Swatches: Sally Hansen Utra HD Nail Color in DVD

Congrats to those of you who guessed, after seeing this post, that I purchased the shade DVD from the new Sally Hansen Ultra HD Nail Color Collection. You know me too well!

For those of you who haven't seen the display yet in person, these shades are like the original Sally Hansen HD shades on steroids. The colors are extra sparkly and many of them have an added duochrome effect.

If you would like to see how the new Ultra HDs compare to the Original HDs, I can help you out! Almost a year ago to the day, I posted pics of the original HD collection (click here to see). And of course a few days ago I spotted the Ultra HD collection (click here to see).

Sally Hansen Ultra HD Nail Color in DVD (retail: around $6.50)

So instead of trying to describe DVD in words, I thought I'd just show you this fabulous duochrome in various shades of lighting. One thing I will tell you is that I totally agree with other bloggers: the awesomeness of this shade does not really appear until you see this color in full sunshine. Indoors, this tends to look like just a super glittery, one-dimensional color.

The above pics were taken after three coats, so obviously this is a pretty sheer color. And one problem I had with this polish, which I think you can see in these pics, is that after three coats, I experienced some serious tip wear less than 24 hours after application. For some strange reason, my holy grail combo of Orly Bonder base coat and Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat simply does NOT work with this polish. It wore down quickly and then started to peel just two days into my mani. If anyone has a tip about how to prevent this from happening (using a different top or base coat?) I would love to hear about it.

Because DVD is so sheer, I felt compelled to see how this color would look layered over another color. Luckily, I have American Apparel Mount Royal, which seemed PERFECT to use because, in real life, Mount Royal is pretty much the exact shade of purplish-blue that is predominant in DVD.

(Note: in real life, American Apparel Mount Royal has a bit more purple in it than what you see in this picture).

So here's what happened when I layered two coats of DVD over two coats of Mount Royal:


Indoors, this combo looks like a foily-blue sparkleball! It's pretty intense when you see it in person, that's for sure!


This pic was taken in full sunlight and I am so bummed that I could not capture the duochrome in DVD when layered over Mount Royal. In person it's definitely there and it's absolutely stunning.

A funny story about DVD: When I was doing my hair yesterday, I had a "WTH??" moment. I have long hair and when I get out of the shower, I use a styling cream that I apply with my hands. I run my fingers through the strands of my hair to apply this product and, since I've been doing this for years, I work rather quickly when I'm doing this. So anyway, I was running the styling product through my hair yesterday and I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, in the reflection of my bathroom mirror, these blue sparks flashing before my eyes. It was almost like little currents of electricity or something, and they were coming from my hair! I seriously was like, "What the HECK was that??" and then I of course realized that it was this nail color. My hands were moving so quickly through my hair that it looked like little sparks were coming out of my hair!

So, do you own any shades from the Sally Hansen Ultra HD Collection? If so, how do you like them? If not, are you planning on picking up any colors when you spot this display at your local drugstore?

Update: Every time I think about the "sparks" coming out of my hair, the song "Blue Spark" by the legendary L.A. band X keeps playing in my head! Unfortunately there is not a good quality recording of this on YouTube (such a shame!) and this was the best I could find.