Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Honeymoon Red

Hello readers!

I realized I haven't paint any red on my nails before and I only own 3 reds in my stash. I tend to lean towards other colors and reserve red to my toe nails. So I made a point to try it out on my nails and here they are!

First up, I had bottle and swatch comparison on the three reds I have:

L-R: Essie Limited Addiction, Sally Hansen Honeymoon Red, OPI I'm Not Really A Waitress

Two coats for each

Essie Limited Addiction is a cool toned red, like blood. Common shade but it's always good to have classic red in the stash :P

OPI I'm Not Really A Waitress is an awesome seductive dark red. I had been wondering why it's so popular till I swatched it. The shimmers really glows yet it's amazingly smooth on the surface. It looks like a ruby gem.. I always like jewel toned finish and this is a really really nice red to have.

Sally Hansen Honeymoon Red is a vibrant red infused with fresh berry undertone. For me, it's incredibly sexy! Berry red is in my alley alright! I can never have too much berry in my stash, OPI Miami Beet being my favorite :)

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength has a long thin brush which makes it easy to control and manage. Pigmentation-wise, it's opaque in 1 coat but I used 2 for a brighter tone.

Honeymoon Red is really appropriate for its name. A happy red accompanies the bride to her wedding getaway; bright, cheery and sexy!

Honeymoon Red in artificial light: The berry undertone shied away

Outdoor under the shade

Happy berry red, glossy and shining!

Rub your eyes and look again: There's shimmer under direct light!

Indoor, natural lighting

A last close up shot under natural lighting

The mani was done on Tuesday and I had 5-day certification training the following week. I had to do my homework every night and sit for exam on the last day, which left me with no time to change my mani at all. I guess the diamond strength of it does work brilliantly: chip-free for 10 days with minimum tip wear!

2 coats of Sally Hansen Honeymoon Red
1 coat of Seche Clear base coat
1 coat of Seche Vite dry fast top coat

Sally Hansen Cuticle Treatment

I was chatting with my sister in Whatsapp the other day and she sent a photo of her nails. We laughed because she was trying to imitate the pose from my photos, you know, the contorted angle when I was holding the bottles to show my latest manicure. We also talked about cuticles, which reminded me to write this post.

I push my cuticles before I apply nail polish. I use hand lotion every night. But my cuticles are still bad. So I decided to resolve this by using Sally Hansen's cuticle treatment, bought from Watsons:

Sally Hansen Gel Cuticle Remover. RM29.90
(I bought it for RM25 at sale price)

From the instructions, we are to push cuticles after leaving it on for 2 minutes. I'm not sure why we can't leave it for more than 8 minutes because it didn't hurt when I tried. The tube has a slanted tip that was meant to push your cuticles. I find this unhygienic so I used my cuticle pusher instead. This gel is effective - it easily peels off the excess cuticles after 2 minutes. You won't even feel a thing. It also leaves a nice kiwi smell on your nails :)

I forgot to take photos of my cuticles after using the product, sorry!

For maintenance, I apply Sally Hansen Cuticle Oil on my nails every night:

Sally Hansen Vitamin E Nail & Cuticle Oil
(I can't remember the price, it should be RM20+)

It has a brush that's similar to nail polish's,
making it easier to apply the oil on the nails without dripping

To use, take the brush and swipe it on the cuticles. Massage the oil with your fingers to let the oil seep into the cuticles. I can see slight improvements on my nails but results are only evident after a period of time so I can't give my verdict now.

Sis, hope you're reading this. So far it kinda works for me so you may wish to buy them in your local drugstore :)

OPI + Sally Hansen = Nail Marbling

And so I did marbling. I read about it, watched YouTubes tutorials, took in few tips from there and went ahead with my experiment. It is indeed a very tacky process with hit-or-miss results. Cleaning up is a bitch, especially on the edges!

But I enjoyed it. Adding colors into water, creating pattern, getting your nails "painted" in various colors all in one go is FUN!

For my first try, I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Beige Blast as the base. Application was thin and runny, it required 3 thin coats for opacity showing hints of nail line. I love the flathead brush, it's easier to apply and covers the nails in few strokes! For marbling, I had it with OPI Funkey Dunkey, OPI Miami Beet and OPI Jade Is The New Black.

L-R: OPI Funkey Dunky, Sally Hansen Beige Blast, OPI Miami Beet, OPI Jade Is The New Black

Flathead brush from Sally Hansen Insta-Dri collection

I thought my marbling went well without glitches. At least everything went on smoothly in the making. Sure the pattern was not uniform across all nails, I have yet to excel in that. What I didn't expect was shades that appeared washed-out in some nails. Why? I don't know :( My color combination sucked too; the berry & purple didn't shine together, this green & purple didn't look great either.

I did my base and marbling in 2 hours, with remakes & touch-ups included. When it was all over the table was littered with toothpicks, paint, stains, scotch-tapes, soiled paper towels and dirty bowl. Oh my.

 

 

 

Above photos show my marbled mani without clean-up done. Ok I lied. I cleaned the edges but wasn't too conscientious in it... hence the ugly sight. I also have issue in applying polish without staining my cuticles - I find it hard to leave a consistent gap between both, I need to practice more!

Despite the fug design, fast chipping and awful ends, I wore this mani for a week! (shamelessly)

3 thin coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Beige Blast
3 droplets of OPI Funky Dunky
3 droplets of OPI Miami Beet
3 droplets of OPI Jade Is The New Black
Seche Clear base coat
Seche Vite dry fast top coat