New Sally Hansen LE Diamond Strength

Sally Hansen's eight new LE Diamond Strength shades really don't look like a fall collection.  Flecked duochromes ranging from vivid orange to bright purple, the colors would have made more sense in Summer.  They're superficially a lot like Color Club's Take Wing collection...from Spring.  There are eight shades, but I only got five.  I have a theory about this collection.  Their Spring LE's from this line had a 'pattern,' four base colors and four "glitter overcoats".  I think this new Fall collection has a more subtle pattern, four sheers for layering and four to wear on their own.  I don't have Moonlit Dance, Twist Of Lime, or Tender Teal, but I'd bet that the first is sheer and the other two aren't.  It's a hunch.


All Aglow is that vivid purple I'd mentioned.

I'd have loved this either way, sheer or not.  It's an odd shade, but in a very cool way.  The gold shift suggested by the bottle is there, but its real effect most of the time is to make it shift between a cool-toned purple and a much warmer red-violet.  Photos could never do a shade like this any justice.  The formula was great.  Full opacity at 2-3 coats and crazy shine even without a top coat.

It was fun to play with too.  I just got Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night from Wet n Wild's Fergie line for a scantling.  Mini review here, I think the two glitters in it are too different from one another to work well over a simple cream, which is why I threw it over All Aglow's flecked duochrome for a more interesting base.  I was really happy with the result.

Ruby Ring shifts between a very bold hot pink and dayglow orange.

Personally, I don't like pink or orange, so Ruby Ring wasn't right for me at all.  I bought it thinking it was sheer like some of the other shades, but it's as opaque as All Aglow, needing 2-3 coats to hide the nail line.  If you love brights though, this shade is a MUST!  The glowing orange shift is *strong*...it's outrageous and stunning and bold and just gorgeous.

The other three shades I chose from this collection are very sheer, so I'm only showing them layered.  I was very pleasantly surprised that they paired so excellently with Sinful Colors' Enchanted collection.  They're almost drugstore versions of Ozotic's 900 series...HOORAY!!!


Sparkling Rosé is my surprise favorite from this collection.  I paired it with Sinful Colors Mesmerize, a dark, dusty indigo.

It was pure serendipity that I even bought Sparkling Rosé.  I'd passed on it before, but then I saw it in sunlight and what looked like a baby pink turned out to be very sheer, with flecks shifting between soft cool-toned pink that borders on purple and a warm gold with rare hints of green.  The photo above is one layer, but the real magic happens with a second layer.  It's hard to keep from posting dozens of photos of it.

I couldn't possibly post fewer than two though.

...wow...  There aren't other words.  Wow!  It looks amazing mattified too!

 ...you'd never guess this magic came out of that bottle, would you?  Thank you, sunlight!  And thank you, Ulta, for having a glass storefront!  ...and thanks, of course, Sally Hansen, for making the magic!

Blue Frosting has flecks that shift from a bright teal to fuchsia, in a pale blue base.  I layered it over Sinful Colors Rain Storm.

At one coat in very bright light, it adds just a little shimmer.  Two coats of Blue Frosting are almost as magical as Sparkling Rosé.

 ...and this needed two photos too!

Mmmm!  Also good mattified.

Crystal Beading is the sheerest of any in this collection, essentially a fleck topcoat.  They're very close to the flecks in Blue Frosting.  I paired it with Sinful Colors Jungle Trail, a gray that looks slightly green on me.

...and mattified at one coat...

...that magical second coat...

...and mattified again!

Since Blue Frosting is a tinted sheer, it looks very different over light and dark shades.

At one coat over white, it's opalescent with the slightest hint of blue.  Over black, it's a moderate dose of duochrome shimmer.  As usual with these, the magic happens at two coats.

 The white becomes a pearly blue with a fuchsia shift and the black just dazzles!

Sparkling Rosé performs like the pink equivalent.  At one coat it's a tint or a sparkle.

One coat over white is a soft, but warm pink with opal flecks.  Over black it's radiant gold and fuchsia/purple.  Two coats are magic yet again...

White turns into an almost peachy pink with even more opalescence and black doesn't know if it's pink or gold or fuchsia or what...but wonderfully so!


Blue Frosting and Crystal beading are very different over light colors, when Blue Frosting's tinted base can show, but over black they're virtually identical.

I- Crystal Beading x2, M- Blue Frosting x2, R- Crystal Beading x1, P- Blue Frosting x1

Almost the same, right?  Blue Frosting might have the tiniest bit more green, maybe.


So...overall?  Well....I love these!!  The formulas are terrific, the shimmer is brilliant, they shine like crazy on their own (though I use top coat), and that duochrome shift!!  Dazzling!  My recommendations would be Sparkling Rosé for everyone, because it's gorgeous.  Ruby Ring is great for for pink-lovers.  I'd call Crystal Beading a must-have, but I'd only recommend Blue Frosting too if you like layering over white and pastel.  All Aglow is good and really interesting, but not essential.

[P.S., if you want to see a metric butt-ton of photos of these, go here and scroll to the bottom.]