Sally Hansen Gem Crush: Review and Comparisons

A while back I picked up the eight colors in the Sally Hansen Gem Crush line from CVS. At the time they were BOGO 50% and included in a special deal where if you spend $30 then you'd get a $10 gift card. Can you guys tell that CVS is like my favorite drug store ever. I need to buy stock in them. Anyway, I finally got around to swatching them and I even did comparisons! Yay!

First up we have Showgirl Chic. It has tons of silver and blue glitter suspended in a clear base. I did three coats here. Similar but not an exact dupe to China Glaze Lorelei's Tiara.

L-R: Showgirl Chic, Lorelei's Tiara, Showgirl Chic, Lorelei's Tiara

 Lorelei's Tiara took two coats to reach opacity and its blue glitter is more dense and lighter in color than Showgirl Chic. So they're not exactly dupes, but choosing one over the other is a matter of personal preference.

Next up: Bling-tastic. I did three coats as well for this one. It's an aqua blue with silver hex glitters scattered throughout. Very similar to OPI's Gone Gonzo.

L-R: Bling-tastic, Gone Gonzo, Bling-tastic, Gone Gonzo

The silver hex glitters in Gone Gonzo are bigger and there's more of them packed in, but the smaller aqua glitters are essentially the same.

Big Money is easily my favorite of the bunch. Two coats seen here. It's got fine gold glitter and larger lavender glitter suspended in a clear base. It's unique to my stash and I can't think of anything else that would be similar. If you see this GRAB it and run (but don't forget to pay for it. LOL). The gold is not so yellow that it wouldn't flatter cooler skintones so it seems like it would be universally flattering.

Cha-Ching has fine red glitter and larger hex glitter in a clear base. I did three coats here and I expected to hate this because I'm not really the biggest red polish fan, but I actually like this one. It looks really close to OPI's Gettin' Miss Piggy With It! I don't have that one, but I suspect that the silver hex glitters in that one would be larger as was the case with Gone Gonzo.

Be-Jeweled. My second favorite of the collection. (Duh, it's purple!) I did three coats here. I love the way the pink hex glitters stand out against the finer lavender glitter. Bonus: I'm going to go ahead and call it a dupe for Wet N Wild's It's All In The Cut, so if you missed out on the Ice Baby collection or it never showed up in your area, go ahead and grab this. (Although I have heard through the grapevine that the Ice Baby collection, which was supposed to be a Walgreens exclusive, is starting to show up at CVS. But the Sally Hansen is a bigger bottle, so there's that to consider.

Here's Be-Jeweled and It's All In The Cut side by side. If I hadn't written down what polish I put on what finger I wouldn't be able to tell you what was what. But you be the judge.

L-R: Be-Jeweled, It's All In The Cut, Be-Jeweled, It's All In The Cut.

One other thing I will say is that the Be-Jeweled's formula was a bitter thinner than the Wet n Wild, so it took three coats to build to opacity versus the two coats I did of the Wet n Wild.

Razzle Dazzler has fine pink glitter in a clear base with larger silver hex glitter. Three coats seen here. I thought it would be similar to China Glaze Material Girl, but there's no silver glitter in that one.

L-R: Razzle Dazzler, Material Girl, Razzle Dazzler, Material Girl

Material Girl was opaque in two coats as well, but instead of larger silver glitter mixed in with the fine pink glitter it has larger pink holographic glitter. Hard to capture, but it is really reflective.

Lady Luck. Three coats here of this fine fuchsia glitter with larger holo glitter. As with the others this one is in a clear base. Very pretty.

 Glitz Gal. Smokey gray fine glitter in a clear base. Lots of holographic glitter that my camera refuses to show you on the nail, but willing to give you a sneak peek in the bottle. Ugh.

Comparison time! I actually ought to be ashamed that I have not one but two other nail polishes to compare this with--China Glaze Some Like It Haute and Wet N Wild Diamond In The Rough. Actually I had a third, Orly Rock Solid, but that one is finer and smoother, while the other three are chunky.

L-R: Glitz Gal, Some Like It Haute, Glitz Gal, Diamond In The Rough

These three are so similar I'm actually ashamed that I have all three...not really. LOL. One thing I did notice is that the holographic glitter in Some Like It Haute seemed to be slightly more prominent than the other two, but both Glitz Gal and Diamond In The Rough hold their own.

Overall I'd say this is a nice collection. Lot's of dupes from other companies, but it also has some unique shades. Must haves for me are Big Money, Be-Jeweled, Razzle Dazzler and Showgirl Chic. I hope this help anyone who has been wavering about these. Happy polish hunting! Let me know if you pick up any of these.