Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Texture Collection Swatches and Review

Hi everyone, TGIF!

You asked for it, and you got it!
I asked my Facebook fans to choose between the Sally Hansen Sugar Coats and The Avon Cosmic Collection for my next post.

At the time I went to bed it was a tie, but SH was voted first so I went with these.
In truth, Avon ended up getting an extra vote after I started, oops. That's up next, I promise!

It took me awhile to actually find this collection near me, and I stalked CVS everyday until they put out the display.

It paid off! I scooped every single one before anyone else knew they were even there. 

The Collection

The Sugar Coat Collection is Sally Hansen's take on the texture trend, consisting of the following eight 3D matte shades:

From back left to back right:

Sugar Fix

Cherry Pop
Bubble Plum

Cotton Candies

Sweetie

Sour Apple
Razzleberry

Lich-O-Rich

The Sugar Coat collection can be found in most Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Target, and Walmart locations and usually range from $5-6 each.

The Colors

All of these have the exact same formula.
While all except for Sugar Fix and Sweetie can be left at one coat, it is recommended to use two. If left at one the sugary finish may appear patchy and not evenly develop.

(I use one coat on all except Sugar Fix and Sweetie to demonstrate.)

The actual texture is a matte, but the base is not.  I actually prefer it this way as it emphasizes the effect.

Cherry Pop is literally a bright cherry red.

Cotton Candies is a bold bubblegum pink.

Bubble Plum is a fuschia like purple-pink.

Sugar Fix is a stark white.

Sweetie is a banana yellow.

Sour apple is a bold mint green.

 Razzleberry is a rich cerulean blue.

WARNING: This one stains horribly. I only wore it for five minutes and faced a whole day of stained cuticles after removal.

 Lich-O-Rich is black, but the texture makes it appear more charcoal.
This one best displays what happens if left at one coat.

Overall

I'm pleased with the collection for the most part. 

As rich as the colors are I wish the texture would have held at one coat. 

It's a minor concern considering applying two coats is an easy step for fast drying textured finishes.

My only disappointment is in Razzleberry, which would have been my favorite had it not been such a pain in hiney. 

Staining is a major thumbs down for me, but at least it was only bad one in the bunch.

In general I still prefer my textures to have a bit of sparkle, but these are cute basic colors and are a great option if you're short on time.

Which is your favorite of these sugary shades?

Have you hopped on board the texture trend train?

Let me know in the comments below or share your thoughts on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Coincidentally, this month's theme for Sally Hansen's I Heart Nail Art Challenge is textures!
For more information on how to enter and the prizes you could win, visit here.

Thanks for reading!

-Melody

Sinful Colors Sail La Vie/Ahoy There Collection Review + Nautical Nail Art!

Hi everyone!

I gave everyone quite the build up to this collection with a preview of this nautical nail art design.

Only one collection was used to create the whole look.

Yup, it's the new Sinful Colors Sail La Vie/Ahoy There Collection!

The Collection

Sinful Colors has thrown us overboard once again, giving two different names to the same set.

If you visit Walgreens you'll see this as the "Sail La Vie" collection.

If you visit Rite-Aid, you'll see an entirely different display with the title "Ahoy There!"

I have no explanation as to why the company does this, but the collection is the same both in shades and in price.

Each shade is sold individually for just under $2.

The collection consists of three older core shades and five brand new shades.

Snow Me White

Out of This World

Cross My Heart
Anchors Away (NEW)

Sail La Vie (NEW)

My Bouyfriend (NEW)

New Wave (NEW)

Into The Blue (NEW)

The Colors

Snow Me White is well...white.

Can't really get any more basic than white. If applied thickly it's opaque in one coat, but I prefer two thinner coats as shown in the photos.

This is a cost effective, dependable white. I've actually purchased this on multiple occasions.
It's a good stamping white and I turn to it often.

Out of this World is a light silver foil.

For being one of the brand's older shades, I expected this to go full frost on me. Minus a streak or two revealed in the second photo, it's completely smooth.

The only downside it that it's pretty sheer and takes three coats to reach full coverage.

I like that it's on the lighter side of silver, as most silver foils have a shinier, gunmetal undertone.
If you're looking for a budget-friendly foil, give this one a shot.

Cross My Heart is a hot, cherry to chili pepper red jelly, depending on the light.

Being a jelly, it takes four coats for full coverage on it's own, although you lovelies sporting short nails can get away with three.

The formula is perfect. It's not thick or goopy and applies completely even.
I love reds, but don't often wear them due to their staining power. This one didn't stain a bit.

Why do I really love this color?
It turned out to be a neon in disguise!

It takes on a more orangey tone, but it's freakin' bright.
The picture just can't do it justice (because photographing neons are pain in the tukus). 

Anchors Away...well, it's a golderod, dandelion yellow-orange creme with the most subtle microshimmer.

Yeah.

This color boggled my mind. 

In most lighting situations the bottle looked more yellow, but on the nail it looks more orange. After surveying my boyfriend, roommate, and taking over 500 photos of this color alone I've decided to let YOU decide.

Is it orange or yellow? Let me know in the comments below!

Whatever color it is, I absolutely love it. It's just so interesting. 

The formula was on the thin side and needed two coats. 

The microshimmer is pretty non-exisitent, and can only be seen on the brush during application, and looking really really under direct sunlight.

Sail La Vie is light, periwinkle blue creme with barely-there microshimmer.

The formula on this one is identical to Anchors Away. 

Two coats got the job done, and the microshimmer isn't even worth mentioning.

This one was a bit hard to photograph, and I can only hope the purple undertones translated well enough into the photos.

It's so gorgeous and versatile. 

It's light enough for spring, bright enough for summer, and icy enough for  winter.

My Bouyfriend is rich, medium periwinkle blue creme.

This is literally a darker version of Sail La Vie. 

The purple tones were better captured in this one than it's  lighter counterpart.

The formula is thicker, making it a one coater.

I don't have much to say. It's gorgeous and one of my favorites out of the lot.

New Wave is a muted navy blue creme.

The formula to this one is identical to "My Bouyfriend". Great consistency and opaque on one coat.

The color is pretty, but doesn't wow me. It's the darker sibling to an older shade by SC called "Rain Storm" which you have seen me use as a glitter base on multiple occasions.

Into The Blue is a deep-but-bold blue crelly.

Although this has the thin, crelly-like formula, it's a one coater.

I don't know how and I don't care. It's amazing. It's much bolder in person but the camera can only take so much.

 I thought I'd knock out two birds with one stone and show you all the blues in daylight, side by side.

...and then put altogether, I came up with this:

There are so many ways to go with a nautical palette such as this one, and I really wanted to utilize every shade I could.

With all of the blue tones in the collection, an ocean scene was the first thing that came to mind.

It all started with a simple gradient using Sail La Vie, Anchors Away, Cross My Heart, and Sail La Vie again at the bottom.

I continued to dab on different layers to create a one-point perspective sunset in the background.

The sail boat was sort of messily free-handed. I intentionally made the sails wobbly to imitate the idea of wrinkles. But of course, looking at it up close just makes it come across messy.

Basically the entire thing was painted by hand, adding depth and detail until I was satisfied or got tired. I forgot which came first. It was a lot easier than it looks (just time consuming). 

If you can paint the sail boat, what you do with the background is up to you.

The french tips were also free-handed and is something anyone can do.

Beginning with Snow Me White as my base, I took a short striper brush and created the "smile line" using Anchors away. I then painted the area beneath with Into The Blue and then created a large stripe through the middle with Snow Me White.

In retrospect I could have just painted the edges with Into The Blue and saved time and polish, but you live and learn right?

Overall

I love a collection that can get me inspired right off the bat, and this set did just that (run away, she's rhyming again).
I am pleased with the finish look of my design and the colors used to make it happen.

For an eight shade collection under $20, you can do some great things. There are some basic staple colors, along with more unique hues that can be happily worn on their own.

My standouts are Anchors Away, Sail La Vie, and My Bouyfriend.

Which colors are you favorites?
Will you be picking any of these up?
What do think of my nautical nail art look?

Let me know in the comments below and make sure to give the look some love on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest!


___

I know I left everyone hanging for a couple of days.
The stress from the event of this week called for some major R&R.
So I pushed life aside for a time to catch up on sleep, come with a housing plan, and seek advice from family and friends.

Even though the repairs have finally begun on the house after the tree incident (story here), it's just been too much.
My boyfriend, roommate and I have had enough.
My roommate made the decision to move out, forcing us to do the same.
Financially my boyfriend and I aren't prepared to look into a place of our own, but a friend has opened up her home to us while we save up and wait for something to become available.

Even though it's scary and unexpected, that's life.

What does this mean for the near future of The Manicured Amateur?
NOTHING BUT GOOD. And I've finally realized it.

No longer dealing with my landlord's ill practices means we can finally catch up on finances and get money put away.
As much as I hate to say it: more money means more opportunities.
..and it also means more polish!

Even better? Our new roommate is a fellow polish lover!
I have some great post ideas involving twinsies posts, nail art for shorties and more.

So keep up with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Bloglovin',

because things are about to get much more interesting around here!

If I miss a day or so, forgive me. 

I'll most likely be buried in cardboard boxes, that is, if the cats haven't beaten me to it.

Thank you every one for your support and thanks for reading!

-Melody

Polish4Pennies: Drugstore Clearance Finds - CQ & Sinful Colors

Hi everyone!

I first want to say "hello" to the wave of new visitors who found me through the I Love NP and Zoya Facebook pages. 

With the nail art community growing so rapidly, I'm so humbled that there's enough of you polished lovelies out there that are interested in what I'm up to. So thank you!

Today I want to do something different. I've been stretching out my pea brain muscles working on ideas for a variety of themed posts. 

The first thing I thought of was my polish purchasing habits. As much as I'm willing to splurge for the coolest collections and Indie favorites, most of the time my wallet is bone dry since I lost my job due to my chronic illness over a year ago.

So how do I satisfy my polish habit without my boyfriend having a heart attack? Pay in change! I'm a thrifter at heart, and am not ashamed to say I'll rush to a sale/clearance section before looking at anything else. Nail polish is no different, especially when it comes to the drugstore. 

Recently my local Rite-Aid had a little bin of $.99 polishes, and I scooped up the only four colors I didn't already own. I have individual swatches to share with you, along with a spur-of-the-moment nail art look combining the colors.

So let's take a look!

The Polishes

First up is  CQ "Honey," a white-based, buttery yellow creme.

CQ is an overlooked brand, mainly because of the availability. They do not have a website, and I've only seen them in Rite-Aid stores. Others have spotted certain shades at Walmart, but none of the ones in my area seem to carry them. If you don't have a Rite-Aid in your area, I'd turn to Amazon or eBay.

It's a shame because the formula is fantastic! Honey had the slight streaky problem of most yellow polishes, but this is actually one of the creamiest yellows I own by far. It was extremely easy to work with. I used two coats for the photos to smooth the streaks. 

The warm undertones also make this a more flattering yellow than the highlighter hues you've been seeing me sport recently. I'm a fan!

Next is another CQ in the color "Corduroy," a muted teal creme.

The formula was thinner than honey but still just  as easy to work with! It's possible to get away with one coat, but I went with two to ensure the color was really saturated. 

Best part? This is one of the few teals I have that does NOT stain. 

That gives it a two thumbs up in my book!

My next find brings me back to good ole' Sinful Colors in "San Francisco," a a shimmery emerald green.

The shade surprised me. Not only was it extremely sheer, but it was really runny. Not one other SC polish I own has this behavior, so I was a bit disappointed when it took me three to four coats to get it to full opacity.

It's not devastating enough to take away from its shiny goodness. I was relieved when it didn't turn out to be a frost, which is why I think I hadn't purchased it before. It is lighter than I expected, but it's still a nice, festive green for holidays  and can be paired with some chunky glitter for some real razzle dazzle!

The second photo is in the shade, where you can better see  how it would appear sheer if applied with anything less than three coats. It even looks thin on the nail.

My fourth find is Sinful Colors "See You Soon," a black-based, dark dark shimmery teal blue.

Now before I go any further, I don't own Essie Dive Bar...but by the swatches I've seen this looks to be a dead-on dupe for it, but for a quarter of the cost.

I can't compare the formulas of the two, but compared to San Francisco I just showed you, See You Soon is an improvement. The formula was still a bit runny, but it was no where near as sheer. The first coat is what led me to believe that it's actually a black-based polish, but my eyes could have deceived me. I went ahead and added another coat to intensify the shimmer.

I have no idea why I hadn't purchased this one before. I suppose I assumed it was a frost, but it is definitely not. It's a beautiful color. I do have others similar from Wet 'N Wild, eyeslipsface, and Nicole by OPI, so needless to say it's not an original color. I will say that if you saw Essie's  Dive Bar and have yet to purchase it, reach for this one instead.

Once again, the first photo is in the sun and the second is in the shade. Even without direct sunlight this color still sparkles. 

Gotta give it props for that!

 Nail Art Inspiration

Often times I'll pick up a polish on clearance without even having an idea on how or when to use it. In this case, all four of these colors complimented each other in a way that I just had to find a nail art look that utilized them all.

I did end up skipping San Francisco, but the other three were used to create the look you see below.
I don't really know what to call it, but it's not half bad.

I started with See You Soon as the base. 

Then taking a small nail art brush I made random strokes with Honey starting from the lower left of the tips and bringing the brush upward diagonally. 

After cleaning my brush, I left a bit of polish remover on the brush and dipped it into a dot of Corduroy and repeated the same step as before. Leaving the remover on the brush waters down the polish, creating a smudgy, blended effect. 

I finished with a few dots of Honey on the opposite side of each nail.

I kinda went to far with the blending and the longer I stare at the close-up shots, the messier I think it looks. 

I usually wouldn't post a design I wasn't entirely proud of, but in person it looked cool.

Could I have done something entirely different with these polishes? Oh sure, the possibilities were endless. 

Unfortunately, if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram then you know I'm trying to treat my wounded dog who is suffering from an infected and possibly sprained leg from injuries sustained from a fight with my roommates dog. 

So all my nail painting took place with poor Odie in my lap, meaning I used his  little cone head as a hand-rest. It was the only time his little nub tail would wag. He's attention-starved no matter how he feels.

Oh life. Le sigh.

What do you think of this design?

What are you polish purchasing habits?

Let me know in the comments below and share you thrifty finds with me on Facebook!

And keep my little Odie dingo in your thoughts for a full recovery. All it took was him coming up behind Buster while he was excited and digging in a hole. It scared Buster and the fight broke out immediately. 

My sappy little dachshund/lab/chow mix is no match for an aggressive American Bulldog/Pitbull mix that's twice his size. :(

Posting should be kept to a normal schedule, so make sure to keep up with me on Twitter and Bloglovin'!

Thanks for reading!

-Melody