Retro Sunday Squared - Vintage Sally Hansen Hard as Nails

Happy Sunday everyone! Long time no see =) Today Dana and I have decided to share some vintage Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polishes with you. Don't forget to check out Dana's post over at Polished Claws Up, she has some fun ones to show you guys today!!

I've had a tough time researching these polishes, as there are so many incarnations of Hard as Nails polish still available these days so I'm not quite sure when exactly these came out. My guess is somewhere in the mid-to-late 90's but don't quote me on that. This line is known for its matching brush handles, which is probably my favorite thing about them!! If the polish is shimmery, the brush handle with be a matching shimmery color. If the polish is glitter, there will be glitter embedded in the brush handle. I think the whole matching brush trend needs to be resurrected, it makes the bottles look so pretty =)

Anyways, the first Hard as Nails polish I have for you today is Slick Frost. Of all the vintage Hard as Nails polishes I own, this is hands down my favorite. In fact, this is probably one of my top 3 favorite oranges in my entire collection. Slick Frost is an amazing, glowy bright orange. It is a bit brushstroke-y, but I really don't mind because it just enhances the glow of the polish. Old polishes like this tend to be a bit watery and sheer, so it took 3 coats to reach opacity here. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the bottle but I assure you that the brush handle is a lovely, shimmery orange that matches the Slick Frost polish. SO COOL!

Here is Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Slick Frost, 3 coats with topcoat.

Next up is Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Nuclear. Nuclear may be one of the oddest polishes in my collection. It is from a special edition line of glitters, and again, I have no idea when these came out. The line consists of silver holo glitter in sheer colored bases. Sounds great but in reality, they're actually not all that awesome. Nuclear is probably the ugliest of them all, a silver holo glitter in a sheer, watery yellow base. I chose it because I though that the yellow base would lend a gold-ish tinge to the glitter that would mesh nicely with Slick Frost. It definitely made the glitter appear gold, but I'm not so sure it meshed well with Slick Frost. It added a very unpleasant yellow cast and I'm not digging it. In fact, I'm not sure this polish would mesh well with much of anything! Anyways, it was an interesting experiment. The best thing about this polish is the matching glitter handle =)

Here's 2 coats of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Nuclear over Slick Frost.

Hope you've enjoyed this edition of Retro Sunday Squared!!! Don't forget to check out Dana's post as well =) See you next time!

Kleancolor Metallic Orange: Swatches and Review

Holy crap, you guys. This is probably the most amazing orange nail polish I have ever seen in my life. It is so wonderfully shiny and glowy, I can't even handle it. It's a perfect orange for Halloween season as well. This orange is part of the Kleancolor Metallic line, which has taken a spot in my top 5 collections of all time. All of the metallic polishes that I have tried in this line are outstanding, I can't wait to show you the rest of them. You will be amazed.

I have a lot of nail polish. Really, I do. More than you probably think I have. So it really takes a lot for me to be amazed when it comes to nail polish these days. Most of the collections that people are fawning over these days (coughOPIMuppetscough) fail to impress me even the slightest bit. The fact that Metallic Orange made me gasp when I was applying it, really says something about this polish. It's truly unique, amazing and a MUST HAVE for your collection. In fact, every Kleancolor Metallic I have tried is a winner. And again, for $1.75 a bottle, what have you got to lose?

The application on this polish was flawless. FLAWLESS I TELL YOU! I did two coats because I was photographing, but in real life this is definitely a one coat polish. These photos are no cleanup at all. No cleanup!! Thats how smoothly and evenly this stuff went on. The only gripe I have with this polish is that the dry time is very long. It definitely does not have normal dry time, even with a quick dry top coat like Seche Vite. I'd say it was dry to the touch in 5 minutes, and a good 20 minutes before it was dry enough for me to start using my hands again. And yes, that was with my quick dry top coat. But for how awesome this polish is, I really don't care how long the dry time is.

Lots of pics in lots of different lighting situations so you can get a good idea of what it really looks like:

This is my perfect, glowy autumn orange and it is perfect for Halloween!! Hope you enjoyed the 80 bajillion pics I took of Kleancolor Metallic Orange =) Have a fantastic day everyone!

- Jacqui

China Glaze Branding Iron - Vampy Nubs

Good evening everyone and happy autumnal equinox! Today marks the start of my absolute favorite season of the year. There is just something about fall that makes me giddy. The cool, crisp air, the changing leaves, the pumpkins, the apple cider, the bonfires, and of course, Halloween!

I decided to start out the season by chopping off my nails and turning them into nubs. I had several breaks along the edges, so I figured it was time to get rid of my long nails and start fresh again. I am constantly playing with the shape and length of my nails, so please bear with me =)

There is nothing quite like a deep, vampy polish on über short nails. I decided to go with China Glaze Branding Iron, a velvety deep and glowy burgundy red. It is from China Glaze's Fall 2008 collection Rodeo Diva, which in my opinion, is the best fall collection that China Glaze has ever released. It is filled with beautiful, rich colors that really epitomize the season for me. If you have never checked out China Glaze's Rodeo Diva collection, please do! It is absolutely fantastic.

So here is Branding Iron! It is so wonderful and glowy, and such a perfect color for my newly shortened nails. I am in love with it! Hope you enjoy!

And here's one without the bottle so you can get a better view of my nubs. I quite like them at this length!

Hope everyone has a great evening!

-Jacqui =)