Three pet peeves, though:
1. The price of these is creeping up! I remember when they retailed for closer to $2, and now they are $3.29 - $3.79 at the drugstore. What the nards?!
2. So many of the shades are limited edition, never to show up again. Sometimes a few shades make it into core, which is nice, but other times.... sad panda.
3. The polish tends to gum up quickly if you take too long to do your mani, but doesn't stay that thick permanently. It is very odd.
Regardless, I will still check out the new collections and pounce on them when they go on sale for 2/$4 :)
Here are swatches of SHXWs that I own or have owned in the past:
Sally Hansen The Real Teal - This polish kicked off my teal obsession. It was from the summer collection in 2010 and is really bright and gorgeous. Sometimes, I'll see it on my unlabeled swatch wheel and say "Damn, that is gorgeous, what is that?!" so I have kept this in my collection :)
Sally Hansen Purple Pizzazz - From the same summer collection last year, this jelly with purple flakes is amazing. Unfortunately, it doesn't pair well with my skintone, so I gifted it to a friend. I did franken half of it with some flakies to come up with a Nfu Oh 51 "dupe". This polish has been going on clearance, so it appears to be moving out of the perm display, so get this while you can if you're interested!
Sally Hansen Concrete - Probably my favourite XW polish. Such a lovely neutral, work-appropriate shade. I'd like to find a dupe for when I run out! This was released in Fall 2010, I believe!
Sally Hansen Fireberry Red - A gorgeous dark red jelly with glass-flecks. This is a dupe for ChG Stroll and is definitely a sister to OPI Smitten with Mittens. It was in the same collection as Concrete.
Sally Hansen Mystic Lilac - This one was quite popular on NB when it was released and is quite unique. It is a bit sheer though and needs 3-4 coats to be opaque (as shown in the pictures). I like to wear it with just 1 coat layered over Concrete, though. Also from the same collection as Concrete and Fireberry Red.
Sally Hansen Celeb City - Highly recommended if you do not have a basic silver foil in your collection. Great, great formula and opaque in 2 easy coats.
Sally Hansen White On - Another great basic which is pretty easy to apply in two coats.
Sally Hansen Going Green - This polish is super gorgeous and killed my Essie Pretty Edge lemming... for a while. The base colour is very similar and the SHXW has a hidden shimmer! The brush on this one was not the same as the others (it was curved instead of straight/slanted and the brush was skinny. I think it received the brush from the Lacquer Shine line by accident!!) so I gifted it to a friend :) I kind of miss it!
Sally Hansen Blue It - A crazy vibrant blue shade. I hardly ever wore it, so I passed it along to a friend. I always wondered if it was close to ChG Frostbite... I guess I will never know! :)
Sally Hansen Red Carpet - Really gorgeous, basic red glitter in red jelly base! Definitely recommend this if you are missing something like this in your collection! I don't have ChG Ruby Pumps, but I'm told they are similar. Swatched beside OPI Smitten with Mittens, it looks very close in base colour, but of course this is regular glitter particles instead of gold-flashing-glass-flecks in the OPI. I passed this onto a friend too, since one red glitter is enough for me!
Sally Hansen Strobe Light - This has been compared to OPI Teenage Dream, but without the pinkish base. It is very glittery, but I hardly ever wore it, so I gifted it to a friend. I found the formula to be pretty darn goopy though. Not sure if the OPI has the same problem... I suspect it does. This is great for layering, if that's your thing! Here it is layered over black:
Sally Hansen Gunmetal - This is the only XW that I have ever hated. I picked it up because of some lingering hype on NB, but it looks god awful on my skintone. There are brush strokes as well, which I am not a fan of. The colour is a blue based grey, sort of like shark skin. I've seen this look great on others, but it seriously clashes with my skintone! Get it away, get it away!!
Do you have any favourite Xtreme Wears?
I love all of these on you. Even gun metal. Ugh I hate how quickly these come in and out and I never know which ones I should grab because theyre LE. Ughhhh and the creeping prices!
ReplyDeleteI. Love. Extreme Wears. My favorite one, hands-down is Concrete. I have two back-up bottles because I love it so. For about two months I'd put it on, wear it til it chipped, and then replace it again. I also really love Grey Area, which is another one of those LEs along the lines of Essie Smokin' Hot. Pacific Blue is stunning, too. Yeah, these are definitely my favorite drug store polishes. You can't go wrong.
ReplyDeleteI have the silver one already and I want that teal one!
ReplyDeleteBlack Out is a favorite. I love it for layering, and it's opaque in two coats. It also wears really well on me.
ReplyDeleteI love your macro pictures!!! It's great to see the color!
ReplyDeleteI love Xtreme Wears! Pacific Blue is my current favorite.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite extreme wear is Wet Cement! They are still only $2.01 at my Target. =)
ReplyDelete@Rachel Marie: I really wish Sally Hansen would get their distribution in order!
ReplyDelete@Stephanie: Yay Concrete! I have a dupe for Grey Area, but I love that shade as well :D
@Yasmin: The Real Teal is really underrated ;) Plus, there are multiple polishes by that name -.-
@GothamPolish: glad you like them!!
@Marie: I really need to get my hands on Pacific Blue next time!
@jbrobeck: Whhhhhaaaa $2.01?! I need to check out the prices at my Target!!
I loveeee thee xtreme wears. :D I wore Celeb City under Black Mesh crackle for like the last week. It was gorgeous. :))
ReplyDeleteI'm late to this one, but I just found your blog...I have a ton of XW and was lucky to get most of them when they were still $2.50...my favorite has to be Marine Scene, a pretty blue shimmer, but I also love Lime Lights, even though it works best as a layering polish because its so sheer. I also love Gunmetal. :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Sally! Their formula's are great AS LONG AS YOU SHAKE THEM FROM TIME TO TIME!! Their nail polishes go on sale every now and then for 2 for 5 bucks at my Shoppers, and I go on a splurge! My favourite is Marine Scene, which I layer over a bunch of different polishes frequently. I also love Emerald City and Lime Lights, but you really do have to layer them over something, or put on 3 to five coats. I bought a yellow, but I always have the worst luck when I wear it, so call me superstitious, but I avoid wearing it. I have (no joke!) 50 polishes, most from Sally. However, I have GOT to get a lilac, an orange, THAT TEAL IS A MUST FOR ME TOO!!, a mint and a few neutral shades! I love their line...I use a Kiss top coat (again, cheap but effective and it keeps em nice for a week before peeling and chipping starts). Call me nail polish crazy, but it's so worth it when friends will buy you a polish in return for a mani/pedi! I mean, who can complain when it's $5 for a mani/pedi? :) Xtreme wear is the ONLY polish I buy from the Sally line because it's the only one that I find has the shades and diversity I like!
ReplyDelete