Sally Hansen Costume-ize Your Nails - My Picks

 purchased by me 

When was the last time Sally Hansen had new polish in a Halloween display?  I think it was before this blog existed.  For the last couple of years they've just done Salon Effects strips and repromoted existing shades.  This year there are four Insta-Dri's, two new Fuzzy Coats, and two Big Glitter toppers, along with some new Salon Effects.  I recently found the display at my favorite CVS and wound up getting the three non-matte Insta-Dri's.  The line is almost always great for stamping, dotting, etc, so I decided to have some fun with them and test their potential.

OMGhost is a white cream.

stamped with Night Fright (MASH-56)

This is the one that drew my interest to the display.  An older Insta-Dri shade called Whirlwind White is my HG white for stamping.  It's been discontinued for longer than I've been stamping, but it's still what I recommend.  I needed to see how this new white (the ingredients are different) measures up.  First things first though.  It applies fairly well, but is slightly streaky.  For a white, it's not bad!  It's not chalky, runny, or gooey like a lot of white creams.  Two coats gives decent coverage, but I added a third for evenness.  My issue with it?  Pinprick bubbles.  This seems to happen to me with all Insta-Dri creams.  My coats might be too thin for this style of brush with a quick-dry polish, or it might be a body chemistry quirk.  Fact of life at this point, either way.  I'm really in it for the stamping anyway.

I stamped over OMGhost with Night Fright, using the MASH-56 plate.  Night Fright stamped well, but I'm having trouble stamping lately.  My nails are soft, and at this length they bend at the slightest pressure.  Stamping them is like trying to hit a moving target or dress a dog.  On my first attempt the lower jaw didn't stick.  I'm calling it user error.  Night Fright's a good stamping black...though I still prefer Cult Nails Nevermore.  The really vexing part was crinkling and streaking issues when I topcoated it.  I used the same topcoat as always, so I have no clue what went wrong.  Might  have just been the day I was having.


Pumpkin Queen is a bright yellow-orange cream.

dotted with Night Fright

Despite being on the thin side, Pumpkin Queen is a two-coater.  It dries darker than it looks in the bottle, but is still nicely bright and festive.  I did a stamping test with it and while it transfers well, it's too sheer for over black and darkens considerably.

I don't do dotticures often, but I wanted to see how Night Fright dotted.  Really well!  I think this is the easiest, most even dotting I've ever done.  Woo!


Night Fright is a black crelly.

stamped with OMGhost (BM-013)

It doesn't really look like it in the bottle, but Night Fright is a crelly.  Its not completely opaque like a true cream, so it has a nice sheen and slight depth to it.  This is two coats.  I had pinprick bubbling on all three of these, but it was the worst here.  You can even see it a little.  Oh well.  It stamps well and dots beautifully, so I don't mind!

OMGhost stamps well too, as you can see.  I had a little smearing, but nothing horrible.  It's just as good as Whirlwind White too!

Whirlwind White (on middle) vs OMGhost (on ring)

If you're searching for a stamping white, RUN to find OMGhost before it disappears.  You need this!


Bottom line: All three are ok for standard polishing, but better for stamping and nail art.  OMGhost is a must-have for stampers.


While we're on the subject, if you stamp what are your go-to black and white creams?

 all products in this post were purchased by me