nail art Archives - Starfocal

Manicure Monday with Elegant Touch Nails!

October 7, 2013 By Amberlee 2 Comments

We’re back for another Manicure Monday with Elegant Touch Nails. We got some awesome products to share with you and today we are starting with their Envy Wraps Bling line.

Manicure Monday with Elegant Touch Nails

About Envy Wraps Bling

Elegant Touch are talking textures, and these new and tactile nail wraps offer a must-have and easy-to-apply manicure that lasts for up to 10 days.

These fashion-forward films will add some serious decoration as you drum your fingers!

Take a walk on the wild side, Elegant Touch Envy Wraps Bling in Gone Wild offers an on-trend zebra print with a decadent difference. Deck out your digits with this animalistic print for a truly tantalizing touch. Envy Wraps give every glam goddess the chance to adorn their nails with an eye catching manicure in minutes without the spills, smudges or drying time required for a salon-style treatment. Now with 3D texture, these Bling wraps are super glamorous, these easily applied talon treats are the perfect accessory for any outfit.

What I think

I was very impressed with this from the beginning. They looked really pretty and also came with sizes big enough to put on your toes! Of course for this review I decided to put them on my fingers!

I loved how easy these were to apply and how great they looked on me. I even got compliments on them less than an hour after I had put them on! The design itself is beautiful and it is not as textured as I had pictured from the description. Yes there is texture to them, but they are less than what you would feel if you had put on gems by hand. I do not normally like texture, but these have the perfect amount.

They have tons of other designs and they have ones without bling that are awesome looking! You can find these and other great Elegant Touch products on their website here. Be sure to subscribe to our Manicure Monday posts to see other great Elegant Touch Nail’s designs here!

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: beauty, Manicure Monday, nail art, nails

Manicure Monday with Revlon!

September 30, 2013 By Amberlee 1 Comment

We’re back with more great nail designs this week and we are very excited that this week we get to create a Revlon Brilliant Strength manicure!

I have fallen in love with this nail polish! I received Brilliant Strength Intrigue and Provoke to review for you guys. I am not sure if I prefer these colors over the other colors in the collection, but they are still very pretty and I was excited to test them out. What had me so excited about these products was that not only do they have built in strengthening, but they also have a built in base and top coat!

I was very surprised at how well this polish glided on and how vibrant the color was! I hate when I get a polish that needs at least three coats of color and a base and top coat. My nails end up feeling very bulky and take forever to dry! With two little toddlers it is very difficult to let my nails dry enough with so many coats and my manicure always gets ruined. I love that I only need two coats with this polish and that I don’t need to add all the extra polish just to keep it looking nice.

First up is Intrigue

This polish almost had full coverage in one coat! I added the second coat just to be sure. I just love how smooth the color itself looks. It was definitely a nice change from other polish.

It took a while to decide what I wanted to do with these colors. I recently got new nail stamping plates (that I will review for you guys later) and I decided that this polish would be a perfect polish for my first stamped nail art run! It took a couple tries to get the image to transfer and you can tell when I started to get the hang of the darn thing, but this polish really helped make the process easy!

Overall, I loved this polish. I wish I could have tried some other colors but these were still great and the orange will be great for some Halloween designs later on this month!

You can find Revlon’s Brilliant Strength Nail Enamel on their website here, or you can find them a Revlon retailer near you!

Would you like to know when we have a new Manicure posted? Be sure to sign up for our Manicure Monday Newsletter here!

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: Manicure Monday, nail art, nails

Blue Scandal Review – Manicure Monday

September 15, 2013 By Amberlee 30 Comments

It’s Monday again! Which means it’s time to show you my latest manicure! This time instead of one manicure, you get to see a whole collection that we got to review from Blue Scandal. While Blue Scandal may not make this polish they have amazing prices on many beauty products and sell this great NYX Love Is In The Air nail polish set for around $20!

I was so excited when the package showed up at the door! I have heard great things about NYX products, but had not tried them yet so I could not wait to start painting my nails! I immediately started painting and was very impressed with this polish! At first I was a little worried, I had to use 3 coats with the majority of colors and went on a little streaky. They dried extremely fast and the streaking went away as it was drying.

Another great thing about this polish is that it lasts a surprisingly long amount of time! I painted my nails in the after noon, did my dishes at home, cleaned the house where I worked and it wasn’t until I started using my steam machine that they started to chip. Normally regular nail polish only lasts about an hour before at least one of my nails decides to chip!

The only thing that I think I would change is that the brush of the bottles are a little funny and I think the main cause of the streaky-ness that I was experiencing. I do love that they come in smaller bottles in this set because you can try out all the colors and then buy bigger bottles of your favorites! I hate wasting money on things that I will never use, but luckily all the colors in this set are amazing so I will probably end up using all of them!

Meet the polish in this collection:

Muted Lavender

Pastel Lavender

Complex Purple

Soft Pink

Coral Sensation

Sandals

Paradise Nude

Hot Blue

Pistachio

Teal

Surf

Pastel Pistachio

Perfect Gray

Nude Peach

French Pink

Disco Inferno

Pink Glitter

Turquoise Glitter

About Blue Scandal:

“A new breed of cosmetics, makeup tools and fragrances. We are here to bring to the public a new life style for the next generation. Our objective is to provide fun, savvy, chic, scrumptious, sweet,extra-ordinary, stupendous makeup tools and fragrances.

Please join our revolution and be part of new wave!!”

What I think:

I was in awe of all the wonderful products that they have! They have such a wide selection of everything from Frangrances, Makeup, and Nail Products that it was hard to narrow a wish list down. They carry so many great brands and you know that what you are getting is a great product!

Of course it wouldn’t be Manicure Monday without a great manicure!

Not only are the products they sell absolutely amazing but so is there customer service! They shipped my set extremely fast and they wrapped the box very well, so I didn’t have to worry about the polish exploding and making a huge mess while in transit. I highly recommend Blue Scandal to anyone looking for great products at even better prices like their NYX HD Studio Foundation! You can find Blue Scandal on their website here.

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: Manicure Monday, nail art, nails, women

OMG Nail Strips Review- Manicure Monday

September 9, 2013 By Amberlee 1 Comment

We have two new things to share with you today! One is that I decided to start up a Manicure Monday area for the blog and this is our first Manicure Monday post! I have been super excited about doing my nails and how long they are getting so I decided I would share my excitement with you! Our first manicure is brought to you by OMG Nail Strips!

About OMG Nail Strips:

OMGNailStrips.com has one simple goal, bringing the latest styles and trends in nail art and making them into an easy to apply nail strip. Inspired by larger companies that charge customers $8-$20 per set and have a limited selection of designs, the creators of OMG Nail Polish Strips decided to create an affordable alternative to expensive these nail polish strips. In addition to creating a higher quality product at a lower price we are also constantly updating our inventory and designs to meet the latest styles and trends in nail fashion.

What I thought:

These are the nail strips that I received. I was not all the fond of the color or design, especially compared to the absolutely adorable ones located on their site, but I decided to give it a go anyway.

They did turn out pretty well. I did have an issue keeping the stripe straight but oh well. They were great for a quick and easy nail design! They stayed on for a couple of days, which was more than I had expected.

Here are some of my favorite sets from their website:

Love Nail Polish Strips Peacock Nail Polish Strips

Pink and Black Stars Nail Polish Strips Pink Pollock Nail Polish Strips

Purple Crackle Nail Polish Strips Psychedelic Zebra Nail Polish Strips

I love how bright and fun the majority of the designs are and I hope to be able to share more of them with you next time. Stay tuned for more nail products and designs on our Manicure Monday section!

You can find these and other great nail polish strips on their website here.

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: Manicure Monday, nail art, nails

Cult Cosmetics Black Box Review

August 27, 2013 By Amberlee 14 Comments

You may not know this, but I am not a huge fan of subscription boxes. Mainly because almost every box I have tried has had at least one item that I either didn’t like, or every so often I would just get a dud. I hate the idea of paying for a box of stuff every month that I will probably never use. Recently I came across a company that has completely changed my point of view on subscription boxes and I am very close to becoming a subscriber myself! I was lucky enough to receive the first edition Black Box from Cult Cosmetics!

I have been getting really obsessed with nail art and anything that has to do with it. Which is why you have been seeing so many nail posts lately! Now that my nails are no longer stubs I can review these products without being embarrassed or without making the products look bad. I fell in love with Cult Cosmetics as soon as I saw it.

Here is the box I received.

The August Black Box came with 3 colors of polish and one nail tool as promised! The colors I received were China Glaze “Surfin’ For Boys”, Essie “First Timer” and last but not least Essie “Full Steam Ahead”. I love how bright all the colors are! Orange and green are not usually my colors of choice but altogether these colors look amazing! This box also came with M.A.S.H Stripping Tape, which was pretty exciting to me because I have never used actual stripping tape before! I was so excited about using these products and I could already feel the creative juices flowing.

I was VERY impressed with the way this box was packaged! I have heard and experienced nail polish explosions in boxes when they could have been easily prevented. Cult Cosmetics not only sent each polish individually wrapped, but they also sent the polish in it’s own bag that way if anything did happen to the polish it wouldn’t spread to the rest of the box. I loved this and was very happy when I opened it.

Then is was time to get to work! There are a lot of things you can do with stripping tape and I chose two of those ways for this review. First I chose to use the stripping tape as part of the design.

This one didn’t turn out quite the way that I had planned. I was trying to re-do a design I had done before with gel polish, but quickly realized that this was NOT gel polish. The design I was going for was a heart cheetah print design, but it ended up looking just like a regular cheetah print with weird shapes. Oh well, I still thought it was cute! The polish itself was a little awkward for this one. The China Glaze was a little runny and both the Essie polishes were a little too thick. Luckily, I knew of a trick to try on the next design!

Next I decided to use the stripping tape to make the design. This one I think turned out a lot better, as I had let each bottle soak in warm water to get them to loosen up a bit. It worked like a charm! This time the only issue I had was that the purple seemed to be a little see through but I got it all figured out and it worked perfectly!

I really loved this design and will probably do it again in the future. It was super easy to so with the stripping tape and the colors are great together! I think that Black Box is a wonderful subscription program as it gives everyone the tools they need to create beautiful nails at home!

In this particular box they also sent a small gift! They sent a little red and beige OPI bag with some more nail goodies inside. It really feels great to be an appreciated customer and this company knows how to make you feel great!

Right now as part of their launch Cult Cosmetics is offering your first Black Box at 50% off! You can find Cult and this great deal on their website here.

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: nail art, nails

Sally Hansen Gel Nail Starter Kit

August 21, 2013 By Amberlee 16 Comments

Before becoming a blogger, I had some serious issues with my nails! My nails and cuticles were so dry that they would constantly split and crack. I didn’t feel like a real girl unless I had acrylics on, but now that I’m a full time mommy I don’t have the time or the money to invest in getting my nails professionally done. So to say blogging has changed my life in many ways would be an understatement. I have learned about so many products that not only make me feel more like a woman, but that also make me feel better about myself!

One of the products that have truly helped me have beautiful nails happens to be Gel Nail Polish. Not only does it protect my nails from breaking and cracking, but it also helped me stop the nasty habit of biting my nails (mainly because I couldn’t bite through the gel). After my nails started growing I decided that it was time to do some major research and make sure that my nails stay as healthy as possible. So today I am going to share with you a great Gel Nail Kit that can jump-start your way to healthy nails like it did for me!

I received Sally Hansen’s Gel Manicure Starter Kit in Shell We Dance, which is a light pink color. I was very excited to try another gel kit! This particular kit had me really excited because of everything that it contains!

This kit includes the LED light, base coat, color coat, top coat, cleansing wipes, remover, a cuticle stick and a nail file. One thing that I was really excited about was the LED light included in this kit. The last one I had seemed like a good design but because of its size and shape made it incredible awkward to cure my nails. This light while it may seem awkward at first, is actually is very comfortable and easy to hold. The only issue that I had with this LED light was that the bulbs did run a little hot, but not hot enough to burn and technically your not supposed to touch them anyway (sometimes I am a little too curious).

The other gel kits that I have tried have included a base/top coat as one bottle, so I was also a little curious about if there was an actual difference between the base coat and the top coat included in this kit. The main reason I was pondering about this was because this kit did not include a primer which seemed a little off to me. So my first idea was to look at the ingredients. Instantly I could tell that there was a BIG difference between the two.

GEL BASE COAT INGREDIENTS:

ETHYL ACETATE, ALCOHOL DENAT., DI-HEMA TRIMETHYLHEXYL DICARBAMATE, BUTYL ACETATE, HEPTANE, NITROCELLULOSE, TOSYLAMIDE/EPOXY RESIN, HEMA, HYDROXYPROPYL METHACRYLATE, ISOBORNYL METHACRYLATE, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL,TRIMETHYLPENTANYL DIISOBUTYRATE, POLYVINYL BUTYRAL, CAMPHOR, TRIMETHYLBENZOYL DIPHENYLPHOSPHINE OXIDE, HYDROXYCYCLOHEXYLPHENYL KETONE, BENZOPHENONE-1, DIMETHICONE, D&C VIOLET NO. 2 (CI 60725), D&C RED NO. 33 (CI 17200). -
FLAMMABLE

GEL TOP COAT INGREDIENTS:
DI-HEMA TRIMETHYLHEXYL DICARBAMATE, HEMA, HYDROXYPROPYL METHACRYLATE, TRIMETHYLBENZOYL DIPHENYLPHOSPHINE OXIDE, HYDROXYCYCLOHEXYL PHENYL KETONE, POLYSILICONE-13, D&C VIOLET NO. 2 (CI60725).

My first thought was that the base coat must have ingredients that help adhere the polish to your nails and keep it there for longer. When I put the base coat on it even looked different than the traditional base/top coat. I could tell that it was almost trying to fuse with my nails instead of just trying to cover them up. Which I thought was pretty awesome.

I was very happy with how my nails turned out! This kit seemed to make my nails more smooth than some of the other systems I have tried. Not only that, but they actually stayed on with no chipping and no discoloration! While some other gel companies stayed on some start to fade or peel on the ends. While the light pink is not my favorite I did love the kit and the color was beautiful! Even the color was a light color, it only required two coats unlike other light gels I have tried.

I definitely think that everyone should have a gel nail kit! You can find Sally Hansen’s Gel Nail Starter Kit on their website here, or at a retailer near you.

What do you think about gel nails? Let us know in the comments below!

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here.

Filed Under: beauty, nail art, nails, women

Zoya Pixie Dust Swatches and Review

August 19, 2013 By Amberlee 7 Comments

I LOVE nail polish! Lately, because my nails are no longer stubs, I have been super obsessed with all the nail polish that is out there! I recently stole some Zoya polish from a friend to bring you review of their latest Pixie Dust line!

Recently I have become a big fan of some of the textured polish that has been coming out. The Zoya Pixie Dust is actually my favorite of all of them so far! Not just because of the name, but also because it is not overly textured. Even though you can feel the texture it is not one that you will pick at because it is too much for you to handle.

Ladies please meet Tomoko. This is one of my favorites of the fall collection! It’s light but it truly stunning. I love that it is bright without being too much for fall.

Here is Chita. I do not normally like green but this Pixie Dust seems to enchant me, so I do not mind this color at all!

Next is Sunshine. I am not really sure if I agree with the name of this color, but I do love it so oh well.

While I believe that Carter is gorgeous, the formula on this one was a little runny. I’m not sure if it was just my bottle, or if it is the color itself. But it was a true shame, although it did turn out pretty.

This next one is one of my favorite of the bunch and I wish it was mine for keepsies, Arabella.

Dhara truly surprised me as orange is one of the few colors that I generally HATE, but I LOVE this one!

Of course with having all of these colors at my disposal I wasn’t going to leave you with just swatches! So this is one of the designs I came up with after drooling over all the colors!

Pixie Dust is one of my new favorite polishes! You can find these and other great Zoya Polishes on their website here, or at a retailer near you!

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: nail art, nails, women

Orly Smart Gels: Beauty Stop Online Review

August 12, 2013 By Amberlee 8 Comments

Hello, my name is Amberlee and I am a gel nails addict. Luckily for you guys I have been missing my gel addicts anonymous meetings so that I can bring you a new gel review!

I was send some wonderful Orly Gel Nail products from Beauty Stop Online. First let me talk about Beauty Stop Online. They offer TONS of both professional and personal care products at amazing prices. It is really hard to choose even one thing from their site and you end up wanting more! They have everything from hair products and hair tools, to nail products, makeup, and salon equipment. They truly are your one stop shop for all of your beauty needs!

After a long search of their website I decided to pick some products from their Orly Gel Polish selection, and here is what I got.

I received the Orly gel remover, the gel cleanser, cuticle oil, base and top coat, and 3 different colors. First off I love how big the bottles of the cleanser and the remover are. Each come with 4oz of product while most other companies have 2oz or less. I like to use a lot of the cleanser so this is perfect for me! This is the fun part about Beauty Stop Online! If you were to purchase either bottle anywhere else you would pay $9.99 a bottle, but from BSO you pay $4.99! Which I think is a great deal!

Like I said, I use a lot of the cleanser and I don’t notice too much of a difference from other cleansers (they mostly consist of alcohol), but I fell in love with the remover. Most of the time I use acetone to remove my gel nails, but that can be really harsh on your nails and of course your cuticles! So I love that this remover is designed to specifically remove Orly Gel Nails, does not take as much time as acetone and is definitely a lot more friendly to your nails.

The received the colors Rage, It’s Up To Blue, and Star Spangled. All of these are colors that I would not normally choose, but after seeing the swatches on their website I HAD to have them! They are all very shimmery and very unique. I can honestly say that I have never seen similar colors in any other gel polish lines. From what I understand after doing some research every Orly Smart Gels Polish is made to resemble a regular Orly counterpart. So if you have a favorite Orly Polish that you can’t live without, now you can have long lasting results with the Smart Gel version!

One thing that I was super excited about trying was the Smart Gels Cuticle Oil. My cuticles have always been a disaster area and it has only been lately that I have been on a mission to keep my nails up to par with all the other bloggers. To be honest I was a little afraid that the oil in other cuticle oils might hurt the coloring or even the seal of my gels so I just decided to not go there. When I say that Orly makes a cuticle oil just for gels to say I was excited just doesn’t cut it. I was a little worried about it being in such a small bottle, but it spreads really far and as you can see from the picture above I have barely made a dent in it. I love the way it smells and I love even more the way it soothes and protects my cuticles!

I normally don’t like to wear red unless it is during the holidays. There has been very few reds that I have actually enjoyed wearing. After seeing Orly’s Star Spangled I was in love! I don’t think I have ever gotten more comments on a solid color manicure in years! Here is what I am talking about:

Indoors

In the light

In the light at a different angle

These pictures don’t really do this color justice! I tried to take different angled pictures to show you how much this polish sparkled in the light, but the angles that sparkled the most would show up as a solid color on camera. This is by far the most beautiful red I have ever worn and I will definitely be showing off this color again very soon!

Next is another color that I do not normally wear but was enchanted by. It’s Up To Blue is described as a light blue, which to a certain extent is true but to me it is more of a bright blue than a light blue. Maybe you guys have a different opinion? Let me know what you think:

I had a little more luck with this color as far as showing how much it shimmers. Although I still must say that these photos do not do the color justice. The one problem I did notice about them is that they are a little opaque. In order to get full coverage with this colors I had to use three coats. The result is well worth it though! I am very impressed!

I was also impressed by the price. Each bottle of Orly Smart Gel Polish retails for $15.99 but the Base and Top Coat is $8.99 on BSO and the colors are $7.99. If I would have purchased these products elsewhere I would have paid $93.93 +tax. These products on Beauty Stop Online cost $47.93 +tax for a total savings of $46.

If you are looking for great products at even better prices you should check out Beauty Stop Online’s website here.

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: beauty, fun, nail art, nails, women

Stand Out Nails With Sally Hansen Insta-Gel! Review and Swatches

July 22, 2013 By Amberlee 11 Comments

As you all know I absolutely love Gel nails and I love creating designs with my gel polish. Not all of us can create free-hand designs on our nails, let alone have them all match. So how do you get perfectly designed Gel nails without paying a fortune at the salon?

With the Sally Hansen Salon Insta-Gel Starter kit! I love that this kit is so easy to use! Unlike other gel systems this kit only has really only 2 steps to get a beautiful manicure that all your friends will be jealous of! Each kit comes with a mini LED lamp, Gel cleansing cloths, 16 Gel polish strips, Gel top coat, a file, and a manicure stick. The starter kit comes in 3 different colors: Red My Lips (red), Wine Not ( shimmery dark red), and Shell We Dance (light pink).

This kit is super easy to use! First you lightly buff your natural nail, but make sure to LIGHTLY buff your nail otherwise you can damage it. Then you wipe your nails with the gel cleanser (I like to go over each nail twice to make sure that they are completely clean). Next you take the strips out of the package and stick them on your nails according to size ( I find this to be the hardest part because of the shape of my nails). After that you add the top coat over the stickers and cure under the LED light for 30 seconds. Last but not least, use the last cleanser wipe and remove the tacky layer off the top. Viola! You now have salon quality gel nails at home!

If you are like me and the colors available in the kit are not your style they have lots of other colors and even pre-made designs! So of course that’s where I run to! I received 3 different strips, two of which I am going to show you in this review (the other I’m sure you will see soon!).

First up is Pretty ‘N Poppy.

One of the main reasons I love the Insta-Gel kit is that you get everything you need when you buy a new polish. You don’t need to constantly buy refill kits of the necessities which can be very pricey after a while. In every kit there are 16 nail strips, Gel cleansing wipes, Top coat, a nail file, and manicure stick. Sound familiar? It’s pretty much everything included in the original kit but the LED lamp!

I was very surprised with how easy they are to put on! With other Gel kits it can take forever to do each layer, but this was simple and fast! After some bad experiences with nail strips I half expected these to turn out horrible, but they turned out perfect!

In the light

Indoors

I love how shiny they are, and I love how easy it was to get a perfect design! I have spent hours before painting my nails with Gel polish so I was very happy with my results! On the box it says to put one coat of top coat, but for these pictures I put 2 coats. I like my nails a little thicker so that they don’t break so I added 2 more coats later on.

Next I decided to use the Amazing Lace Nail Strips. I absolutely love the way these ones turned out. They have a gold color for the base and a realistic black lace design on top.

Outside

Indoors

This is one design that I have been wanting to do for a long time! I have seen some simple lace designs that I thought might be easy enough, but I just don’t think I have the patience to do a free hand lace design without messing it up. So I was very excited when I saw this product.

Tips for using Sally Hansen Insta-Gel Strips

LIGHTLY buff your nails! You want to make sure you get the whole surface area of your nail, but if you are too rough or file too much you can ruin your nail.
Make sure to clean your nails with the cleanser, like I said earlier I like to do this twice to make sure they are clean.
Stretch the strips to the end of your nail and then file off. This way the strip is stuck to your nail. If it is not stuck to the tip of your nail it will peel off.
Make sure to keep the clear polish off the edges and cuticles of your fingers. If you get the polish on your skin it will cause lifting of your nails.
The clear coat is pretty thin so make sure you go slowly and take your time putting the clear coat on so that you don’t get any on your skin.

The only thing I did not LOVE in this kit, was the LED Lamp. While it worked great I do wish it was a little bigger. It did have it’s upside though, because of it’s shape it was very easy to hold and it is also very easy to travel with. Other LED Lamps can be big and bulky and hard to find room for.

I highly recommend this product to anyone looking for salon quality nail designs that you can do at home! I loved the way these nails turned out and I loved how easy they were to apply!

You can find Sally Hansen Insta-Gel Products on their website here, or at you local retailer!

What do you think of these products? Let us know in the comments below!

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: beauty, nail art, nails, women

Everything’s Better Sugar Coated! Nail Swatches and Review

July 15, 2013 By Amberlee 9 Comments

One of the most popular nail trends recently has been textured nails. I have seen just about everything from furry nails, bumpy nails, nails with little balls glued to them, and of course matte nails. While some of them I are amazing, others (like furry nails) I still have not learned to love. I received some really awesome polish from Sally Hansen that they call Sugar Coat.

When I first heard of the textured polish craze I thought I would freak out if I had nails with texture! I hate it when there is a flaw in my nails, so the thought of every nail having “flaws” on them just did not seem like a fun idea. After trying them I realized that the pictures make the texture look a little more rough than they really are. I find textured polish to be tolerable and have started to like certain ones. I was pretty excited to try Sally Hansen’s Sugar Coat Line, and I am proud to tell you that they did not disappoint!

I was sent two colors to review for you guys: Cotton Candies and Bubble Plum. I think that the Cotton Candies color is my favorite of the two!

Bubble Plum and Cotton Candies with Cotton Candies bottle

Bubble Plum and Cotton Candies with Bubble Plum Bottle

They really do look like someone poured sugar into the bottle, but that are not sharp even though they look it. I was very surprised with how fast they dried! I was expecting this polish to take forever, but I was even able to paint my two year old’s nails with it! By the time she got up it was already dry! With most polish it ends up getting smeared or smudged because she doesn’t like to sit still long enough for it to dry. Mainly because she likes to go show them off!

In the light

Indoors

Because of my experience with the last Sally Hansen polish I thought that I was going to need at least 3 coats with this one, but to my surprise I only needed 2 coats and they were perfect! The polish glided surprisingly easy, and was the consistency of a slightly watery polish, but as it dried you could see the texture popping up.

For this review I just did a regular manicure because I was excited about my next review of the Sally Hansen Insta-Gel System, but next time you see these I will attempt at a texture color blocking design. I have see it done a couple times and I think they look pretty awesome! You can see what I’m talking about on the Pinterest post here. Be sure to follow us on Pinterest to see all of out designs, as well as all of the cool designs we find along the way!

If you have not tried a texture polish I highly suggest you do! I thought I would hate them, but it is one of those love/hate relationships. Not only that but the colors in this line are absolutely gorgeous!

You can find the Sugar Coat line on Sally Hansen’s Website here.

**Disclaimer** I was in no way paid, or obligated to give a positive review, or a review at all for this company. If you would like to read my full disclaimer for reviews you can find it here .

Filed Under: beauty, nail art, nails