ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Hard Candy Mr. Wrong
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
When I first heard that the Hard Candy line was re-launching at WalMart I was excited about the possibility of some beloved vintage shades coming back. However, the line felt like it was geared to a much younger age range so I didn’t seek it out and it pretty much was put on the back burner. Then my friend Steph commented on yesterday’s post that I should try Hard Candy Mr. Wrong and I was all, “HARD CANDY!! How did I forget?” Seriously, I’ve had Mr. Wrong sitting in my stash for a year and a half still sealed in the plastic wrapper. |
Formula & Application: Hard Candy nail polishes are 3-Free. They come in a square glass bottle that is reminiscent of the Essie bottles minus the embossing. The brush is smaller than most in length and width so it doesn’t pick up as much polish as I would like. I found myself double dipping just to cover one nail.
The polish itself glides on easily though it lacked pigmentation. I ended up needing three coats to get it opaque. On the other hand one of the things I love about foils like this one is that they are pretty goof proof. The formula hides application errors or brush marks pretty easily.
Hard Candy Mr. Wrong is a purple based glitter with gold metallic foil particles. The base color is kind of gritty and grey like a dusty plum. The gold foil in this one is different in that it can look really golden in certain light and more silvery in other situations. Something about this reminds me of an old NYC Glossies nail polish, Molten Metal except the base color is more cool plum than bronzed raisin. ps. let me apologize for the poor quality of this photo. The skies were all kinds of murky and I had to rely on artificial light.
Bottom Line: The concept of the color is interesting enough but on me it falls flat. It lacks depth, like the foil particles are just kind of laying there, like dead fish, rather than adding to the overall effect.
365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: I wanted to love it but this one is going in the SHARE bin.
Hard Candy Mr. Wrong is available at WalMart stores nationwide. Hard Candy nail polishes retail for $4/ea for a .35oz bottle.
Have you tried the new Hard Candy polishes? Thoughts on the brand? Do you have Mr Wrong? Did you STASH or SHARE it? I know they added Sky to the line. Does anyone know how it compares to the original cult fave color?
Disclosure: A product sample was provided by Hard Candy. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
this is one of my favs! I have another pinky glitter hard candy from walmart that I don’t care for as much. but this one, is one of my go-to’s. it looks better with a nice glossy top coat.
This looks just like Sally Hansen Purple Gala. Aaand upon researching it, of course Mary from Body & Soul caught this ages ago: http://www.body-soulbeauty.com/2010/09/sally-hansen-purple-gala-vs-hard-candy.html.
Also, just noticed you still have a link to the other Michelle at Lacquerized up. So sad she stopped updating. She has such a unique perspective and great nails.
Oh, I really like it. This one is a dupe of one of the Limited Edition Sally Hansen Extreme wears…I forget the name. I think it’s Purple Gala. I have it, but haven’t worn it yet. Otherwise, I’d say if you wanted to share this one, you can share it with me, a fellow Cleveland East-sider!
my first thought was that it looks dull and tired…with an oops-I-accidentally-rubbed-off-my-awesomely-bright-sparkly-nail-polish-on-a-piece-of-tissue-but-was-too-lazy-to-re-do-it feeling.
This is really pretty. Every time I to WM its not there though.
I like the purple (usually don’t like purple) but I agree, it’s missing something, it’s as if the purple is too thin or sheer and it needs more richness.
Have you tried out Sally Hansen’s Purple Gala? This reminds me quite a bit of it, purple base, insane gold foil. I quite liked that one though I have no Hard Candy’s to compare to.
Quote Alllacqueredup:
“the foil particles are just kind of laying there, like dead fish”
hahahaha.. ahhh. sweet!
I actually am rather impressed with this color. I wasn’t expecting anything great, but I like the foiling in this polish.
But I must admit that i’ve passed the Hard Candy section in my Walmart several time without too much serious though – or even suspicion that they sold their nail polish (in canada). I’d be tempted to give it a go but I’m hugely not a fan of the small brush description. I think every nail polish brand should come up with a line that has the pro wide brushes like OPi.
Wide-Nail-Bedded Sisters Unite!
;D
Huh really?
Course everyone has their own opinions haha
I actually really like the color and finish of this polish
I’ve never tried Hard Candy (no pun intended) before but I’d like to, wish we’d get more of the polish for 4 bucks though. Plus Walmart’s just a tad far from where I live. :C
Hard Candy always WAS a young line. The displays of their makeup were always trashed even in a top line store like a Nordstrom. Clerks told me teens came in to do their look before going out for the evening off the samples. I only bought 2 HC polishes back then. They were among the first with real glitter. I bought a pink and a silver and liked them. Still have one but it’s a dead bottle. Looked at them at Wal-Mart and felt just like you said, they don’t have depth. They are flat – ‘dead fish’ well put! They look cheap. I swatched a couple of them on a piece of scotch tape from the roll in my purse I keep just for this use when I think I am going to see polish and want to see what my own nail would look like under a polish. I saw this shade. It was the 2nd one that caught my eye. Left it on the shelf. I did have fun years ago with a black HC eye liner that had glitter in it. Only wore it certain places. Always got a few comments on how cool my eyes looked. But it had to be done careful not to get a teenie bobber look even way back then with the liner. I wonder if the line will have a very long life in the Wal-Mart stock?
I think WalMart is invested in Hard Candy and they’re the only reason it came back to life so I would assume it will be there for a while.
I was in college when I discovered the original HC line so I guess it was more my style then. Now it just feels too young for me, like Justin Bieber.
Isn’t there a Sally Hansen that’s identical? I would go for that if it’s cheaper and still available. I like the color and the name.
I don’t have the original Sky to compare, but the new one is a pain to apply, yet still looks great.
I was a huge fan of old Hard Candy in high school. It seemed like it was designed for teenagers, but way out of their budget, so it was very cruel. I managed to get a ton of bottles of the stranger colors from online when they were selling off their stock before shutting down. The package sat in my RA’s room for a week or two before getting to me, because someone left it at her door, and she assumed it was hers and just kept this mysterious box of nail polish sitting on her desk, without ever checking the address label.
oh…i actually quite like it from the photo! i bought a couple of other hard candy…another glitter but could not stand the way it made my fingertips feel and had to take it off the next day. My teenage daughter loves it, though!
I absolutely loved this polish as I’m a total sucker for anything purple and gold toned.
It made me sad that Hard Candy doesn’t seem to be coming back to the UK this time.
I’d name this shade “Grape Soda.”
It reminds me a lot of Purple Gala Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear!
I think the color looks beautiful on you. I have a few of the hard candy nail polishes.The only problem I have with them are the nail brushes.There just to skinny for my taste, but the polish is great.
I love this one!
Too bad Hard Candy isn’t being sold in the Netherlands again. I have one of the older polishes (Sushi, i can still use it, didn’t ever thin it. It’s like 14 yeras old
), but i remember that they were really expensive back then. They were only sold in one department store over here and i was drooling over them each time i was there. For my 12th birthday i finally got one :p though it was the wrong colour.
I have one coat of this over 2 coats of OPI You Don’t Know Jacques! on my fingers right now. It’s really pretty–looks like glittery sharkskin.
This color actually looks really good as a mani/pedi combo with Sally Hansen opulent cloud and Arabian nights. I always pull out all three and have trouble deciding which two to use.
If you could share ir with me then it would be great hehehehe.
I really want this color! Pity I can’t buy it anywhere here.
I have a few HC polishes. Mr. Wrong is one of them and I love it .. but, it’s a little sheer. I really like Lava though. I like HC’s creme polishes though .. they have a great texture and nice and opaque.
Stash, stash , stash!! This is my favorite Hard candy color!!!!
Funny– I found this polish in a clearance bin at walmart today. I remembered this post, but since it was $2 I got it anyway– Put it on my toes as soon as I got home and love it!
Unlike your experience, it doesn’t look dead-fishy at all! Perhaps you got a wonky bottle, or my slightly thicker coats made a difference.
I absolutely love this one and since I don’t have access to Hard candy I’m so happy to found dupe in Catrice (German brand, you should try it).
Right now I’m wearing it and I just can’t stop starring it