NOTD: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Bronze Ablaze

Hi Guys!

Sorry for the lack of posts, I've gone back to school and work has been soooo busy! It may be a slow few weeks as I acclimate to my new schedule and wait for things to die down a bit at work, but I will do my very best to keep posting at least sporadically for you all! I have some really exciting things to show you, but I want to use the products a bit longer so I can offer reviews as opposed to just quick swatches. Or would you all prefer swatches to start, reviews to (possibly) follow? Let me know what you think...

In the meantime, I am showing you Bronze Ablaze, a Sally Hansen Insta-Dri shade that I picked up in this haul. I've had ok luck with the Insta-Dri line in the past, and this is more of the same; the colors are beautiful and you can be done in one heavy coat (although I do two thinner ones if I have the time). I don't know that they dry *instantly*, but being able to get away with one coat, having a thick brush that makes the polishing go by faster, and a formula that tends to go where you put it and not create a mess definitely reduces polishing time. Throw down a quick-dry top coat (I use my beloved Seche Vite), and you're good to go! However, I find that these chip faster than most polishes, so after about two days I have to switch it out for something else  or it drives me nuts. It's a trade-off; I can get something on my nails pretty fast if I am in a hurry and want to have freshly polished nails, but I just have to know that I won't be able to leave it on my nail for my usual 4 or 5 days.

Bronze Ablaze is a warm muddy metallic with green, gold, and bronze flashes to it. It's a bit hard to describe, but is very pretty; I don't know if I'm over the moon with the way this looks against my skin tone, but it is definitely a pretty neat shade. These bottles come with a modest .31 ounces of product in them, but the price tag is similarly modest, at around $4.50 a bottle. You can often find Sally Hansen products on BOGO at drug stores, and discounted a bit at retailers like Walmart, Target, and Bed Bath & Beyond (where I picked mine up). This line seems to put out some trendy colors that mimic the haute "it" colors of the season, so it's a good place to go for dupes, or colors that are at least in the same vein as their pricier cousins; Bronze Ablaze, for instance, reminds me of something in the same family as Chanel's Peridot, and while I wouldn't go so far as to call it a dupe, it's close enough (metallic duochrome that flashes green-ish yellow-ish? Check! Although Bronze Ablaze is considerably warmer with more brown than yellow/green) that I don't feel the need to even consider the Chanel polish with its heftier price tag.

Bronze Ablaze!

A-yup. 

Sally Hansen Bronze Ablaze

Bronze Ablaze, closer up. Enlarge this to see the multi-colored shimmer! 

Rating: 6 out of 10

I just can't get behind this 100% because of the terrible chipping, but I love that this applies quickly and relatively neatly, and the color itself is gorgeous. The formula runs a little thick and the brush picks up a lot, so make sure you let it drip a little and wipe it against the mouth of the bottle, but this is very similar to the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure formula, another favorite of mine. For a drug-store range, the colors are really very varied and complex, with a lot of them feeling more fashion-forward than the basics we often encounter time and time again in drugstores. If you've not tried these polishes, check them out! They're great for when you're in a hurry and want a spiffy color to go with a specific outfit. However, if you're looking for something that will wear like iron that you'll be able to keep on your nails for a full week, look elsewhere! All in all, this is a polish for once specific contingency that I find myself in quite frequently (oh crap! I am pressed for time and want pretty nails! That match this very specific going-out outfit!), but it's not a good multitasker.