Thursday, September 20, 2012

Vintage Hard Candy Week - The Blues

Good morning everyone, and happy Thursday!! Schoolwork tends to get pretty crazy at the mid-week point so I'm sorry I missed you all yesterday. I'm back today with two of Hard Candy's iconic blue shades, Hick and Sky. I call these shades iconic because they were two of the company's most popular shades and when I think of Hard Candy, these are a couple of the shades that immediately come to mind. Blue was one of Hard Candy's signature shades and they did quite a few good ones. Another one of my favorite Hard Candy blues is Manic, which I swatched here a while back: Hard Candy Manic.

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First up is Hard Candy Hick, which I believe came out sometime around 1998. There used to be this amazing old Hard Candy reference site but it was recently taken down so a lot of these dates are from memory. Anyways, Hick is a fantastic periwinkle blue with silver glitter. The glitter is not gritty and all, and it dries to a very smooth finish.

Hick was one of the original shades that made it into the big, flat bottles when Hard Candy was bought by LVMH and the line got a huge overhaul in 2001 and most of the old shades went down the drain. That's another reason why Hick was so iconic is because it stood the test of time when the majority of the old Hard Candy shades were discontinued.

Here's 3 coats of Hard Candy Hick. Enjoy!




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Next up is Hard Candy Sky, the nail polish that started it all. Sky is a simple sky blue cream that has a teeny hint of blue shimmer but it was so subtle that I couldn't even capture it in pictures. You just have to believe that it is there. Application was pretty meh, pretty runny and hard to keep from flooding my cuticles but that seems to be the standard for these vintage Hard Candy cremes.

Sky was created in Hard Candy creator Dineh Mohajer's dorm room in 1995 by mixing a few polish colors together to get the perfect shade of baby blue to match her sandals. People went absolutely gaga for it, and when she brought a few bottles to Fred Segal to sell, they sold immediately and the brand Hard Candy was born. When Alicia Silverstone showed up on David Letterman wearing Sky nail polish in 1995, the brand absolutely exploded in popularity and Dineh began selling Hard Candy at retailers such as Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Sephora. Hard Candy grew to have a huge cult following and was beloved by teenagers, fashionistas and celebrities alike.

Sky is the only color that has been seen in every single Hard Candy line, inlcuding the Wal-Mart reincarnation. It is THE color of Hard Candy and is the reason why it became so popular in the 90s. I have three different versions of Hard Candy Sky in my stash but I have chosen to show you the original one today. 

Here's 2 coats of Hard Candy Sky. Enjoy!



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Hope you've all enjoyed today's vintage shades of Hard Candy! Thanks for stopping by and I will see you tomorrow with more history lessons, I mean vintage Hard Candy swatches!

62 comments:

  1. Sky was one of my first lemmings when I started to get polish obsessed. I never ended up getting it (I have no Walmart near me) but it's still one of my favorite light blue cremes! And Hick is fabulous -- but the name? Ha!

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    1. Haha Hick is definitely an interesting name, it definitely fits in with the Hard Candy aesthetic though! Sky is a beaut, it's pretty much the same in the Wal-Mart line as it was back in 1996. It's probably the only thing that hasn't changed about Hard Candy over the years.

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  2. Great colours - I have had a very unfortunate experience with Hard Candy though - turned my nails blue)))

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  3. I love them both - but Sky is probably my fav! I can't find Hard Candy polishes around here anywhere!

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    1. Glad you like! The new Hard Candy line is sold at Wal-Mart, do you have one by you?

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  4. Sky is so pretty, it looks like porcelain!

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  5. Man, I love Hard Candy. I just picked up 9 off of ebay, but they're not the vintage ones (i grabbede stuff like Rumor Mill, Hot Pants, Envy, etc). I need to find some vintage HC!!! And someday I will own Porno. Just cause that is the single most awesome polish name ever and makes me giggle like a 5 year old.

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    1. Hard Candy is so fun, even the new ones are pretty cool! There are a few good vintage ones on eBay right now (Hype and Pixie) that I would highly suggest adding to your stash! I have Porno, it's a good one =)

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  6. Hick is so pretty! I love those silver sparkles!

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  7. I love jeans-look polishes, this one included, but Sky is sooo pretty too!!

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    1. It really does have that blue jeans feel to it for sure! Glad you like them =)

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  8. Love Hick! Both do look gorgeous on ya :)

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  9. I remember Alicia Silverstone with Letterman, it was at the height of her career and what ever she touched went flying off the shelves. Sometimes I'm disappointed when a big company takes over a small niche company because they just don't get the appeal... they just "revamp" it to make it more profitable until the small brand is no longer recognizable from it original image/product... and their mission gets lost too... The only real benefit from being bought out is access to large lines of distribution networks. That's why Essie at Walgreens and OPI can now be found at Target.

    Love both by the way. Your really go at doing nails so we can really tell how bad the vintage formula is. :)

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    1. I agree, Hard Candy just doesn't have the edge it once had. It's still a cool brand but I miss the good old days for sure! Haha thanks, my polish skills aren't too bad I suppose =)

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    2. Ooops, my typo, we can't tell.... but you knew what I meant. Heeeehee.

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  10. I am drooling over Hick. GORG.

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  11. Whoa Hick is amazing! I really need to start paying attention more to these Hard Candy polishes!

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    1. You definitely do! Hick pops up on eBay pretty often so keep your eyes peeled!

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  12. I'm not sure why I never paid attention to hard Candy. They have some really pretty polishes!

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  13. I love learning the history behind these and I can see why Sky caused a sensation - it's gorgeous!

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    1. It really is beautiful! There weren't really any polishes like that back in the day so it was extra special =)

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  14. Hick: terrible name, wonderful polish!

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    1. Haha the name is definitely controversial but it really is a great polish!

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  15. Oh my, so many gorgeous vintage polishes! Amazing!

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  16. Wow, it's amazing how a celebrity makes a nail polish popular!!! Maybe I should mix something up and accidentally spill it over Lady Gaga's nails! Hehe, pretty cool story about Hard Candy, but I really can see why people liked it, the color is gorgeous!!

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    1. So cool, right? This was right after Clueless came out so she was at the very height of popularity. LOL you should definitely run into Lady Gaga with some polish =)

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  17. I didn't know all that about Hard Candy's beginnings! What a great polish! Thanks for the swatches:)

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    1. Glad to help you learn something new today =) I'm glad you like!

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  18. gorgeous and glorious - might have to go on an ebay trawl!! lol

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    1. Absolutely! Definitely keep your eyes peeled on ebay, these two shades pop up quite frequently!

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  19. Wowza, girl! I have the mini of Hick that you sent me, and I love it! You're swatches are beyond gorgeous on both! I have the new version of Sky, but I still want the vintage OF COURSE!

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    1. Thanks girl!! You definitely need to find the vintage version, it is a part of Hard Candy history!

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  20. Oooh I love Sky! What a fantastic creamy blue!

    Great swatches :) I'm slowly falling in love with vintage Hard Candy!

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  21. Sky was one of the nail polishes that pulled me into the obsession! Your swatches of both of these are amazing (as usual :D)!

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  22. Wow, both of these are super gorgeous!

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  23. Hick is so pretty! I really love periwinkle shades like that!!

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  24. Hick is so gorgeous!

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  25. these are so pretty! I'm gonna keep my eye out for Sky at my Wal-mart

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  26. if you use the website way back machine you may be able to find the HC reference site you mentioned
    http://archive.org/web/web.php

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