Throwback Thursday - Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud

 purchased by me 

This week my throwback isn't anywhere near as old or rare as last week's and it's possible you've seen it before.  Maybe you even own it.  Opulent Cloud came out in Fall '09, one of just four limited edition shades (the rest were "permanent" for a couple of years) in the HD line.  I love the HD's in general and I wish they'd done more of them...but that's a much bigger post for another day.  I've only had Opulent Cloud since last year.  In 2009 I was much better at not buying polish.  Back then I'd buy maybe five to ten bottles a year.  Hard to imagine now.  I didn't even see the display Opulent Cloud was part of.  I wound up buying it from an eBay seller after a long lemming and much frustration.  I paid more than I normally would for a drugstore polish...and then, of course, it sat untried.  I'm glad Nichole got me to make Throwback Thursday a feature because it's gonna be perfect for knocking off collected untrieds.  Today is Opulent Cloud's day at last!

Opulent Cloud is usually described as a duochrome, and I can see why, but I disagree.  It's got pale gold shimmer in a periwinkle base.  That contrast of sheer, cool base and dense, warm shimmer makes it dynamic, but the shimmer itself doesn't actually shift.  The result is really complex and interesting though.  Sometimes it's dark around the edges like the photo above, but then it looks like an almost taupey soft gold in some lighting.

Other times it looks metallic.

In strong sunlight it kinda goes crazy. (And so does my camera. Sorry!)

You can probably track down a bottle if you're patient and persistent, but it is VHTF and will probably run about $10-15.  (It's not on Storenvy or eBay at all right now.)  Is it worth it?  Well...I don't have anything else like it.  I think the closest things to it are possibly a shade or two in Dance Legend's Malta collection, but I don't have any to compare.  The formula's good, but you need to watch for brush strokes and clumping.  This is one thin coat and two thick ones.  Having spent $6 and shipping, I actually kinda feel like I got a bargain because it's pretty, unusual, and "collectible".


After just two, there won't be another Throwback Thursday post until January.  There's something a little different coming up next week and I won't be posting any swatches.  You'll see, and hopefully you'll enjoy it.  Next month Throwback Thursday will temporarily become Xmas Past and might be more than once a week because I have SO MANY old xmas polishes.

 all products in this post were purchased by me