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Thursday, June 4, 2015

Review & Swatches: Sally Hansen Pearl Crush Nail Color in Silver Scallop

Of the eight new Sally Hansen Pearl Crush shades that I first showed you HERE, the one I wanted the very most was Silver Scallop. I finally found it at Target recently and I've been playing around with it ever since I purchased it. So let's take a closer look, shall we?

Sally Hansen Pearl Crush Nail Color in Silver Scallop
(retail: $5.49 at Target, 0.4 oz)

Keep reading for my full review, with lots of swatches...






Silver Scallop is a glitter polish that has a very sheer, gray tinted base that's loaded with tons of iridescent shimmer (teeny-tiny flakes of shimmer). What I didn't expect from this polish was that, in addition to large iridescent hexes, there are also some pretty large mylar shards here as well (see circle above). You'l get a better look at the shards in my swatches in a moment. 

Also, the hexes are NOT metallic. They are made of mylar as well. I wasn't 100% sure about that until I picked a few off the brush and cleaned them off with some acetone to inspect them. In case you're curious:

Iridescent mylar hex in the palm of my hand

The same mylar hex in bright light (on a Sephora blush compact)

As you can see, the hexes are definitely made of mylar and not metallic foil. What's interesting about this is that the mylar is not that stiff, unforgiving kind of mylar (like the shards in the Revlon Moon Candy polishes that are super jagged). The hexes in this polish LOOK huge on the nail, but they are surprisingly easy to smooth out. I only needed two coats of my favorite NYC Grand Central Station to make these hexes completely smooth to the touch. Granted, these glitter pieces are not going to appear smooth in my swatches, but you have to trust me when I say that it's very easy to get them smooth to the touch

Made in USA

NOTE: Per the instructions above, Sally Hansen directs you to "dab" each coat onto the nail (as opposed to "brushing" the polish onto the nail). This is important to remember when you see the following swatches.

Two coats of Sally Hansen Silver Scallop, no top coat

Well here's the deal. "Dabbing" this polish on can definitely help you get these large glitters and shards onto your nail, but it also causes complete chaos when you're trying to get a clean look with the shimmery (borderline frosty) base color. If you've ever worked with frosts, you know that dabbing them makes them look, well, like crap. The clean, uniform brush strokes that you shoot for when applying frosts get totally destroyed in the dabbing process. PLUS, when I dabbed, I got bubbles. Lots of bubbles:


Here's a better look at the shards that are also in this polish (see arrows below):


For my next experiment, I tried applying a deep purple polish (L'Oreal Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque in All Shine on Me) as my base color, followed by two coats of Silver Scallop:



This time I did my best to BRUSH this polish on to my nail, rather than dab as directed. I wasn't able to get the glitter placed exactly where I wanted it, but you can see that the overall look is much cleaner than that first attempt. 


And here's what the same manicure looked like after two coats of NYC Grand Central Station:



I was hoping that the top coat might make the slight bubbling a little bit less noticeable, and I think it did help conceal it a little bit. I know it's hard to believe looking at these swatches but after two coats of top coat, I could not feel ANY of the glitter when I touched my nails. It was absolutely 100% smooth to the touch, despite how chunky it appears.


So I was getting ready to tell you that I'm just not "feeling" this nail polish, when I decided to keep wearing it for a few more days...just to see if my feelings might change. On day four of this manicure, I noticed something when I was in my car, so I took the picture above. If you look at the nail with the arrow, do you notice that the glitter almost looks like a water droplet manicure? It kind of does, right?? In fact, the longer I wore this manicure, the more it reminded me of Dearnatural62's water droplet manicure she did HERE. And believe it or not, from a distance, these glitter pieces look even more like random water droplets than they appear in this pic.

As for wear-time, dry-time, etc., this polish dries at a normal rate (not super slowly but I would suggest using a quick-dry top coat to speed up the process). I haven't been able to completely rid myself of the bubbling issue, but it was quite warm here in San Diego when I was playing around with this polish, so that MIGHT have something to do with it. Wear-time has been quite good; I went five days with just tip-wear and no chipping when I wore Silver Scallop over the purple L'Oreal polish, but I did have two layers of NYC Grand Central Station on top (which pretty much makes all polishes wear like iron for me). No real issues with removal--this one removed quite easily despite the chunky glitter pieces.

FINAL VERDICT: I think it's fair to say that I have mixed emotions about this polish. Do I love it? No. But do I think it has potential for some fun nail looks? Yes. I think the iridescence is pretty over a darker polish, and if I'm in the mood for large, random pieces of glitter on my nails, well you can't get much larger or more random than this! Plus, I'm sort of loving that you can kind of achieve a water droplet look with this polish, without having to do an actual water droplet manicure. I don't know...I think that if you're a hardcore nail person you'll probably want to play around with one of these polishes, but if you're more of a "let me polish my nails quickly and be done with it" type of person, this line might not be for you. I don't regret my purchase, but I'm not sure if I actually need additional shades. I think I'm good with just the one for now.

Do you own any of the new Sally Hansen Pearl Crush Nail Colors? If so, what do you think of them? I'd love to hear from you!

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.
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26 comments

  1. Hace you seen the new "Kwik" Big Top Coat? I wonde how it compares with NYC Grand Central Station.

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    1. No! I've only seen the Big Shiny Top Coat, which I hear is good but has bubbling issues for some, which is why I haven't tried it. I don't know why I'm getting bubbling issues a lot with the newer SH formulas...it all seems to have started with those LE matte glitter Xtreme Wears I reviewed last spring (http://nouveaucheap.blogspot.com/2014/04/pictures-swatches-sally-hansen-summer.html).

      But ANYWAY, thank you for the tip! I might have to break down and try this new one! :)

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  2. Yes these are a pain in the neck to work with, but at the same time, they are very pretty once you get them on. I used these over a similar colored cream polish. It was very pretty because these are very shimmery and duo-chromey (word?) and very much look like crushed pearls. But you are correct in saying they warrant some patience.

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    1. I'm SO happy to hear that you got these to work for you, Carol! Great!! :)

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  3. Ugh yes that looks like trouble in a bottle. It also reminds me of pier fishing with my dad when I was a little girl. The glitter is reminiscent of fish scales.

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    1. Lol! And yep, I get the fish scales too!! I'm guessing that was their intent since all of the shades have sea-related names, so kudos to them for having a cohesive theme that makes total sense! :)

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  4. You saved me some good money. I was waiting for a buy one get one half off at Walgreens. Since the finished product doesn't look like what's in the bottle, I will wait until these show up at the Dollar Tree.

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    1. Lol!! You're welcome, Kimberly. :) And yep, I can totally see these popping up on clearance end caps at Target and the drugstores next year, followed by Dollar Tree and Big Lots. ;)

      Delete
  5. It looks so pretty in the bottle, but I'd be wanting to pick those big glitter pieces off my nails in a hurry just because they look like they are ready to be picked. Frosts and dabbing don't mesh well for me either. But that does look cool, especially in that last photo.

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    Replies
    1. Lol! Heidi, I totally wanted to pick at them too, but I swear it was impossible after two coats of the NYC. I'm a picker and I couldn't get at them! In pics it looks like it would be so easy, but I swear it wasn't! :)

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  6. Yikes. These are exactly what I was expecting from the look in the bottle, I guess. :\

    Maybe try applying with a makeup sponge?

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    1. Lol!! Amanda, I cannot wait to see if you have better luck with these. Did you get any for the blog? If you do end up swatching some, PLEASE show a version with sponging. I suck at sponging (I can't even do it with non-glitter frosts). Lol! :)

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    2. I didn't and wasn't going to (did you see we're moving, btw?) but now I might just to see if I hate them. LOL I have some reeeeally good CVS coupons right now, so it would be 'painless'...and I could always do a return if they're that bad.

      Delete
  7. I've been wanting to try these polishes--they look pretty but I don't think I'm going to be buying them--super chunky polishes are not for me!

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    1. If super chunky isn't your thing, then yes, stay faaaaaar away from these! Lol!! ;)

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  8. These look a lot like a duochrome-y flakie polish that Julep released a few months ago (I think it was called Luna? And only came in one color) but that only had shards, and no big Mylar hexes. So pretty but I just know I'd pick at the edges of the big hexes :(

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    1. Lol! See my comment to Heidi above, Florence! I swear it's harder than it looks to pick at these (with NYC on top, that is). Believe me, I tried! Lol. :)

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  9. I thank you for your time and trouble to review this product, and the swatching and experimentation you did with it. I really believe there's something for everybody and someone will love this polish, but I will pass on it. Too many other pretties I like!

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    1. You are so welcome! Thank YOU for such a sweet comment. :)

      And I agree. So many pretties out there...if you're not 100% feeling these, that's money better spent on others. :)

      Delete
  10. For once I'm seeing a polish I don't need! I can't even really say what it is about this polish that doesn't grab me, but it just isn't gettin it for me. As Kimberly said above, thanks for saving me money :)

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    1. Lol!! I totally get that, girlie! I feel like the frosty base + chunky glitter is a funky combo that sounds unique and cool on paper...but not so much in reality. I'd like to see SH use these iridescent mylar hexes in another type of base though...maybe in a holo polish or even a jelly with no shimmer! :)

      Delete
  11. I suppose if you pour a little out and used a dotting tool for placement it might get you a look that you like. You can paint instead of dab and then place the sparkle. Good to know that they lie flat! Thanks G for the review!

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    1. Ain't nobody got time for that, Robin! Lol!! :)

      But seriously, I thought about doing that, and even tried to knock off the glitter from my brush to lay down a smooth first coat, but it was a hassle and I ended up losing whatever patience I had to begin with. Lol. If it's not relatively easy right out of the gate, I know I'm a goner, Robin! Lol. :)

      Delete
  12. Thanks for the review and swatches, G!

    I think I might buy one and use it with the turquoise OPI Color Paint for a jelly sammich.

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  13. The base is very reminiscent of the new(ish?) Pure ice butterfly collection...although those seem better suited for layering/experimenting since they don't have flakies to grapple with. Certainly on the fence with these...

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  14. Yes thank you so much for swatching, I want this but I'm not sure the nail tech would be able to work this one

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