Tuesday 7 May 2013

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Mint Spirit Swatch and Review

Good morning (it's morning where I am anyway) everyone and welcome to Cheap Polish Tuesday where we take a look at polishes found on sale or regular price $5 and less! Today I have a true cheap polish that I ended up finding at Wal-Mart for $2.49. (Yes, for some reason I am still doing Wal-Mart runs hoping to find Hard Candy Black Tie Optional but c'est la vie.) I have been looking for a perfect DAVIDsTEA teal for quite some time (more on that later) and the lighting in Wal-Mart is so bad that I thought I found something close. I didn't but at least it pushed me to try something new.

Here's Sally Hansen Insta-dri Fast Dry Nail Color Mint Spirit. (Was that a mouthful or what?) The funny thing about this polish is that you can find this line anywhere. It's EVERYWHERE you go, and they are always sporting a low price (which I like). Sally Hansen Insta-dri Mint Spirit is a teal green creme. It primarily a green but in some lights, it can have teal undertones. The interesting thing about the Sally Hansen Insta-dri polishes is their fat brushes. What a FAT brush! It is a super wide squoval brush with a bit of rigidness. With this brush, you can apply polish in one stroke. The formula of Sally Hansen Insta-dry Mint Spirit is quite opaque and creamy. Believe it or not, this polish was on in ONE COAT, ONE STROKE. What! I thought it was unheard of. Here's my one coat, one stroke swatch:

Sally Hansen Insta-dri Mint Spirit Swatch

Sally Hansen Insta-dri Mint Spirit Swatch

Now... You might have noticed all the damage on my nails. This polish goes on opaque in one coat, but it's one very thin coat for what it is! I would highly advise against using a Sally Hansen Insta-dri polish when you are sporting damaged nails I was at the time as everything will show through. These polished definitely live up to their name and seem to be one of the best options out there if your goal is to put on polish in the fastest possible way. One criticism I have is the brush's girth seems to just fit into the bottle. I think that these polishes would age fast if you aren't careful. Polish may collect rapidly at the top. (Again, the wideness of the brush just surprises me!)

Sally Hansen Insta-dri Mint Spirit Bottle and Brush

Again, I was sporting very damaged nails at this time and in effort to hide the damage, I used Rainhow Honey Soul Gem for some sparkly tips. Rainbow Honey doesn't fit into the ranks of Cheap Polish Tuesday but I figured I'd show Sally Hansen Insta-dri my appreciation and spoil it a little with some Rainbow Honey love:

Sally Hansen Insta-dri Mint Spirit Swatch (with Rainbow Honey Soul Gem tips)

Sally Hansen Insta-dri Mint Spirit Swatch (with Rainbow Honey Soul Gem tips)

Anyway that's all. Any of you guys tried these polishes? I feel like that fat brush isn't for everyone but it's certainly interesting!

8 comments:

  1. I have so many comments I don't know where to start!
    1. I love this colour!
    2. This is one stroke?!? Wowza!
    3a. I looove wide brushes!
    3b. And wow this one is wide! Great bottle shots. :)
    4. I don't have any polishes from this line... yet! I must remedy that asap, or at least next time I pass in front of them.
    5. Great job with the sparkly tips! Glitter always fixes everything. :)

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    1. You always inspire me to take bottle shots but my lightbox is so ugly! I am trying to find a better non-reflective paper or cloth or something but I just haven't spotted anything. Ah well. I totally thought of you when I applied this because I know all about your love for the wide brushes, hehehe. Definitely give it a go if you see a colour you like at a good price - I'm interested in what you'd think of them! :)

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    2. You bottle shots turned out great!

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  2. Oh it looks so lovely in combination with the gold glitter.

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  3. I know this post isn't about the Rainbow Honey, but I was wondering, how does it compare to Essie As Gold As It Gets? I've been lemming Soul Gem for a bit, but I just put in a big order for my birthday so I feel bad spending more (at least on the same indie brand so soon)

    That being said, if this is really one coat I may have to pick up a couple bottles. I recently realized, I'm lacking a bit in the green/blue range of basics/undies for my glitter toppers.

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    1. I consider myself to be a Rainbow Honey fangirl so I'll take any opportunity to talk about them! Anyway I don't personally own Essie As Gold As It Gets but it's definitely more of a gold flakie. Rainbow Honey Soul Gem is a super vibrant gold micro flakes and bits of real silver as well. They are both pretty different from each other. I'll do some better swatches of Soul Gem once I get the chance to!

      Anyway I hate to encourage spending (hehe) but according to Rainbow Honey's Instagram feed, it looks like they are releasing a mini-set of all the limited edition polishes from January until Bubble Beam so you might still have a chance to get in!

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  4. I have a few bottles of the Insta Dri line. I take advantage when they are on sale and pick up a bittle of what ever color may be lacking in my arsenal. Formula is great and coverage with one coat is do-able. On the lighter colors (nudes especially) I recommend a 2nd light coat to get that full opaque look. I agree that the polish with time may spoil. I have Racey Rogue and its about 4 years old... used it about a month ago and I should have left it with out a top coat. What a hot mess :-(
    I ♡♥♡♥ RH! Beautiful color combo!

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    1. I am actually a fan of the Insta-Dri line even though sometimes I am a polish snob! I think full coverage is definitely "do-able" in one coat but it's definitely better with two because that first coat is so thin! And I love Rainbow Honey too! My favourite brand!

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