Mani Monday – Wedding Glitz with Essie and Sally Hansen
Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, the BF and I traveled to Pittsburgh to celebrate the nuptials of two of our friends. In the past, my go-to wedding dress color is black so I pair it with fun nail color choices but since I joined Weight Watchers and shed 55 pounds, I’ve become a bit bolder in my clothing choices.
I am slowly incorporating more color into my wardrobe so, lately, I find myself opting for metallic nail colors for events. Since my dress was red with a black leopard print, I found myself going down the silver/pewter road for the special occasion.
At the time, I was in the middle of reorganizing my hot mess of an office so I was fortunate to have recently received Essie Beyond Cozy from the Winter 2012 collection and Sally Hansen Shoot The Moon which will become part of the permanent line in March but is out in promo displays now. Together, they take glitz and glam to the next level. Check it out!
Formula & Application: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes are 5-Free (including formaldehyde resin and camphor, which can be an irritant). The hefty glass bottles are topped with a smooth chrome cap that has a rubberized grip around the base. The grip makes opening the bottle easier and keeps the brush from slipping while polishing. The brush is the same flat, paddle style as the Insta-Dri line with curved bristles. The bristles are firm so use a light touch to avoid streaking or dragging the polish.
Essie is a 3-Free brand. The square bottles are embossed with the essie logo and the smooth plastic caps include an embossed e on top. The brushes are thin, round and shorter than most. The bristles are very flexible, allowing you to easily fan out the brush to cover your nail width.
Both polishes offer excellent coverage and application. Shoot The Moon is a very pigmented (two coats) foil metallic so it can show some brush marks but nothing significant. Beyond Cozy is a clear-based glitter that is so packed with glitter, it provides full coverage in two coats, three if you are using very thin layers.
Sally Hansen Shoot the Moon is a pewter colored foil metallic. It has that graphite look to it thanks to the smooth metallic particles in pewter and gold. Speaking of Graphite….
Shoot the Moon is the closest dupe I have found for the popular, yet pricey, Chanel Graphite. It applies with the same opacity and the level of sparkle and shine is almost dead-on. The only difference, to my eye, is that Shoot the Moon doesn’t have as many foil flakes packed in its base. But at a third of the price, can you really complain about that?
Now I would have been perfectly content wearing Shoot the Moon on its own but I couldn’t help myself. Why not amp it up, right? Adding a layer of Essie Beyond Cozy was like brushing crushed diamonds on my nails. The mix of silver and pale gold fine glitter blend to become a faint champagne color. Over Shoot The Moon, the gold was lost but it certainly brightened up the end result. ps this is one of those top-coat-eating glitters so be prepared to use a thick top coat or deal with the texture.
The wedding was just beautiful. Heather and Joel were married in this gorgeous church on Pitt’s campus with one of my good friends standing up as Best Man. The bride was stunning and the groom, very dapper The reception was a super fun affair that ended up being a mini Cedar Point Alumni reunion.
You see, I met Heather when I worked at the Roller Coaster Capital, Cedar Point, during college. Joel worked there as well but we never met. Years later I organized a group trip to an island in Lake Erie, Put-In-Bay, with some of my fave CP people and through mutual friends Heather and Joel were part of that first, crazy weekend.
The trip became an annual event and seven years later, after knowing each other for 13 years, Heather and Joel started dating. Fast forward to 2012 and here they are, getting married. I couldn’t be happier for them. They truly were meant to be.
With the BF (left), my BFF (right), and the happy couple (bottom)
I loved the look so much, I wore it for an entire week. Despite the small chip I took out of my middle finger nail, it wore like iron, which I guess explains why glitter is so hard to remove. It must be a distant cousin or cement or something.
Bottom Line: If you don’t own Chanel Graphite and want to save a few (okay many) dollars, get your hands on Shoot The Moon ASAP!! Beyond Cozy’s mix of gold and silver glitter makes it a wonderfully neutral glitter and since it doesn’t have a match in my glitter stash, it’s a must in my book.
Essie Beyond Cozy and Sally Hansen Shoot the Moon are both available now. Essie nail polish retails for $8/ea for a .46oz bottle and can be found at salons, including ULTA, and mass retailers nationwide. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish retails for $7.99 for a .5oz bottle and can be found at mass retailers nationwide.
Do you like my layering combo? Thoughts on Beyond Cozy and Shoot the Moon? Have you spotted Shoot the Moon locally? Chanel fans, do you think StM is a good Graphite substitute?
Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Essie and CVS. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
You and your nails look gorgeous! Congrats to the happy couple too!
You look beautiful! Love the nails as well
You look great! I wore the same wedding dress for my September wedding
It looks like a perfect holiday color too!
OMG, Shoot the Moon is gorg! I’ll have to head over to our (brand new) CVS and see if I can find it.
Also, you look AMAZING! What a fun weekend =)
So great to see you’re posting again, I’ve really missed your swatches
I hope we won’t have to miss you anytime soon? 
Apart from that I really need to get my hands on this Sally Hansen polish, I love the looks of Graphite but I’d never be willing to pay the bucks for it lol!
You look fantastic and I love the nail polishes!
Ha! I love love LOVE packing as much shiny as possible into one manicure, and this is a great example.
You look great, Michelle!
Thank you!!
Love it!
Great that you are posting again! If you don’t mind me asking how long did it take you to lose the weight. You look fantastic!
Hi Lam! I don’t mind you asking at all. It took me about nine months to lose the weight. I have more weight to lose but I’ve been maintaining for the past six months or so.
I love Shoot the Moon, it’s really a gorgeous shade.
SO glad to see you’re posting again, I’ve missed your swatches and information. Congrats on your weight loss as well, you’re looking fantastic (not that you didn’t before)! Wishing your friends happiness with their new marriage, and for greater health, happiness, and new posts for/from you!
I’m loving the nails and your outfit. There both really stunning!
Hey, I’m impressed you lost so much on weight watchers! I stopped after a few weeks because I was just way too hungry. I’m going to try to start again in a month, any tips for dealing with the hunger??
Good luck to you! I’ve had a great experience doing WW. The best way to battle hunger is to set yourself up for success. I got in the habit of shopping every week and stocking the house with tons of fruits and veggies. The thing is, if you don’t cut them up, you won’t eat them. So I spend part of my Sunday cutting up my produce and packaging it in snack size bags. That way whenever I’m hungry, I just grab a bag. If I snack on produce throughout the day I don’t find myself giving in to the easy temptation of prepackaged, fattening snack food. Also, I make things like turkey chili or pulled pork loin on Sunday so I have them for lunch during the week. Another great idea is to buy a bunch of chicken tenders, marinate and cook them ahead for use on salads and in wraps. It’s all about pre-planning your meals so you aren’t stuck hungry with no healthy options.
Great look and lovely couple!
You look FAB, congrats on the WW success!! I did WW a couple years ago, loooved it
and that polish is excellent with the dress, love love
Love those colors! And you looked gorgeous. Is that the S+D necklace?
Great eye Crystal! That is from Stella & Dot. I love that I can wear it multiple ways
So happy to hear about your weight loss. Congrats! You look fab. I love Shoot The Moon. I already own Revlon Carbonite, but I bet I’ll get STM sometime. I have been on a gold and silver polish kick recently.
The glittery effects of the nails looks really stunning! Loved it!
Michelle, it is so great you are back! You are one of people who inspired my polish obsession, and your posts are beautifully written. You look fantastic, and are an inspiration!
Like the ring
for some kind of reason, I’m not getting your updates by blog loving, it just doesn’t update. I checked today and I am subscribed.
You worked at Cedar Point?! Are you from Pgh? I’m a longtime reader, and I never picked up on that. Also, that’s a gorgeous color combo, I need to go pick up that Sally Hansen color right now. Well, except I’m currently on a plane. But yeah.
RAWR!! You look awesome!! I absolutely LUURVE that dress!!!
love the nail art. OMG, it looks awesome. love to wear that.
Wow – 55 lbs! Congrats on the weight loss. You look fantastic (as do your nails)!!!
Love all of the silvers – they’re all so similar but OPI’s is my favorite. & your combo for the wedding is fantastic!
Soooooooooo glad to see your back!!!!
Happy New Year!
Love, love, love that combo and will be looking for those polishes at a store near me! You looked beautiful! Congrats on the weight loss!
I love the mani and you look amazing! I really love a good platinum, and I need that SH now that I have seen this!
I love the Essie beyond cozy color! Another suggestion for a great nail color and style is Laylas Ceramic Effect nail color. The polishes come in many different colors but the silver has to be the best looking! When the polish dries it looks like and feels like a ceramic finish!
I’m in absolute love with Shoot the Moon! It’s absolutely gorgeous. I also love love love the Essie Beyond Cozy you layered over it. Beautiful!
Have you tried Orly “Shine”? It’s got that same foil sparkle- it’s my go to silver!
I love silver nail polish, and even though I do own Graphite, I’m buying similar colors. You looked great and I love the ring you’re wearing!
Just wondering if you are ever going to post again. I rather liked knowing what was going to be coming out soon and figuring out which polishes I would like before buying via trial and error. You haven’t posted anything like that in MONTHS.
Hope you are doing well and that there is nothing wrong.
Love this post! I just finished giving myself a manicure with Shoot the Moon as the base and Essie’s Set in Stone on top, and my nails look fantastic. I highly recommend trying!
That sounds beautiful. Thanks for sharing.