Thursday, July 19, 2012

New Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Shades for Fall 2012: Freeze!, In A Flurry and Purple Haste Swatches and Review

These new Sally Hansen fall Insta-Dri shades are gorgeous. I normally tend to avoid the Insta-Dri line because I can't stand the brush (or the elongated bottle neck, or the gooey formula...), but there have been some exceptions, like these. I had to get them, giant frayed spatula brush be damned. The rest of the collection seemed pretty decent, but these are definitely the most interesting of the bunch.


Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color in Freeze!. This is a medium blue with heavy glass fleck. I was a little bit disappointed when I put this on because in the bottle, it looked like glitter. When I started to put it on my nails, it turned out to be more of a glass fleck, but that's okay, because I love glass flecks. This one is very densely packed with glass fleck particles, so it's quite strong and sparkly looking. One thing to be aware of, though: It stains. Badly. Instantly. Be prepared for Smurf fingers.


Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color in In A Flurry. This is the coolest Insta-Dri color I've ever seen. It's a black or blackened-teal base with all kinds of chunky, flaky duochrome shimmer. Plus, hidden in the base beneath all those big flakes of duochrome sparkle is a deep purple shimmer that only comes out when the light hits it just right. When I wear this I can see flashes of yellow, gold, green, dark blue and light blue, teal, silver, purple, and on top of all of that is a green/gold/blue duochrome sheen. Amazing color. Good job, Sally Hansen.


Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color in Purple Haste. This is just your average medium/dark purple shimmer, but what sets it apart from others is the bright blue microglitter that's in it. It's very small and smooth but there's a good amount of it in there. My pictures don't do this polish justice, but I think you should be able to see some of the blue glitter. It's really nice.

The formula on these was.... eh. Freeze! had the best texture, mostly normal and not too thick. In A Flurry was slightly thicker but a little runny at the same time. Purple Haste was thick, sorta foamy-stringy-globby and just not nice at all to apply. The brush doesn't help things, either. I have an extremely difficult time getting a clean manicure with this brush. It's too big, too unevenly cut, too stiff. It wipes off the polish at the center of your nail and globs it on at the edges. I have really curved nails so this effect is even more pronounced on me. Drying time is about average. I don't find these to dry faster than any other polish, and even slower than some.

These colors are all pretty cool, but my favorite by far is In A Flurry. I can put up with the brush and the funny formula for a color like that. It's amazing.

55 comments:

  1. Im in love with Freeze! The other colors i think they are to dark for me.

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  2. I saw these at Walgreens yesterday and didn't think much of them... I'm kind of sad now. In A Flurry is amazing!!! I think I need to go back... Thanks for the amazing swatches, as always! ;)

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  3. I never really look at this brand - thank goodness you swatched them - now I'll be checking them out! Thanks:)

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  4. Oh man... In a Flurry is INCREDIBLE xx

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  5. Why do you make everything look so good Scrangie? lol.. Nice swatches.

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  6. Ooo. I really like in a Flurry. Will def be picking that up soon!

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  7. Wow Freeze and In A Flurry. Just, wow. Glad to see something "different" from a drug store brand.

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  8. I love the way Freeze! looks.

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  9. Wow, I want In A Flurry! It's amazing!

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  10. Wow! I would never have expected something like In a Flurry from the Inst-Dri line. I don't normally buy these but I might just have to pick up In a Flurry

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  11. they're all super pretty! too bad i'm not able to get my hands on them... :(

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  12. Love In a Flurry! Thanks for the swatches! :)

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  13. Gorgeous swatches- I've gotta have In A Flurry, it looks amazing!

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  14. Oh wow, In A Flurry is gorgeous!! I actually find the Insta-Dri brush covers my whole nail in one stroke.

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  15. I saw Freeze and In a Flurry at Walgreens and want them both! I just wish they had a better formula/brush.

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  16. Those look great! I had In A Flurry in my hand but just couldn't pull the trigger at full price.

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  17. Freeze is my favourite for sure!

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  18. I have Teal-y fast from this range & I love it. I don't have any issues with the brushes at all. I guess everyone is different, I agree with the drying time though, no faster than a normal polish. I do like the formula, it's nice & pigmented. I only needed one coat for full opacity.

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  19. I hear you on the crappy brush (not only is the brush part crap, but the wand drips something awful) and the weird texture, but I <3 Insta-Dri. For some reason, Sally Hansen saves all of its best colors for this line. I was head over heels for last year's fall collection (Emerald Express!!) and it looks like this year's will be stalkworthy as well.

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  20. I feel like Freeze looks better on the nail than person. Sooo much prettier!

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  21. Well these are gorgeous! But no matter what I am a huge fan of SH's Inta-Dri's they are GREAT for stamping! That thick formula makes nail art come alive. I haven't seen these out yet only the summer shades, so I'll have to keep my eyes peeled!

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  22. Is the formula something you can fix with a little bit of thinner?

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    1. I definitely think so! I bought a bottle of Purple Haste, tried it once, and then re-bottled it and added half a dropper full of Seche Restore. It's MUCH better now.

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  23. Oh wow, I'm so glad I grabbed "In a Flurry" when I found it at Walgreens earlier this week-- SO gorgeous! It reminds me of a non-crackle version of OPI "Shatter the Scales", only better. :-)

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    1. Yay!! I love the color of Shatter the Scales but hate that it's a crackle, I really wanted that color in a non-crackle. :)

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  24. Whoa.. the blue really pops! Might have to pick that one up for myself.. :)

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  25. In A Flurry is really cool,definitely something I need to pick up!

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  26. I love In a Flurry. I am so glad I am not the only one that hates the Sally Hansen paddle brush! It keeps me from even looking at their polishes!

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  27. Pour the polish into a franken, or emptied/clean Seche bottle and bi-pass the brush fiasco :)

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  28. All three of those are super pretty.

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  29. Wow. These looks SO much better than I had expected! Beautiful swatches!

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  30. In A Flurry is amazing! I NEED to get my hands on that one!

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  31. Oh my gosh. When I had gone into Walgreens today, they had the polish displays blocked off because they were working on the floor- I got the manager to move the Revlon Moon Candy display for me, but I didn't realize THESE could've been over there! I think they were too!

    Must go back tomorrow...

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  32. In a Flurry!!! *can't breathe* It's soooo pretty!!

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  33. Annoyingly we don't get the Insta Dry in the UK. I really like Flurry and Purple Haste too. I've bought a couple of creme ones from eBay - for stamping - and they are great for that.

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  34. I bought in a Flurry, but passed on the other two- Freeze looks too similar to OPI's Swimsuit...Nailed it to buy it just yet... But I'm always willing to see a comparison swatch to pique my interest :)

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  35. I'm not a fan of SH Insta-Dry either but I just got In A Flurry! today because of your swatches. If I didn't see your swatches I never would've looked at it and it's just soooo gorgeous.

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  36. Wow, Freeze! and In a Flurry look nothing in the bottle, but they're amaazing on the nail.

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  37. I've never tried Insta-Dri before, but I had to pick up In a Flurry & Freeze! after seeing your swatches. Man does that brush suck, but holy wow they're even more amazing in person!!

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  38. I've never tried Insta-Dri before, but I had to pick up In a Flurry & Freeze! after seeing your swatches. Man does that brush suck, but holy wow they're even more amazing in person!!

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  39. I've never tried Insta-Dri before, but after seeing your swatches of In a Flurry and Freeze! I had to nab them. Man does that brush suck, but holy wow the colors are even more awesome in person!

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  40. I love the Sally Hansen Insta Dri not only cause some of the colors are cool, but because they are easy to put on and dry really really fast. These colors are fab and I have to have them right now!

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  41. Freeze! stopped me dead in my tracks - that's a showstopper of a colour. Pity about the staining. Do you think that doubling (or tripling) up on base coat would help at all?

    In a Flurry is pretty special. I haven't seen many colours like this available at the drugstore. It excites me to see it because now more people will have access to special shades and will be able to express themselves even more with their nails! :D

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  42. gwuhhh i need to get freeze and in a flurry! i checked for these at ulta today but didn't see them - time to start stalking local walgreenses (walgri? walreensi?) and CVSes for them!

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  43. In a flurry is really gorgeous. Even the blue one O.O I think I could manage with smurfy hands for such a polish!!!

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  44. I picked up In a Flurry today - it's everything I wanted China Glaze's Smoke & Ashes to be! If only it had a better brush.

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  45. I picked up In a Flurry recently, too. It reminds me of an in the bottle version of galaxy nails.

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  46. I love the look of Freeze! It looks so amazing and glowing and so much depth!

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  47. How these colors can be so so so beatiful?
    I just love every each one of the China Glazes...
    It's pitty cause China Glaze is not sell it here in Brazil... :(

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  48. Gawgeous! I bought In A Flurry today, gonna wear it tomorrow. (cuz that's how I roll LOL) I love the brush in the Insta Dry though, it fits my nails just right somehow. I may have to go back and get Freeze too... decisions decisions. ;o)

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  49. Your swatch of In a Flurry looks a million times better than it looks on my nails right now... I had such high hopes with what your swatch looks like.. its still pretty, but not as amazing as it looks in your photo. :(

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