, and before my instagram and blog so I didn’t grab them. So I won’t have the originals to fully compare.

In this new line, we have 7 shades. I have 6 of them, with one being out of stock when I ordered (I’m missing Vio-lit, the lilac purple). These have different names than the previous release, but the colors seem pretty similar so they translate well. Looking at old swatches, it seems like the shades now “missing” in the new release are a super bright pink, a more teal-blue shade, and a yellowy-green.

Sally Hansen describes these as a high shine shades that dry to a mirror finish. So of course I was super interested to see how any foiled shade from the drugstore would hold up.

I grabbed these from CVS’s website, as my local stores can be bad about getting things in stock. They retail for $8.99 each, so more than their Insta-dri lines, but cheaper than the Miracle Gels. They come in these square metallic bottles (Sally Hansen does love to have 16 different bottle shapes) with a different colored sticker to match the polish inside.

Let’s look at the swatches!

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Sally Hansen x Mentos Shades – Swatches & Review

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Sally Hansen is continuing with their creative collabs, and this time it’s with Mentos! Listen, I can’t tell you the last time I had a Mento, but that will never stop me from buying the latest release in these cute little themed collections, alright. Sally Hansen, keep doing what you’re doing here. And if you say this is “out of left field”, you haven’t been paying attention to their previous Insta-dri collaborations. They’ve done multiple rounds of releases with Crayola, Jelly Belly, Sour Patch Kids, and now Mentos. I can’t wait to see what other brands are partnered with in the future.

There are 8 total shades in the collection. I only grabbed the 3 more unique shades, and left behind the 5 cream shades because I’m practicing some sort of -self control-. Yes, I exercise control in 1 out of the 79 collections I buy a year, but it’s all about the small victories, alright. Anyways, I feel like these are the 3 shades people will be most interested in as well, so you know, let’s just talk about them already! The 5 shades I left behind are ‘Confection Perfection’, a light pink cream; ‘Mint to Be’, a grass green cream; ‘Orange You a Peach’, a creamsicle orange cream; ‘Peppermint Dandy’, a bright blue cream; and ‘You’re the Zest’, a light daisy cream shade.

I found these at Walgreens, though they’re also available from the Walgreens website, as well as Ulta beauty’s website. They retail for around $5.59 each.

Now onto the swatches!

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Sally Hansen Insta-Dri ‘Prismatic Shine’ Collection – Swatches & Review

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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!

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Sally Hansen Mega Strength ‘Mermaid Vibes’ Shades – Swatches & Review

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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!

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Sally Hansen Donut Shop Collection Toppers – Swatches & Review

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We’re doing some catch up posts today! I definitely got a touch behind on some swatches that were already posted to my Instagram, but I did still want to finish them as full blog posts. HERE WE FINISH THINGS, NO MATTER HOW LATE. Also it’s my own blog, and I’m one who wants to finish up drafts because I like checking the little box off in my notebook, okay. And okay, I’m sure some people still will love to have some information about these – especially as they’re still available.

ANYWAYS, let’s look at some polishes!

Today we’re looking at two fun toppers from Sally Hansen! These are included in the Miracle Gel line – which is known to have a “gel-like finish” and last longer. Now, we all know I’m not the resource for how long a polish wears as I often have polish on my nails for like 1-2 days as a time, so to me these are always just regular polishes. They also feature a fun sprinkle-themed wrap on the handle, that you can see peeking in the swatch photos. It’s a full sticker wrap so it’ll be pretty durable on there.

These are part of a fun ‘Donut Shop’ collection that features 6 creams and the 2 toppers. I didn’t grab any of the creams, as I knew I already had the colors and I’m trying to have -some- self control, okay.

I purchased these from the Ulta website! All 6 colors, included the two toppers are all still available, so you can still pick these up if you want. They retail for $9.99 each.

Quick and easy, let’s get into the swatches!

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Sally Hansen x Jelly Belly 2020 – Swatches & Review

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Listen, we all know what’s happening right now, no need to remind, but during this time I’ve definitely hit periods of “I don’t want to do anything I just want to play Animal Crossing or the Sims 4”. And because of that some blog posts got left behind, so we’re playing a little bit of catch up, and getting these out of the queue!

I posted these swatches on my Instagram a while ago now (follow me to see them all as they post, and sometimes even before these posts go up). These are the next installment of the Sally Hansen and Jelly Belly collaboration! The first release came out around the same time last year, just in time for Easter. There were 11 total shades released then – with 3 crelly glitter mixes and 8 cream shades. I picked up 7 of them (you can see that full post here – especially as some of these shades were re-released for this new collection).

For this new release we have 9 shades, 6 new shades and 3 repromotes. The 3 re-promotes are ‘Tutti-Fruitti’, ‘Island Punch’ and ‘Green Apple’. I had Tuitti Fruitti from the last collection, and ended up grabbing ‘Island Punch’ this round. Those will both be shown at the end of the post!

The other difference is that the last collection had plain white caps with the printed Jelly Belly logo, while these have pearl white caps with the logo. Otherwise the bottles are the same! (Please enjoy my quick phone photo for this year’s, I forgot to take a real photo and didn’t want to leave it out!)

For the other 6 new shades we have a nice variety of different finishes and colors! I think I like this half even more than the 1st! So let’s get into the swatches already!

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Sally Hansen ‘Shine Like a Diamond’ – New Miracle Gel Shades

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Sally Hansen is a brand that’s always been on the edges of my radar. Whenever they release new colors or formulas I’m always interested, and want to try them. They can be more expensive, so that has deterred me a couple of times from just grabbing from their permanent line, or buying ALL of the shades of a new line (exept for the incredible Crayola collaborations that I snatched up all of them -pls bring out more, Sally. And the Jelly Belly collab was also amazing and unique.) They’ve had so many different formulas and finishes and lines, from the Mega Strength to the Matte Metallics and the plant based polishes, and they seem like they’re constantly putting out new and unique products. Now I have been lucky enough to receive some PR from Sally Hansen but it’s been sparse, and I’ve purchased most of the shades I own at this point myself, and will continue to buy things I’m not sent. I know I seem like I’m blabbering and gushing over Sally Hansen, but I’m mainly here to say that they’ve come out with some cool things and I’m always excited to try out the new things they’re coming out with (which does fully include their new Plant Based lacquer – I will def be picking some of those up to try them at some point).

So when they recently released 6 new shades in their Miracle Gel line in a collection they’re calling Shine Like a Diamond, I was very intrigued. Half are entirely new shades, and half are ones that were previously released that they brought back by popular demand. I’m not sure if they’re all permanent to the line now, but they haven’t said anything about them being limited edition either. I decided to pick up 5 of the 6. The one I left behind was ‘Mocha Me Crazy’, a light beige cream shade. It just didn’t grab my attention, and I’m trying to be a *touch* more selective with my polish buying (outside of the mainstream brands I regularly review, okay).

Their Miracle Gel line is said to be their long wearing polish, that mimics a gel finish without a UV lamp. Now, I don’t ever wear my polish for long enough to truly test the longevity, so I can’t say if it lasts longer than normal polish – however, polish is definitely personal and it can vary from person to person how long certain formulas will wear.

I hadn’t found these in store yet (they were just announced recently), though they’re showing online at Target.com, Walgreens.com and Ulta.com – and I’m sure they’ll eventually be in each of these individual stores. I ended up buying these online off the Target website for $7.49 each (because I have no patience to wait). This was definitely the cheapest price for them, as they retail for $9.99 at both Walgreens and Ulta.  Target also has a low threshold for free shipping so they all shipped free – though I will say that I was thoroughly surprised that none of the shades were broken. Target, and Ulta, and other brands really need to be better at shipping polish instead of throwing it all in one bag with just 1 big air pack. My complaint for the day.

ANYWAYS, the polishes. They have the wide rounded Sally Hansen brush that definitely makes it very easy to just paint on easily and smoothly.  Now let’s get into the individual shades!

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