Sally Hansen has a new line of "Insta-Dri" (why did they spell it like that? Weird.) shades that come in ugly bottles and are supposed to be super-quick-dry. There are a bunch of shades- a blue or two, a red/orange, a plum - but only two of them really caught my eye.
Lightening. Their spelling, not mine! This is a creamy yellow. Not neon and not too muted. Not as bright as a lot of other yellows. It's streaky like all yellow polishes are, but doing three coats eliminates the streaks and unevenness.
Jumpin' Jade. A shimmery blue-tinged green. Really pretty! It's not as green as I would like it to be, but it's still beautiful.
The colors are great. There are, however, a couple of weird things about these polishes!
For one, the bottles are a really weird shape. They're long and almost triangular, and I think they're pretty ugly.
What's weirder than the shape of the bottle is the shape of the brush. It's a huge, wide, flat and slightly curved monster of a brush. It's really... unique? It's gigantic! One of the strangest looking brushes I've seen. I have heard a lot of complaints about the brush in these, but I actually like it. The size and shape of the brush is intended to give you one-stroke coverage on all of your nails, resulting in a very fast manicure. This is the case for me- while the brush is a little too wide for a couple of my nails, it gives me perfect coverage with one brushstroke. Similar to OPI's Pro-Wide brush, but, uh, wider. And flatter.
The formula is a little three-freeish for me. It's thick but runny. The polish really does dry super fast, so that's a bonus. I did three coats of the yellow, no topcoat and it was dry in ten minutes. Two coats of Jumpin' Jade was dry in around five. That's without my usual coat of Seche Vite! Pretty cool.
I think these are on the pricier end of drugstore polishes. These are around $5, though they seem to go on sale often. Usually when I buy drugstore polishes, I expect them to be under $3, so sometimes it's a shock to see them cost upwards of $5 each. To put it in perspective, you can get OPIs, Essies, China Glaze, Orly, et cetera online for $2.60-$4.75 each. It also seems that the prices on drugstore polishes are steadily rising.
Overall, I love the gigantic brush and the quick-dry nature of these polishes. I like that I was able to go to a grocery store and get green and yellow polishes. I don't like the bottle shape, but that hardly matters...
I picked up the Jumpin' Jade a few weeks ago--I really like it. On my green wheel, it's one I always come back to--it is surprisingly on the blue side but really pretty all the same.
ReplyDeleteThe brush and bottle are totally strange. The bottle is awkward to hold when painting--maybe there's a trick to it? The brush is oddly like a very small, flat eyeshadow brush, but I have to agree with you on its effectiveness!
I love Jumpin' Jade. I don't usually don't wear one color again for months after I've last used it, but I've worn this 3-4 times since December. It may be my favorite green ever.
ReplyDeleteHonestly Scrange...I love the way you write. Such hilarious honesty. These bottles are pretty funky and I'm not diggin' the name either. Insta-what? Anyway....I have Lightening and LOVE it. And I love that unlike many of the hot hot Sally Hansen releases, these are easier to find.
ReplyDeleteYea mon!
I received a bottle of one of the boring "mom" colors of this to try. The wide brush was kinda neat, but the wide stick it is attached to kept globbing polish all over my fingers. I had trouble wiping it off on the bottle rim. I think the runny 3-free formula was part of the problem. None of the colors have really grabbed me yet. If you are going to buy them, wait til there is a sale and then use a coupon so you can get them super cheap.
ReplyDeletethey look lovely
ReplyDeleteOmigosh Scrangie...I bought a few of these polishes when they first came out and I absolutely hated them! GoodGawd the brushes are just awful IMO and the formula didn't last 48 hours.
ReplyDeleteAs usual you make anything look gorgeous on you, so they all look efortless and fantastic.
Peace and light***
Kat
I like these colors. I've seen these Sally Hansen bottles in Target and thought they looked pretty weird myself. I wouldn't mind giving them a try though. Lightening is pretty.
ReplyDeletelmao so i have come to the conclusion that we are almost nail polish twins now... i ocme on here and everu drug store polish you guy... i have just bought..i bought these two also :) its nice to see them in perfect polish application. just like those claires mixables, i havent even tried ony of mine since i attepted my jingle bell back in early december. i was kind of disappointed.
ReplyDeleteKatharine, yeah, isn't it weird? Very uncomfortable to hold, I wonder what the reasoning was behind that design?
ReplyDeleteDiana, so awesome :) I get like that with colors sometimes- I think China Glaze Sexagon is my "wear a million times" color :)
B, awwwwe thank you! I feel the same way about you :) And you're drop-dead-gorgeous to boot! *high five*
Sydni, yeah, I had that problem too! I think they need to work on their formula and bottles a little more next time. Or go back to the old awesome Sally Hansen I remember!
Sanna, they are quite nice :)
Kat, lol that's what everyone says!! I must be freaky, they worked for me :)
The Pretty Brown Girl, they're worth a try if you like the colors!
Danielle, lol that is SO funny! I also got a bunch of those Mixables when they were on sale, I haven't used any of them besides Jingle Bell! How crazy is that?!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSomeone had suggested this line to me as being good to use with the Konads. I'll have to go check them out :)
ReplyDeletejust saw them at wal-mart today! but here in canada they're priced at about $8-9 :(
ReplyDeletei was about to grab the green one but then i remembered that CK is coming out with an emerald green nail polish in the next month-ish at my work so i resisted.
Where can we find OPI and all that so cheap online? I don't live in the US though.
ReplyDeleteBefore I even saw both pics, I just knew you'd be talking about the yellow and green ones from this line!
ReplyDeleteHow's the wear on these? For some reason, all of the SH polishes I have used in the past chipped in less than a day.
i believe i told you that i don't do nails... i really don't and not sure why i have to follow your blog and keep reading it!
ReplyDeletetoo addictive.
love the GREEN on you!
envious and drooling at the same time.
I love the green one Jumpin' Jade. look fantastic on you.
ReplyDeleteThey do have some really pretty colors...I love JJ! (the brush scared me though LOL) You really rock the yellow. It's a tough color for some people to pull off, but it looks awesome on you.
ReplyDeleteI guess we have the same taste...those are the only 2 colors I picked up...but haven't tried them yet. Both look gorgeous on you:)
ReplyDeleteJumpin' Jade ooh I dig it, reminds me somewhat of UD's Pigeon. Would love to get my mitts on that. --Jess
ReplyDeleteLightening is a great color! I will probably have to trim my nails down to wear it, but that's A-OK. Thanks for sharing this great find.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Scrangie...have you heard about the Zoya Exchange? http://www.zoya.com/exchange/ Is it something they do every year?
I have Lightening and like it a lot. I haven't seen Jumpin' Jade in a store near me yet, otherwise I would have that already as well!
ReplyDeletei love the insta-dri. i love love love the brush - couldn't understand the bottle shape either but oh well
ReplyDeletewill have to get the jade - have lightening, clear, and the navy colored one (forgot the name hehe)
Love both colors on you. The yellow is my favorite!
ReplyDeleteI just went and got six of these polishes. I am excited!
ReplyDeleteHow close is Jumpin' Jade to China Glazes Outta Bounds? Anyone know?
Thanks!
I have a bottle of Jumpin' Jade, which I love and Uptempo Plum, which is untried. I really like the experience of applying nail polish from a pretty bottle. It's an extension of my vanity. I would have purchased way more of the Insta-Dri polishes were the bottles not so uncomely. Thankfully, Jumpin' Jade appeases my vanity when on my nails. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have Uptempo Plum, and it's one of those "Is it black?" type purples, but I still like it.
ReplyDeleteThe brush took me a little getting used to, but I don't mind it. Almost all polish chips for me within a day, because of my job, but this actually held pretty well with a Seche Vite topcoat - very minor chipping, mostly just tipwear.
I don't really have any complaints about this line yet. I wonder why other people are having such an awful time with the formula, brush, etc?
By the way, I'm glad to see Jumpin Jade swatched - I've been debating buying it!
it's so weird because i was going to come here and ask if you'd tried them and they were here! i have the green and the shimmery purple. don't know how shimmery it will be on the nail.
ReplyDelete"Lightening" is spelled correctly.
ReplyDeleteChantel, you're welcome :)
ReplyDeletePhyrra, oooh I didn't think to try, I'll have to see how they work!
A dj, ooh, CK as in Calvin Klein?? Emerald green?? AHHHH AWESOME!!!
Raquel, all of us get ours from 8ty8beauty.com or head2toebeauty.com :)
Deb, haha awesome! I only wore them for a day but didn't notice any significant wear, sorry I'm not more help!
Jojoba, haha you are so sweet! Thank you :)
Andreja, thank you :)
Amanda, thank you so much. I love yellow :)
rmcandlelight, neat :D Thank you!
Clockwork, ahhh UD why don't you make polish anymore?! *laments*
Dara, pretty though :) I have heard of the Zoya Exchange, and I believe this is the first time they've done it :) I am not participating because I can't bear to part with any of my polish!
Erin, all of my stores seem to be restocking this display, so you'll probably see it soon :)
Miss Yaya, oh good someone else who likes the brush! I love it!
Lucy, thank you, mine too!
Chayzer, hmm, I don't think they're really very close. Outta Bounds is a bright metallic emerald green, Jumpin Jade is darker and bluer :)
Tarotbydiana, I totally agree, a pretty bottle makes it so much nicer. One of the reasons I love Lippmanns and Nfu Oh- cute bottles!
Shattered, that's good to hear! I think the brush is just unusual compared to the average polish brush and there's a different technique for using it that's giving people trouble :)
Sara, haha! :) I keep looking at the purple at the store and putting it back- it looks really dark!
Anonymous, I didn't say it was spelled wrong, but it's a very odd choice for them to use the word "lightening" instead of "lightning" as in the stuff during a thunderstorm... Lightning fits with the 'speed' theme of these names, lightening doesn't make sense.
good point on the "lightening" thing scrangie, i never thought of the "speed" theme HAHA im not the brightest bulb i guess ;-)
ReplyDeleteDanielle, haha you are so cute :)
ReplyDeleteHELP! I can't get this crap off my fingers or nails.
ReplyDeleteI picked up Jumpin' Jade at the neighbourhood drugstore. Love the colour! Hate the brush! And my entire toe turned green when I took it off. My cuticles are unbelievably stained. Am wondering whether the beautiful colour was worth all the trouble.
ReplyDelete