I didn't pick up all the shades- I left the cremes behind. I'm more interested in glitter, but there was a yellow creme and a light teal creme that looked pretty good, I may go back and get them at some point.
Here's what I got from Hard Candy Just Nails:
Breakup. A clear-ish base with very large particle opalescent hexagonal glitter. I say that the base is clear-ish because it's speckled with little shimmer particles, smaller than glitter but large enough to make the base a little milky and sparkly. On me, mostly the orange-yellow-red side of the opal glitter shows. In the bottle it has a blue-purple-green side that I just adore and wish it showed more on me. This might be best as a topcoat because it's not the most opaque glitter in the world.
Date Night. Light medium warm pink glitter. Remember when I was posting about the new Zoya UltraGlitters and I said that all the pink glitters on the market were the same color? They're this color. This is pretty, don't get me wrong, but I wish the shade was more unique.
Envy. Vampy blue-green shimmer. This is the color I used for my Depression Awareness ribbon manicure- you didn't forget that it's still Depression Awareness Month, did you? This is a gorgeous color, blackened and still shimmery. It does look mostly black indoors and in sunlight the shimmer catches the light and it's just really pretty to look at. I wish it was a little less blue-based and a touch more yellow-toned. Lots of blue-greens out there lately.
Hot Pants. Ick. I mean.... Murky mauve-pink sheer base with large holo hex glitter and small holo round glitter. This is a really weak version of China Glaze Carnival Lights or Nubar Sugar or something. I do like the look of sheer colored base with hexagonal holo glitter, I just wish the base color wasn't so muddy and ew. It looks terrible on me. It should have been pinker or brighter, this base shade looks kind of lifeless to me. Works great as a topcoat, though.
Lava. HOTNESS. Bright red shimmer base with gold-orange iridescent metallic flecks. It's not really glitter... More like tiny little broken flakes. I love this. A lot. I've been a red-hater for a long time (to me it's boring, uninspired and overdone) and within the past year my taste has changed so much. Now I'm craving bright reds like this. But enough about me... Lava has a very iridescent, almost duochrome look to it. It flickers and changes in the light, like it's filled with little glowing embers or tiny flames. Lots of red, orange and gold flakes.
Mr. Right. Vampy dark blue shimmer. Whoa mama. Blue velvet. Gorgeous. Probably not the least bit unique, but still... very pretty to look at, isn't it? Like Envy, it does look mostly black with a hint of blue shimmer indoors, but outside when the sun catches it just right... perfection.
Mr. Wrong. If this is wrong, I don't wanna be right. It's a steel blue, grey, silver, gold and taupe metal flake fusion. This is probably the coolest polish in the whole line. Gahhh, it's so awesome!! It's a bunch of tiny little flecks of metallic shimmer- not really glitter like in Date Night or Sweet P. The particles are very thin and light. The overall effect is mesmerizing.
Sweet P. Cause everyone needs a mother.... Er, sorry. I hate that song. But I do like it when polish names make me think of music. Aaaaaaaanyway, Sweet P is a pea-soup glitter. Okay, it's not as murky-swampy as pea soup, it's more like fresh peas. Bright springy green glitter. A little muted. Kind of a retro-70's avocado refrigerator look. Or like the paint on one of those carnival rides. I'm digging it. Green, glitter, what's not to love? It's not as bright or complex as NYX Lime Sparkle, though.The formula on these was okay. A little thick on a few, sort of watery on the others. Kinda sheer. Took a long time to dry. Not horrible, but it's not going to win any awards. I did three coats in all these pictures and they needed all three. Maybe Lava and Mr. Right could get away with two. Also worth noting: these are mini sized. .35 fluid ounces. Standard polish size is .5 fluid ounces. These also come with little plastic rings that fall off easily, do not try to pick up the bottle by the rings. The old Hard Candy jelly rings stayed on much better.
I have a few thoughts on these. One, I'm happy to see Hard Candy back with interesting colors, but I'm also a little disappointed that they're not as cool as they used to be. There's still hope- these colors aren't boring, but they're not the edgy, unique shades Hard Candy was known for.
Second, I'm kinda irked that I have to go to Wal-Mart to get these. It's kind of like shopping at the circus. Stuff hanging off of shelves in narrow, dirty, dimly lit aisles, nail polish covering the floor and all displays within a ten foot radius, dozens of unsupervised children running around screaming... (Sorry, Wal-Mart lovers, I just can't do it!) I also feel that being sold only at Wal-Mart cheapens the already devalued image of Hard Candy. The Hard Candy line really went downhill in the last few years, offering chalky makeup in standard shades and four boring polish colors. I'd love to see this brand restored to its former self. I still have my first two Hard Candy lipsticks- Piglet and Skitzo- even though they are totally rancid and unwearable, as a relic of good days gone by.
Third, what's up with the price?? $5.00 for a mini? From Wal-Mart? You've got to be kidding me. I guess I'm just so used to paying $4.48 for OPI and $3.20 for China Glaze, which are full-sized AND pro/salon brands (not drugstore brands). I have nothing against drugstore polish at all, but I do think $5.00 for .35fl oz of Wal-Mart polish is a little steep. Hard Candy, you're no longer a high-end brand, you don't need the prestige price tag.
But... overall... I really like most of the colors I got, I would actually wear almost all of them and I'm happy that they're at least available to everyone who wants them. The makeup line looked kinda cool, if I see some good reviews I might actually venture back to that place to try some of it.
