Are You Ready For This Jelly? — Sally Hansen Launches New Triple Shine Jelly Nail Lacquers

Few things remind me of my childhood summer adventures as much as jelly fisherman sandals — one look at those translucent plastic straps, and a smile spreads across my face as nostalgic ruminations ensue. Now, those of you who, like me, feel a sentimental attachment to jelly sandals will swoon over the new Sally Hansen Triple Shine jelly nail polishes ($4.99 each at food, drug, and mass market retailers like Target, CVS, Walgreens, and Ulta.com), a six-piece assortment of sheer colors in popsicle-worthy hues that capture the sunny cheer of the summer season.

Like all Triple Shine nail polishes, their formulas incorporate Sally Hansen’s exclusive Ultimate Shield complex, which is designed  to withstand all the elements faced by stylish (and well-manicured) urbanites, beach babies, and country mice alike: UV exposure, salt water, chlorine, sand, and so forth. Because they don’t fade and become dull when exposed to these elements, these polishes prove extra convenient for the season of impromptu beach voyages and pool dips. They also feature extra wide brushes that make painting your nails a breeze, covering a large amount of surface area with a single swipe. But, of course, the true allure is the sheer quality of these polishes and their alluring shine, which compounds the candy-like effect. If you’re a fan of the Candy Crush game, chances are these will bring to mind some of the jelly candies you’ve spent hours destroying on your cell phone.

All of the Triple Shine Jelly polishes are sheer, but you can increase their intensity by layering one coat after another. The colors, then, will go from practically clear with just a hint of color to a more robust type of sheerness akin to that of Jell-O squares or Flavor Ices (before they’re frozen and hard).

Below, you’ll find photos and details on four of the six shades: Water Melon, Ice Tint, Grape Jelly, and Sea Through. Get ready for the jelly!

WATER MELON

This is my absolute favorite shade in the collection since it reminds me of my favorite berry-flavored drinks and frozen treats: Luigi’s Italian ices, watermelon ice pops, raspberry sorbets, cherry lemonades, and so forth. As you can see, the color is a cool, blue-toned red but, because of its sheerness, it borders on pink. And, because of the nail’s natural coloring, it appears lighter along certain areas (such as the tips), giving the final nail look a color gradation that’s rather fascinating. I layered 4-5 coats to achieve the intensity shown in the photos above but, again, you can choose whether to make the effect more robust or more subtle. Either way, the effect is adorable — as if your nails were covered in succulent watermelon juice.

GRAPE JELLY

A sheer violet-toned purple, the Sally Hansen Triple Shine Jelly nail polish in Grape Jelly will likely remind you of grape popsicles (especially the droplets they leave on the floor s they melt), of Mike & Ike’s Jolly Joes, of grape-flavored Jolly Rancher candies, and Nestle’s Turbo Grape Push-Up pops. Again, the color is very sheer so that it feels watery, and the mega-watt shine helps it achieve the frozen effect that is crucial to creating a jelly-like feel. The photos above show what the polish looks like after four coats have been applied.

SEA THROUGH

This is one of my absolute favorite shades! The blue-green hue borders on teal but retains enough yellow tones to veer more closely towards the green family than the blue one — and yet it does so while still feeling aquatic and tropical.This is what I imagine the water looks like in French Polynesia, in the white sand beaches of Fakarava. Unlike the other jelly polishes I tried, this one had a tendency to bubble a bit (which you can see in the photos above) but, oddly enough, given the color’s  tonality, the bubbles only added to the sea-centric feel of the color. When staring at my nails, I felt the urge to go scuba diving so that about sums it up!

ICE TINT

There’s nothing cute about hypothermia, but there is something adorable about the frozen look of nails after 4-5 coats of the Sally Hansen Triple Shine jelly polish in Ice Tint. A sheer cerulean blue, the color looks grayish in dim lighting but, when you stare at it in natural light, the blue color is readily apparent. My son says this shade reminds him of the Blue Raspberry Coolattas he often begs for at Dunkin Donuts, and I’m inclined to agree  with him on his estimation. And, if you’ve ever made a batch of Berry Bleu Jell-O, then it might remind you of the way the mixture looks like after a few hours of refrigeration, when it’s not completely hard and jiggly, but is well past the point of being a full-on liquid.

Who needs gel polish when you’ve got jelly?