ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Essence Movie Star & Sally Hansen Ice Queen
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.
I try to make drugstore nail polish runs as often as I can. I like to check out the seasonal displays regularly and see what’s new. The last time I was out, maybe a month ago, I noticed a display of Sally Hansen Hard As Nails polishes that included a fun glitter called Ice Queen. I keep meaning to wear it but I didn’t know what I wanted to layer it over. Well I pulled out some of my Essence untrieds today and inspiration hit. There’s something about the moody, neutral hue of Essence Movie Star that made it the perfect partner for the glittery happiness of Ice Queen. |
Formula & Application: Essence Colour & Go nail polish is 4-Free. For a full ingredient list, visit Essence.eu. The bottles are small and round with a sizable smooth, plastic cap. The brushes are wide, flat and long considering the bottle size. The bristles are somewhat stiff (think MAC) which can lead to some dragging so use a light touch. The formula itself is pretty well pigmented. Two thin coats are all I need to achieve opacity.
Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Ice Queen is also 4-Free and free of camphor, which can be an irritant. The bottle is pretty tall and the brush handle is long with a short, stubby brush. The bristles are kind of stiff but I think that works as an advantage here as they tend to pick up a lot of glitter and place it pretty evenly on the nail. The sequin glitter will always need some finesse but it wasn’t a challenge to get them to stick.
Essence Movie Star is a deep blue-based grey creme. It dries a lot darker than the bottle would suggest. It’s about as dark as Models Own Moody Grey only with a blue-grey base as opposed to the green in Moody Grey.
The pink and blue sequins in Sally Hansen Ice Queen are reminiscent of Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air, only more intense. Those particles are more cotton candy colored and these are more intense. The pink leans toward lilac and the blue towards royal. The silvery micro-glitter is actually holographic glitter in that it reflects multiple colors depending on the light.
Bottom Line: Essence Movie Star is a great budget friendly basic and with its blue undertones it will flatter cool skin tones. The opacity and formula are pretty spot on so I see no reason to pass this one by if you’re in the market for a great grey. Sally Hansen Ice Queen is spectacular and ranks up there with my favorite layering glitters, Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow & Today Was A Fairytale. If you can find it, BUY IT!
365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: I’m STASHing them both. And based on yesterday’s poll, it looks like I’m STASHing both of those as well. This weeding out thing isn’t really happening, is it?
Essence Colour & Go nail polishes are available at ULTA stores nationwide, availability can vary, and online at ULTA.com. Essence nail polishes retail for 99¢ for a .1oz bottle. Sally Hansen Ice Queen is a limited edition nail polish so check your local drugstores and mass retailers soon if you don’t want to miss out. Sally Hansen Hard As Nails polishes retail for $1.99/ea for a .45oz bottle.
Thoughts on Movie Star and Ice Queen? If you have Ice Queen what is your favorite polish to layer it over? Which do you prefer, Ice Queen or Glitter in the Air?
Disclosure: I purchased both of these nail polishes. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
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I don’t have Ice Queen, but I do have NYC Starry Silver Glitter which seems to be the exact same polish. I used most of the bottle to make a Glitter In The Air wannabe franken, but I also like how it looks over black.
Hi there! I also have Starry Silver .. what did you put in it to make a GITA dupe?
How does Movie Star compare to China Glaze Recycle?
Recycle is lighter and has more green/brown in it’s base. I guess I would say it’s muddier.
Ice Queen appears to be an exact dupe of NYC Starry Silver Glitter.
that is a lovely combo
I have a polish similar to Ice Queen by NYC called Starry Silver Glitter but I think the hex glitter may be a tad smaller in size. They are the same color glitter though. New York Summer Angel dreams is also similar but has pastel pink glitter. I love them both and wear them often. I’m not sure I need Ice Queen, but I think I want it!
I absolutely love both of these polishes!! I have never actually commented on any of your postings, but I look every day just to see what you happen to be wearing that day. I absolutely love your website!! Keep up the great work
So glad you are back & that your pops is on the mend!! Funny how polish can look so different in the bottle & on the nail. In the bottle, I was meh about both, but on your nails, I actually squealed! I think I might have to go look for these. Good thing I’m heading to Ulta tomorrow
Ice Queen looks suspiciously similar to NYC Starry Silver Glitter, which I love
wonder which came first? Lovely combination. x
I really like this combination! I actually have very similar nails currently, though I am wearing a lighter gray and am using NYC’s Starry Silver Glitter instead. I think the NYC polish looks about the same as Ice Queen, though I haven’t seen it in person.
I just pulled the trigger on Ice Queen. ::sigh:: I’m glad you’re back, but I’m not sure my wallet is!
Sally Hansen Ice Queen reminds me very much of NYC “Starry Silver Glitter”, which is one of my favourite glitter top coats.
LOVE IT! I need Ice Queen NOW please!
SH Ice Queen = NYC Starry Silver Glitter?
Are they duplicates?
I haven’t seen Starry Silver Glitter in person but thanks to all of you letting me know about it, they do look like dupes.
Very pretty – definitely worth stashing! Do you think the SH Ice Queen could be considered a dupe to NYC’s Starry Silver Glitter? They both have that pink and blue hex glitter in there, and at first glance they look really similar to me.
Thanks for sharing – this is one gorgeous look I’m definitely going to have to try for myself!
The Sally Hansen Ice Queen reminds me of New York Color’s Starry Silver Glitter.Except the NYC one doesn’t have the hexagon glitters in it, there all just round.
Glad to see some love for Sally Hansen Ice Queen! I picked it up several weeks ago on a whim and put it over my brand-new Essie Smooth Sailing manicure … soooooo pretty!
i have nyc’s starry silver glitter and it looks almost just like this sally hansen one. do u know if its a dupe?
I haven’t come across the NYC version but based on pics I found in a search, they look near identical. Since both brands are owned by Coty that doesn’t surprise me.
Those look incredible TOGETHER! I don’t think I would have thought to put that over gray!
I love love love this!
gorgeous combo!
I have looked and looked at Ice Queen practically every time I’ve been at the drugstore lately but haven’t been able to decide whether or not to buy it. Perhaps I will now!
Although I’ve decided I’m not a huge fan of glitters on cremes, I really like that combination and I’m loving that glitter! I may break down and buy it if I can ind it!
I actually like the way you wore Ice Queen much better than I did! I wore it with a light pink base to compliment the glitter, but the pink glitter ended up getting lost in the base.
Nice job! I may try this again with gray soon
Sally Hansen Ice Queen looks exactly like NYC Starry Silver Glitter down to the pink and blue big sparklies! I have the NYC one over Sally Hansen XL White On right now and have been getting compliments all week. I love your look over the gray too.
I would stash these too!
Referring to yesterday’s poll, think of it this way: Almost 65% of the voters are saying “Share at least one of them.” You don’t get elected as president if you don’t get at least 50% of the votes (not at least where I live..)
I’m a huge fan of different size glitters! Your comment on the stiffer brush is interesting. I tried a nail polish a couple of weeks ago that had large size glitter like this one but it required more effect than normal. I may go check it out this weekend.
I’ve picked up and put back Ice Queen, not once but twice… for the rather silly reason of not wanting another SH with a diff shape bottle to add to my stash. After your review, looks like I’m going back to Walgreens and hope it’s still there. I hope during your next drugstore haul, you get some of the new Xtreme glitter… I’m curious about those as well.
gorgeous combo!
Wow, that is pretty darn cute. I am becoming a regular sparkle girl lately–especially after you got me hooked on Glitter Gal!
I have Starry Siver by NYC which is an exact dupe for the Sally Hansen. I also have Glitter in the Air and they are very different. GitA I wore in 3-4 layers and it ends up looking much as it does in the bottle: sky blue jelly with pale pink and blue and iridescent glitter. Starry silver is way more bold and I wouldn’t wear it as a stand alone– only as a layering!
Oh I wasn’t suggesting that Ice Queen is the same as GitA, just that the mixture of pink & blue glitter reminded me of it. I couldn’t get GitA opaque after four coats so I gave up on it. I didn’t want to apply it super thick and end up with bubbling or dents.
GitA never got totally opaque for me, but I liked that it didn’t. Gave it that “airy” feeling if you know what I mean. I do think that NYC Starry Silver and Ice Queen are exact dupes, though for those who were wondering.
I am definitely scouring my local drugstores for Ice Queen!
Wow… now I really wish I had picked up Ice Queen when I saw it. I thought it looked too similar to my NYC Starry Night.
Love this combo!!! I need to re-explore my gray nail polish fetish of last year.
I think they are dupes.
This looks so good I plan to try to replicate. You should get a commision on all the polish you sell!
I love this combo!!
I have a polish, NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel 105 Starry Silver Glitter, that looks like a dupe of Ice Queen. Have you seen it? I might be mistaken; I only recently started obsessing over nail polish, so I’m not really good at spotting dupes… But I do think that Starry Silver Glitter bears more than a passing resemblance to Ice Queen in the bottle. I think the difference between the two is that SSG does not have holographic glitter. As its name suggests, the fine glitter is silver.
Sorry for this novel-long comment, but I have a few more things to say! I caught up with your recent posts, and I am so relieved to hear that your father is doing better. I hope he continues to get better, and that you, family and friends stay strong throughout this time.
Shortly after writing my comment, I went in search of Starry Silver Glitter to have a better look at it. Well, I was wrong about Starry Silver Glitter’s finer glitter. It DOES have holographic glitter. I’m not sure if all the fine glitter is holographic as I was blinded by the sparkling glitter in natural light, as well as just the sunlight on it’s own. Very, VERY sunny today… I am still seeing stars as I type, hahaha.
NYC and Sally Hansen are both owned by Coty so that doesn’t surprise me. I haven’t seen Starry Silver Glitter to compare but based on pics online they look identical.
I was wearing Starry Silver when this post came out and the glitter is def a silver holo. Check it out again!
Sweet! I’ll go hunting for the Sally Hansen now.
Oooh! Sooo pretty! That grey would not look as good on me, but I like that glitter a lot!
I like the hex shapes in this SH glitter – but I am really big right now on Deb Lippmann Up In the Air that has only a light smattering of hex shapes in a really pale blue gel that on many shades shows up clear.
I would have stashed these both too…and no fear on the weeding process of your untried ones. That’s the whole idea is to try them to see what you have. You don’t want to toss one that you like – or don’t have one similar for use for your dupes. I find when I donate a bunch when I am in a clean out mood, often I regret it…esp when years later I see I have tossed out one that has become one of those $75 collector items!
Oh man. I’m currently getting ready to start driving all about town to score some of the new WnW e/s palettes, now I am definitely going to be on the lookout for this SH np as well! (Just waiting for my np to dry before getting ready
)
When I wore Movie Star for the first time I was actually disappointed how dark it was. I expected something much lighter when I bought it and I was surprised that it looked much lighter in the bottle.
Is Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Ice Queen any different from NYC Starry Silver Glitter?
Is SH Ice Queen a dupe of NYC Starry Silver Glitter?
thanks for trying out Ice Queen! I keep seeing it when I go into my Walgreens and being tempted, but I just wasn’t sure about it. Looks great.
“Which do you prefer, Ice Queen or Glitter in the Air?” Do you really have to ask? Glitter in the Air is such a sad excuse for a glitter polish! Although I’m sure that Deborah Lippmann would say that she meant for it to be sparse and that I’m a cretin who doesn’t know quality when I see it. *snicker*
Oy! Don’t any of your readers bother to read even a few of the comments before they comment? You just know that they think they are saying something fascinating and original when instead they said the same thing fifty other people said.
Sorry for the crabby comment. I have herniated discs and they are acting up tonight. My patience wears thin when I’m in pain.
In all fairness, comments are moderated to avoid spam and I only approve comments a couple times a day so none of the readers who asked about the NYC dupe saw the other comments before asking.
True. I forgot about that. I was in such an evil foul mood last night, I shouldn’t have commented at all. Apologies to you and your readers, I’ll hold my tongue (typing fingers) next time I’m in pain and cranky!
Wow this is a great combo! Grey polish on its own leaves me cold but I like this a lot
I picked up Ice Queen last time I was at the drugstore and have been playing with it on nail wheels but haven’t used it yet. I love this idea and will totally try something like it!
About the weeding out that is not really happening, maybe you should keep the tried polishes separate so after the 365 days you can see how often you really reach for them and then throw the ones you never use out after another year? I hope you can understand what I mean, my english is not very good lol.
I LOVE this combo! I went to Ulta and was able to get the Essence Movie Star. I looked all over the city of Memphis for the Sally Hansen Ice Queen, but had no luck. I was at Wal-Mart and settled for some cheap Love My Nails in All That (It was only $1). It actually looks kind of close to your mani, but the glitter pieces are square, the base is a translucent purple, and the micro glitter is iridescent. Anyway, I like the look of it, but will still be on the lookout for Ice Queen! Thanks so much!
I love this combo! Will need to replicate
Hope you don’t mind!
Haha, I actually went back a while ago and checked the original post that started all this because I was like, It seems like she’s just stashing it all, I thought she was trying to go through and get rid of some. But considering what kind of blog this is, I don’t think you should worry too much about weeding out. I think more people would be surprised if you’d gotten rid of a lot of them!
I’m pretty sure there’s an NYC color which is exactly the same as that glitter topcoat. I’ll have to look through my stash to find the name – but even the large glitter is the same color!
Julie, it’s true! The NYC polish is called Starry Silver Glitter and I have it sitting on my desk. It’s a dead ringer and a bit cheaper.
I have Ice Queen and love it a lot. I layer it over anything not already glittery and it just makes it pop. I even layer it over Konadicures. I also have NYC Starry Silver Glitter. They are the same and I did not realize I had both but glad I do since the SH is LE! They really are my fave glitter top coats and I have several.