I can still remember wanting a bottle of Hard Candy Sky back in the 90s. That iconic blue polish worn by Alicia Silverstone was hard enough to find on this side of the pond without finding it in the UK and Hard Candy was more of an indie brand back then, certainly not found in Walmart stores. A relative in the US sent me a bottle and I pretty much stalked the “postman” (we don’t call it mail in the UK) daily until that pretty bottle and jelly ring arrived. So you can imagine how happy I am to see them back!
Even better, the Hard Candy 20th Anniversary collection brought back the old style bottles too. Using them now, I actually prefer them to the tube style bottle of nail polish they now release. I picked up Sky and Mint (both throwback shades) and Claws Up because well Claws.
Since Hard Candy Sky is the one that started it all, I will be begin with it. This pretty sky blue has a great formula compared to the others and was almost opaque in one thick coat but needed a second to look great. It has a slight shimmer to it that helps the pastel not look chalky. Maybe it is all in my head, but I remember the original being more shimmery. The current Hard Candy Sky, however, is a more grown up version than I remember, great because it is one polish I will likely wear until the bottle is empty.
Like Sky, Hard Candy Mint has some of the gentle shimmer that I mentioned but is a little chalkier than Sky and the formula is not quite as great. It still applies well and is opaque in two coats. It has an almost satin finish, not as shiny as many polishes but not matte either. Probably a good thing since you don’t cry over lost shine in a day. Mint chipped a bit quicker than Sky but in all fairness, I was harder on my nails that day.
Hard Candy Claws Up is shinier than the throwback shades of Mint and Sky and a nice neutral but I had some formula issues with it. It was patchy and had some air bubbles despite not shaking the bottle etc. You can see a little dent from one on my ring finger near the nail line. It evened out ok after three coats and top coat, but there are definitely better formulas out there. It is also not as opaque as the throwback shades. I need a neutral for work though so am glad to have found something I like the colour of and doesn’t make me look too lobster pink/red.
The 20th anniversary collection is available at Walmart for a limited time. I may go pick up another bottle of Sky to hide away before they disappear. At only $3.98 each, who can say no to memories of the 90s?
I love that baby blue colour!!! Very pretty!!!
I love the Hard Candy Sky – color perfection 🙂
Thank you for posting these! As I put on my minty nail polish the other day I started to think about who first started the “trendy” colours (different nail polish colours other than pink, red, etc.) back in the day – I remembered it was Hard Candy (or so it seemed to me at the time) and I just saw their line at Walmart. I will be back to pick up some polish.
I love the Claws Up shade 🙂
Love the sky colour! Perfect summer shade!
I saw these at Wal Mart today! All of them look so pretty and the ring is a nice throwback touch!