Hard Candy Candy Sprinkles Collection Swatches and Review

Hard Candy Candy Sprinkles Spring 2013 Collection

Hi everyone!

Today I have the Hard Candy Candy Sprinkles Collection to share with you!

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but I couldn't pass up the chance to showcase such a fun collection.

The Collection

Hard Candy has recently expanded their entire nail polish line with 45 new shades, divided up into five collections: 

Crushed Chrome

Itsy Glitzy

Crystal Confetti

Glitteratzi

Candy Sprinkles

To see all of the collections from thw Hard Candy Nail Lacquer line, visit hardcandy.com.

The Candy Sprinkles Collection consists of the following nine glittery shades suspended in a milky, sheer or semi-sheer colored base:

From left to right: 

Pink Taffy, Peach Pop, Cotton Candy Pink, Sugar Rush, Gummy Green, Jelly Bean Blue, Sweet Tooth, Pixie Pink, Cocoa Smore

Price and Availability

Currently the Candy Sprinkles Collection is exclusively available for individual sale at Walmart and Walmart.com. 

The press release originally priced each polish at $3.97, but my local Walmart marked them up to $4.00. Needless to say I didn't cry over the extra 27 cents.

The Polishes

Hard Candy "Pink Taffy"

Pink Taffy is a medium bubblegum pink with magenta, black, and silver glitter.

Application was a bit thick but NOT goopy. The glitter was easy to work with, but appeared a bit sparse compared to some of the other shades.

If you prefer the jelly-like finish, you can do what I did and use two coats with just a clear base. If you want the pink to appear more saturated you can either add another layer, or apply a white or pink base beforehand. These polishes really give you a lot of control on the finished look.

Hard Candy "Peach Pop" 

 Peach Pop is a deep peachy-orange with red, orange, yellow an silver glitter. This has almost the exact same application as Pink Taffy, just a smidgeon thicker. The glitter is a more subtle due to the lighter colors used, and this can lean more orange than peach depending on lighting conditions.

I used two coats with a clear base above, but as with the previous shade, you can really control how opaque  you want the color to be. The application is smooth, so whether you apply thin or thick layers you won't run into any problems.

Hard Candy "Cotton Candy Pink"

Cotton Candy Pink is a trickster. It's technically a sheer baby peachy-pink with blue, black and silver glitter, but my skin tone made this come off as more of a peachy nude. I mean look how closely it matches. Mind blown.

The color is almost completely sheer on the first coat, and then takes a 360 turn and is almost completely opaque with the second coat with just a hint of visible nail line. Though it applies much thinner than the previous two, the glitter is denser.

Hard Candy "Sugar Rush"

Sugar Rush is a milky white with black and silver glitter. This was the first shade I saw of this collection and fell in love. The idea of white with black glitter is a concept I love and can match most everything.

It comes off pretty sheer with the first coat, with the color resembling dried Elmer's Glue. There is a significantly larger amount of glitter payoff with this one, yet it still applies smoothly and can easily be worked with to fill in any unwanted gaps. 

The second coat brings it to full opacity with no visible nail line. I really don't see a need to add a white creme base underneath, as this does the job all on it's own.

I do wish they had named it "Vanilla Bean" instead. I really makes me want ice cream.

Hard Candy "Gummy Green"

Gummy Green is a deep, jelly mint green with black and silver glitter. Glitter sammy in a bottle. The glitter even more jam packed than Sugar Rush, but muted by the milky minty goodness. (Am I hungry?)

Pictured above is just one coat. Oddly enough the application wasn't as think as Peach Pop, but is definitely the most saturated. To keep up with the "gummy" look I stopped here, but you want to eliminate the nail line, just add an extra layer or apply a white or mint base underneath.

Hard Candy "Jelly Bean Blue"

Jelly Bean Blue is a baby blue with black and blue glitter. I actually googled all the Jelly Belly flavors to see if I could find on that matched. The closest was tie between Plum and Mixed Berry Smoothie.

Nevertheless I think the name is appropiate, This has the most creme formula of them all, and was just a hair away from completely opaque on the first coat. The glitter payoff is about the same a Peach Pop, appearing a bit sparser than some of the others.

I swatched this the day before my index nail snagged on a dog collar nd had to filed down, so I think I'm biased at how nice I think the overall look is.

Hard Candy "Sweet Tooth"

Sweet Tooth is an odd, milky middle-of-the-road between indigo and lavender with pink, silver, and blue glitter. Despite not being able to figure out what color this is exactly, the combo is exquisite and extremely flattering. 

This has the sheerest application of them all and not as close to opaque on the second coat as the others. The glitter makes up for it as it's so incredibly dense.

The thin formula gives you a lot of versatility on where you want to go with the actual color. This could lean purple, pink, grey, or blue depending on what you layer underneath.

Hard Candy "Pixie Pink"

Pixie Pink is a spring-in-a-bottle lilac with pastel pink, blue and silver shimmer. This can transform into pinky lilac or even as far a lilac with different base colors, but I used a clear base above. 

This is pretty much opaque on the second coat unless you apply really thin layers. The glitter payoff is right in the middle of the entire collection and the application was the smoothest.

Hard Candy "Cocoa Smore"

Cocoa Smore is a milky taupe brown with black and silver glitter. Application was pretty thick but the glitter didn't seem to mind and applied evenly. It is completely opaque in two coats as pictured above.

This color makes me want to sip on hot chocolate and stuff my face with marshmellows. I makes my fair skin look tan and healthy and I just love it.

Overall

I had no idea what to expect of Hard Candy's nail line, but now I'm on my way to owning the entire thing.

I love the Candy Sprinkles collection as a whole. The combination of glitters and sugary shades do a great job of conveying the candy and sprinkles concept.

The formula overall is just fantastic. Although some of the darker shades were thicker, they were thicker in the right way to provide more color saturation. For glitter polishes, these are some of the best I own. The glitter is easy to maneuver and place as you like and honestly? Removal was easier than other brands...despite not wanting to take them off of course.

It was incredibly hard to pick a favorite, so I didn't. My two least favorites however were Pink Taffy and Peach Pop, just because they aren't my go-to nail color preferences.

Which is your favorite of the Candies Sprinkles Collection?

Have you or do you plan to try any of the Hard Candy Nail Lacquers?

Give me a shout in the comments below or on my facebook or twitter and let me know your favorites from the line!

Bonus: Outtakes!

So my lighting has yet to be consistent from post to post so I've been attempting to use a lightbox. 

Here's one of my not-so-helpful helpers deciding the lightbox needed more cat.

World, meet Rusko (or "Little Mister," which is all he'll answer to).

If you're wondering why he's wearing clothes, he compulsively scratches and grooms himself. His hair will fall out and he'll rub the skin raw and bloody. :( 

The vet just injected him with a bunch of shots that made him sick, so I took matters into my own hands. This is the only thing that has helped. He doesn't mind, I promise!

Thanks for reading and TGIF!

-Melody