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NEW Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Shades – Swatches & Review

I’m not gonna lie, when the first set of Sally Hansen Sugar Coat textured nail polishes released, I wasn’t that jazzed. The color palette was very basic; white, black, red, yellow, pink, etc. With the exception of a green (Sour Apple) and blue (Razzle-berry), they didn’t speak to me.

However, Sally Hansen has released a second set of Sugar Coat shades that include some more “me” colors, including some glitter textures.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat texture nail polish

New Sally Hansen Sugar Coat

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If you know me at all, you know that blue, purple and teal are so in my wheelhouse and that the sparkly texture polishes are my jam, so I had a lot of fun playing with these new colors. In fact, I came up with a layering combination so gorgeous that I dare even the texture haters to dismiss it.

Formula & Application: Sally Hansen Sugar Coat nail polish is 5-Free (Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin and Camphor). It comes in the same rectangular bottle as Crackle Overcoat. It reminds me of glass block. The white, plastic cap is curved for a comfortable fit while polishing and the flat brush is dense with flexible bristles.

I have to say that I’m impressed with the control I have with these polishes. The formula is smooth, in spite of the texture, and the brush allows for easy placement and polish flow. The pigmentation varies based on the finish. The creme based colors all give full coverage in two coats while the sparkly shades require three coats (more for Royal Icing).

Application tip: Texture nail polish is intended to be worn without a base coat or top coat but I would wear a base coat with the darker shades to prevent staining.

Removal tip: With glitter/texture, I normally recommend holding a remover-soaked pad against the nail for a few minutes to loosen the particles. In this case, it made the staining with the darker colors worse. Note: The stains came right off with Orly Cutique, my go-to stain remover.

Sally Hansen Gummy Grape is a straight-up grape creme texture. It’s a little cooler than Milani Texture Purple Streak and more pigmented.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Gummy Grape nail polish swatch

Sally Hansen Gummy Grape

Sally Hansen Laughie Taffy is a midnight blue creme texture. It looks more royal in the bottle but on the nail it dries pretty dark.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Laughie Taffy nail polish swatch

Sally Hansen Laughie Taffy

Sally Hansen Royal Icing  is an extremely sheer, pale sky blue with pale pink shimmer. It looks like a light turquoise in the bottle but on the nail it has a gossamer effect. Because it is so sheer, I couldn’t get it opaque even with four thin coats. And honestly, after three coats, it becomes one giant lumpy mess.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Royal Icing nail polish swatch

Sally Hansen Royal Icing

It’s really best for layering which is when the true magical nature of this shade comes out. I applied two coats over a light pink opaque creme, Sally Hansen CSM Pink a Card, and the resulting sparkly violet hue is simply stunning.

Sally Hansen Royal Icing Sugar Coat over Pink a Card nail polish

Sally Hansen Royal Icing over CSM Pink a Card

Sally Hansen Royal Icing over CSM Pink a Card nail polish

Sally Hansen Royal Icing over CSM Pink a Card

Sally Hansen Pink Sprinkle is a hot raspberry pink sparkle texture. This one contains bright pink glitter and larger golden red flecks.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Pink Sprinkle nail polish swatch

Sally Hansen Pink Sprinkle

Sally Hansen Spare-A-Mint? is a bright teal creme texture. Of all the shades, this one caused the most staining. While it looks similar, in the bottle, to Milani Aqua Splash Texture, Spare-A-Mint? is actually much darker and more pigmented.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Spare-A-Mint? nail polish swatch

Sally Hansen Spare-A-Mint?

Sally Hansen Treat-Heart is a glittering, fairy princess pink metallic texture. It’s a bit rosy but not so much as Zoya Miranda and it’s darker than OPI Liquid Sand Pussy Galore.

Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Treat Heart nail polish swatch

Sally Hansen Treat Heart

Bottom Line: This new set of Sugar Coat shades have something for both the creme and sparkly texture lovers. I’m partial to the glittery shades and I can’t get over how cool Royal Icing looks layered. Of the three creme colors, Gummy Grape is my favorite, partly because it caused the least staining.

The new Sally Hansen Sugar Coat colors are available now, in limited release, at drugstores and mass retailers nationwide. There are two additional shades I didn’t receive, Candy Corn (an orange creme) and Red Velvet (a magenta glitter). They retail for $5.99/ea for a .4oz bottle.

So what do you think of these new Sugar Coat colors? Are you still into texture? What do you think of my Royal Icing layering? Does it change your mind on texture?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Sally Hansen. Affiliate links may appear via a third party link service. For more info view my Disclosure Policy

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  1. Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Review & Swatches | Black Cat Nails | December 3, 2013
  1. Vanessa says:

    Royal Icing is fabulous layered! How would you say this compares with other textured polishes, particularly Zoya’s Pixie Dust? The matte in the textures just really turns me off — I haven’t been inclined to try it at all. Just looks like a clumpy mess to me…Any way you can convince me to try???

    • Michelle Mismas says:

      I’d say it’s not quite as sandy as PixieDust. The base has more shine, almost like a jelly polish. You can see it peeking through the sugar particles.

      I think it would be best for you apply a thin layer of something like Royal Icing over a solid base. Even the other two glitters are sheer enough that you could layer them. If you use one thin coat, the texture is minimized and you get all the sparkle. I used two coats of Royal Icing just to intensify the color.

      • Vanessa says:

        Hmm, I could do that — sounds pretty! I just feel like matte polish defeats the purpose. ;)

  2. Lanerbell says:

    I love these! I have Royal Icing and I wasn’t impressed, but the others in this collection are gorg.

    • Michelle Mismas says:

      Interesting. What didn’t you like about Royal Icing? The sheerness can be off-putting if you don’t try it over something else.

  3. Terri says:

    I’m not crazy for these textured nail polishes…They remind me of those ugly popcorn ceilings people used to have…LOL

  4. Stephanie Smith says:

    I’m still a textured nail polish hater. These look pretty, but they are just not practical for me, I’d be picking and rubbing at that texture in no time.

    • Michelle Mismas says:

      You know, I thought I would too, until I tried it. It’s really not as annoying as I expected but it’s not for everyone. I still love a high gloss polish more than texture but these are fun.

  5. Quinctia says:

    Royal Icing is great for babby’s first gradient manicure, over another sparkly texture polish. I used a purple Zoya Pixie Dust, but it’d work great over blues, pinks, or purples.

  6. Shasta says:

    I like Royal Icing and Laughie Taffie!

  7. Eva says:

    What a lovely set! I love the textured polishes. I can’t imagine how anyone could dislike the beautiful OPI Jinx – it’s still the ultimate textured polish for me :)

  8. Royal Icing and Treat Heart are really pretty, though I’d wear them topcoated and shiny because that’s just my preference. I love Royal Icing layered…wonder how it’d look over black!

  9. Raina says:

    these are cool! love the purple :)

  10. Jackie says:

    Is it difficult to remove this textured nail polish? That though has always put me off of this trend….

    • Michelle Mismas says:

      It’s not as bad as some of the chunkier glitters. I think the only major issue is that some of the crystals get on your skin but they wash right off.

  11. Shelly says:

    I have Spare-a-ment and LOVE it!!!! I am really liking all of the textured polishes!!!

  12. Mel says:

    I was completely uninterested in textures in the beginning. I thought I would pick at them too, and I’m still not sure why I don’t, but it turns out that I really don’t. I started out with the Julie G Gumdrops and have been expanding from there. So I am a texture convert.

    But even after that, I was still uninterested in Sugar Coat because the first set didn’t have glitter and it just looked blah without it, in the pictures I’ve seen. I love to layer, though so Royal Icing in particular looks like something I’d like. I imagine I’ll start with that one and see how I like it before I try any others.

    • Michelle Mismas says:

      Definitely give it a go. You can usually find Sally Hansen on sale at one of the major drugstore chains each week so you can try it without much investment.

  13. Cathy M says:

    Great swatches! I have the navy and love it. Might also pick up the purple, but it’s good to know the light blue is sheer as heck. What’s the point of it if you have to layer it over something else?

    • Michelle Mismas says:

      I hear you but some people like to experiment with layering. I do like the transformative nature of Royal Icing

  14. Jane says:

    I’m a HUGE fan of texture and these look a lot like China Glaze Texture collection. I’m going to swoop up a few =)

  15. Shelby says:

    How do you feel Royal Icing compares to Sugar Shimmer Sugar Cloud?

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