Sally Hansen Mega Strength Polishes

February 28, 2019March 1, 2019 GingerlyPolished2 Comments

You know, somedays you feel like you’re an adult that’s getting it together – after all I found a new apartment and I’m working on setting up everything to move in April. But then you leave a pot of spaghetti sauce warming while you write a nail post, and come back to a beautiful display of splatter across your kitchen as it popped and bubbled, and it brings you back.

It’s not my fault that important nail posts always take priority. Some people just don’t understand our love for polish. I digress.

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It’s a later night post for you all (see me cleaning pasta sauce from all over my kitchen above, pushing it back a little) But I especially wanted to get these beauties up. They’ve been staring at me from their little box just waiting to be used. These are the new Mega Strength polishes from Sally Hansen. They came to be a polish with a strengthener that “strengthens and fortifies” nails.

There are THIRTY new colors in this Mega Strength formula (I know, 30!), and they retail for $5.99 at Walgreens, CVS and Ulta ($4.49 on Target’s website). They’re a variety of creams and shimmers, as well as what looks like a couple glitter shades.

I have 6 of the new shades to show you today! I did receive these from Sally Hansen to try (see my full post about that here) but these are all my honest thoughts and reviews.

My First PR Sample – What Does This Mean?

February 26, 2019February 26, 2019 GingerlyPolished2 Comments

It’s just a little talking post today. I’m feeling a little introspective and thoughtful, and just wanted to chat with you guys.

What about?

Well, something exciting happened over here. Over a week ago, a box arrived on my doorstep. It was a box that I had been expecting to come, but I still couldn’t believe it when it actually showed up. I’m not going to lie, when I got the email asking if I wanted to try the product, I thought it was an elaborate hoax and now someone out there had my address. But it was really them, and it really showed up.

As you can tell from the picture above and the title: I got a PR Sample from Sally Hansen.

What’s a PR Sample? It’s a sample that companies will send out, to bloggers and YouTubers, of their product, for that person to test out and talk about. I got a free box of polish from Sally Hansen. They either saw my Instagram or my blog, thought I had a good thing going, and wanted to send me something to show and talk about, whether positive or negative.

It’s still wild to me.

They sent on over a box of their new Mega Strength polishes – 6 of the shades, a top coat, and their hardener, in this cute little orange box. There will be a full post coming up on these polishes (in the next couple of days) and I’ll talk all about them. But first, I want to talk what this box means for me, and for you all reading. I just want to reflect a little.

At this point, I’ve been writing on this blog for almost 3 years now (this summer will be the anniversary), and I’ve purchased far too much polish, and will continue to be purchasing too much for years and years to come.

I went into this all because I loved beauty and nail polish. I had tried and failed a couple of times to start a blog, and during the summer of 2016, I said screw it and finally just went for it. I just wanted to talk about something I loved so much. I didn’t have friends in real life really that were as crazy as me about beauty as I was, and I just wanted to talk about it. I just wanted to tell others if something was bad, or good, or just plain fantastic. I wanted to let others know about something before maybe they purchased it too. I was buying it and using it anyways, why not let others know about it?

I never expected PR. I thought maybe hey, someday, that could be cool, just to be able to show more products. But it wasn’t something I went into this for. I couldn’t put this much time and effort into something just for an end goal of free product. You would be able to tell that my passion wasn’t there. I went into this simply because I was actually was passionate about it and wanted to help people with reviews. I’ve put a lot of hours and effort into this blog, and I still love it, and I’ll still continue on even if I don’t get a single more free product.

But I got this one. So what does that mean overall? What can you guys expect?

I will admit, I was goddamn excited. I was texting friends who have supported me and this blog from the start and almost screaming. I still smile every time I see it sitting on my desk. I’ll probably keep the box for sentimental reasons. It’s a special thing. It may seem small, just one piece of PR. But it’s still my first. I’ve never gotten this before, and you’ve never seen it over here.

And sure, I get PR from a small indie nail polish brand before this. That’s still there, and I’m still forever grateful for that as well. I never want to minimize that experience, and I’ll still be working with that brand because I love it. At this point, it almost feels like me critiquing and giving points to a friend. I’m just helping out a smaller brand as they continue on.

However, this one is Sally Hansen. It’s a bigger brand and a whole different ballgame. It’s a product you can find in drugstores, and I’m one of a bunch of bloggers that it was sent to. It still feels special in a whole new way.

It means I get to try out a product that I was interested in, but that I honesty hadn’t planned on buying for a while, or at all, because of budgeting.

I know it seems like I buy a lot of makeup and nail polish (because I do), and at this point in my life as a single young woman living by herself in the city with a full time job, I’m able to portion out a part of my paycheck each month for fun purchases. But I’m nowhere near rich, and I can’t afford to buy everything that catches my eye currently. I do hold myself back and pick and choose over some things that I wish I could review, but will pass on because there are other brands that I feature more on this blog. I would love to add on more, and hopefully as my budget continues to grow, I can.

So here’s what it really means: this is just another product I get to feature on the blog, and talk about to you honestly. I’m always honest with you guys, and I never will change that. I have your trust at this point, and I can’t ever give that up, even for more free products.

I was even transparent about this in my email accepting these products. I said I would be reviewing them honestly, and the free product doesn’t guarantee a positive review. It never does, and never will. I’m excited about them, but I’ll talk about the formula and any issues openly.

You might just assume all of this already and think this is a pointless post. It’s just something I wanted to get out there, and emphasize, especially for this very first piece of PR. It’s a policy I’ll continue on with, and if I get lucky enough to continue to receive more, I’ll make sure the same transparency is there with every single company. It’s about you guys, and your trust in me in the end.

It’s just something I wanted to talk about, and I’m glad you’re all here with me and supporting me. Without you guys, I wouldn’t even be here talking about this now.

I can’t wait to talk about even more polish with you all.

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Sista Chic Lacquer ‘Embrace the Pink’ Trio

February 25, 2019 GingerlyPolished1 Comment

As I’ve said in the last couple of posts, I’m still catching up on products to review, and getting through the ones that have collected and piled up on my desk. I was busy during the past couple of weeks with apartment viewings as I tried to find a new place to live. And I got an apartment! The craziness was all worth it as I found a new apartment that I love and I can’t wait to move at the end of March. So now that that madness has died down, I’m back and ready to swatch and get posts out.

I’ve just been feeling inspired you know? I always love swatching and reviewing and talking about nail polish and beauty. But I’m suddenly feeling even more inspired and motivated, and just wanting to get out as many posts as I can. I got lots to talk about, and I just want to show it all to you guys. There will of course be lots of nail polish, but there will also be lots of makeup and other beauty posts coming. This blog will always be mainly nail polish, but I do love all parts of beauty and want to talk about it as well. As always, it’s my blog, and I’m going to talk about all the things I’m loving. I hope you’re all ready for the ride.

Now let’s get on into this polish I’m talking about.

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This newest post to talk about is another collection from Sista Chic Lacquer! If you haven’t seen the other posts, Sista Chic Lacquer is a small indie brand, and really the first indie nail polish brand I got to try. (As always, these were sent to me for my honest review, and I will always give my honest thoughts.)

This new trio is called the ‘Embrace the Pink’ trio and will be releasing on March 1st on the Sista Chic website. This trio has a very special inspiration as well. They are in honor of Catherine Cronall, a fellow Instagrammer, YouTuber and nail polish lover. (Follow her at @mrscronall). She is currently fighting breast cancer, and so Sista Chic decided to honor her with a trio of pinks to support her on her journey, which I love. All profits from this collection will also be donated to the Breast Cancer Foundation in Catherine’s name as well.

It’s a lovely message, and a beautiful way to support her, and all of those women who have to deal with this fight. So let’s get into the pinks.

Sinful Colors New Shades for 2019

February 18, 2019 GingerlyPolished5 Comments

CONTINUING WITH THE CATCH UP. I told you there were going to be a lot of posts! I have a lot of polish to get through, and I just can’t wait to share it all with you guys!

For this post, we’re bringing it back to one of my favorite brands, and what I really started my blog on reviewing: Sinful Colors.

Thank the lord, Sinful Colors is releasing new shades. They slowed down there for a little bit, and I got worried when they left Walgreens that we were losing them. Now, it seems like they’ve switched on over to Walmart for limited edition collections, as well as adding new permanent shades.

I had these sent on over to me from a lovely friend in the Sinfully Polished Nails Facebook group. That’s right, it’s a whole group for Sinful Colors polish fans, and it’s delightfully enabling. In the best way. I’ve never met a group of ladies so sweet and so willing to send out polish all over the country. Since I don’t have Rite Aids or Walmarts that are stocked around me, they’ve been so helpful and sending me polish left and right. I love it, and it’s so dangerous.

In fact, I just got another big ol’ box of even MORE new shades from that group, and those will be coming onto the blog so soon! They look gorgeous and I can’t wait to dive into them.

But before those, let’s talk about these 6 new shades! These are 6 new cream shades from the regular line and they have the ‘New Shades’ sticker on each of their caps. I believe these are new permanent shades, and people have seen them pop up at Rite Aid, Walmart and Target.

Let’s just talk about them shall we?

Essie Valentine’s Day 2019 Shades

February 17, 2019February 17, 2019 GingerlyPolishedLeave a comment

As you can tell, I’m catching up. I’m in the process of moving (as I’ve mentioned on every recent post) so a lot of my nights this past week were spent viewing endless amounts of apartments, and hoping that I find one I like within my budget, instead of swatching and posting. I’ve found a couple places I like, and it’s about applying now, so fingers crossed! And in the meantime, it’s posting collections I got a little behind on! So be ready for a lot of posts and pictures – as if that’s a bad thing.

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Getting right into it, this is the Essie Valentine’s collection. As you might have guessed, I had planned on getting this up before, well, Valentine’s Day. But then I had dates with the aforementioned apartment viewings and leasing agents, so it got pushed back. These are beautiful bright colors that you can wear no matter what, so it’s fine. Love is all year, right?

How was your Valentine’s Day? As I mentioned, mine was spent viewing empty apartments. But it was my boyfriend’s birthday 2 days before Valentine’s, so we celebrated then! It was nice and low key, and we went to a fun conveyor belt sushi place, and it was great.

Enough about me, it’s about the polish now.

Orly ‘Radical Optimism’ Spring 2019 Collection Swatches

February 12, 2019February 11, 2019 GingerlyPolished5 Comments

We’re continuing on with spring reviews! (As it continues snowing here as well). My apartment was being shown all weekend, so I definitely got less swatching than I wanted done. But of course, posts will still be coming, don’t you worry about that. For now, shall we talk about this polish?

Today I have the Orly Spring collection! This is called the ‘Radical Optimism’ collection, and came in the Orly Color Pass.

Funny story, this box actually came to me free! I got a delivery notification for it, and was confused as I hadn’t renewed my Color Pass yet (but was fully planning to later). I hadn’t gotten charged for it, so I emailed customer service to see what happened. And turns out they had sent it to me accidentally! They told me to go ahead and keep it – super quick response and lovely customer service. It was just a lovely surprise for me. I had fully planned on renewing and getting this box myself, so I wasn’t mad!

OPI ‘Tokyo’ Spring 2019 Collection

February 6, 2019February 6, 2019 GingerlyPolished2 Comments

It’s the first spring collection post! I think this is the earliest I’ve gotten a spring review up. 2019 is really my year, huh. 3rd year of blogging is really when I get it together, guys.

I’m also in the process of moving, and finding a new apartment, so sometimes browsing availabilities and showings can get in my way. But I’m going to make sure that I won’t get too far behind! I want to keep up this timeliness! I’m putting this down in writing to keep myself accountable! Exclamation points! All exciting things happening over here. No really, I’m actually really excited to move. I’m ready to have a place with more natural light (ergo more places for plants), and to decorate another little space.

But let’s talk about spring polish, shall we? It’s still full on winter here, with ice storms and freezing temps, but you know, I have some bright wonderful spring colors for you.

The first collection to talk about is from OPI! It’s the Spring 2019 collection, and it’s a 12 piece collection based on Tokyo. As always, the names are hilarious and so fitting for their inspiration. It’s full of bright pinks and other bright pops of colors that I’ve really been craving from OPI so I’m so excited to dive in. It’s made up of 9 creams and 3 shimmery shades.

Just like the other collections, I picked these up from polishpick.com. It’s still the best price for OPI I’ve found, and they always ship so fast! Check em out, will ya.

Let’s get right into the swatches.

Untried Month: Zoya January

February 3, 2019February 3, 2019 GingerlyPolishedLeave a comment

Well friends, it’s February 2019. Which is how long it took me to finally stop writing 2018 as the date on work projects.

One of my goals of this fine year was to use my collection more. This means both untried and unworn polishes, as well as polishes that I’ve swatched but haven’t used as a full manicure. It’ll be mainly untrieds though, as I still have far too many. To help this, I’ve started a series! It’ll be ongoing, and I’ll do lil update posts at the end of every month. As I posted the swatches throughout the month, I tagged them with #ZoyaJanuary.

Each month, I’m choosing a brand to wear. It’ll be brands I have large amounts of untrieds from first, and then smaller ones that I’ve maybe only swatched later on. Every other month will be Sinful Colors, since that’s the brand that will take the longest to get through.

Getting right into it, January was Zoya! I love Zoya, but they are a more expensive brand, so I pick them up on their main 2 sales of the year when they’re half off. Because I cannot review their full collections at this time, I get random polishes every so often, and they’re not featured as often. They were the perfect brand to start with.

Let’s get right into the polishes!

Sally Hansen x Crayola ‘Glam Rock’ Metallic Collection

January 27, 2019January 30, 2019 GingerlyPolished2 Comments

Lord. It’s cold. I’m sitting in my basement apartment, with blankets shoved into cracks under doors and closet and any place I can feel any sort of cold air trying to weasel it’s way into my apartment. I also have a lil space heater pointed at me at all times and will be spending all of my time just bundled up in a nest of blankets. We’re heading into the POLAR VORTEX, y’all. Wednesday this week is calling for a HIGH of -11 and windchills down to -40 so I might actually die. I can’t wait to swatch bright spring collections with some double digit negative temps. BRING IT ON.

The Midwest can be wild and I’ll never leave. This is my fault for always wanting to live next to a lake for the rest of my life, and this is the burden I carry.

Now, anyways. Let’s talk about something great you can do inside, and that’s putting on pretty nail polish. That’s right, this is the perfect weather for me because now I have an excuse to just hide out in my apartment for all free hours and swatch and take pictures of nail polish. I did plan to have this review posted yesterday, but I needed to take the group shot, and broke my SD card and was not emotionally ready to go outside and buy a new one. But I did it today, got my life together, and shall I get into the collection already?

The collection I’m talking about today is a continuation of the Sally Hansen and Crayola Insta-Dri collaboration polishes. Sally Hansen went and popped on us and dropped 12 new metallic shades. And I had to have them all. I got them all, through a combination of muling by great friends and ordering off of Walmart’s website. It was all worth it and I have these babies in my grabby hands.

Sista Chic ‘They Say It’s Your Birthday’ and ‘Moulin Rouge’ Trios

January 21, 2019 GingerlyPolishedLeave a comment

It’s a truly snowy and chilly wintery weekend, so I’m using that as an opportunity to hole up in my apartment and get some swatching done. It’s 3 degrees today, so I’m not leaving. I am one that loves the snow, so when it finally blizzarded this weekend, I loved it so much. It had been so cold and gray for a while, and it was just a depressing winter. If it’s going to be this cold and gray, a little snow just helps it out a little. Especially when they’re big fluffy flakes just dropping down. I went to college way up North in Michigan, so maybe that’s why I love it.

There’s lots of fun polishes to talk about, so let’s just get into it.