Review: Hard Candy Nail Polish, Break Up

Initially when looking for nail polish this week, I had one set color in mind. A rare gem called Hidden Treasures by Sally Hansen. After seeking high and low for this high beam glitter color, I came up blank. With each hunt though, I have yet to come home empty handed.

When I came across Hard Candy in a color called Break Up, I figured it resembled Hidden Treasures well enough. Inside the bottle ere large beautiful chunks of glitter that would shine in green, blue, and yellow depending on your angle.

I knew alone the color would probably be a little bland, but as a layer or 2 of a top coat on a darker nail color, I had a hunch it would give me some interesting and beautiful coloring to my nails.

I colored my nails in a deep purple/blue color to use as the base. Once that dried I added a layer of Break Up. The glitter goes on the nail well enough, but it does not saturate the nail in flecks, which is cool because you can leave it as is, with just some shimmer, or you can add a second coat for even more sparkly shimmer.

The result using 2 coats was pretty beautiful, but due to the fact that the glitter chunks are semi large you are left with a bit of bumping going on. This is not an issue though because a coat of clear top coat will smooth it out.

All in all I really like the results. The glitter however tends to clump up at the tips of the nails as you are brushing it on, so it is best to brush to the sides to run the glitter off at the middle of the nail where it seems to miss completely while brushing it on in the usual fashion.

The shimmering effect I noticed does not really show off the blue/green coloring as much in average lighting. Mostly what I see is a peachy pink glimmer. For it to shine in full effect with every color stealing the spotlight you have to be under really bright lighting.

What makes this polish really interesting though is that at night it gives off a really beautiful silvery shimmer. Not many nail polishes are capable of shining at night, but this one calls for attention.
Overall I like it, it provided a beautiful and unique finish to my nails, and it comes off rather easily in nail polish remover.

This particular bottle of nail polish also comes with a cheap white plastic ring in a heart shape. Not that you would want to wear it, but the little addition is a nice enough gesture.

Used Alone:
 
I was correct about it looking rather bland when used alone with no base color. The glitter still shimmers, but you need a lot of layers for there to be a major noticeable difference.

Recommendation:

 
Highly. It's pretty, it lasts on the nails for a long time, removal is easy, and it really gives you a nice topping to just about any nail color you would want to use.

If you can't find Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasures, then I think this one would make for a great substitute.