Nail of the Day: Gummy Green (+ Comparison with Illamasqua Speckled Nail Varnishes)

Hi, everyone! If you saw my recent Haul Post, you'll know that I recently picked up a seriously cool-looking nail polish that is perfect for spring. Specifically, I picked up Hard Candy's Candy Sprinkles Nail Lacquer in Gummy Green. The Candy Sprinkles line is brand new for spring and features a range of sugary pastel shades filled with multi-coloured glitter. So fun and girly!

Hard Candy Candy Sprinkles Nail Lacquer in Gummy Green

Gummy Green is not a true green, but rather a minty aqua shade filled with black, white, and silver glitter. The aqua base is semi-sheer but builds up to nearly-opaque with a couple of coats. The glitter is packed pretty densely into the base, which makes it a prominent feature of the polish. Here's a close-up of what it looks like on my nail with 2 generous coats:

As you can see, the result is quite mesmerizing and unique! I painted my nails yesterday and still can't stop staring at them. I do find the glitter to be quite chunky (feels uneven and gritty to the touch), but I think this could be remedied by smoothing a top coat over it. Because I've only been wearing it for 24 hours, I can't speak well to its lasting power, but I can say that it remained completely intact after a gruelling outdoor bootcamp, which is pretty impressive!

Hard Candy Candy Sprinkles Nail Lacquer in Gummy Green

Another reason I picked up Gummy Green is that Hard Candy's Candy Sprinkles range much reminded me of Illamasqua's new Speckled Nail Varnishes, also released this spring. I recently picked up a Speckled Nail Varnish in Scarce, a candy pink with multi-sized blue glitter. I fell in love because the robin's egg effect was so neat! Though I wanted to grab the whole line, the nearly $20 price tag was definitely a hindrance. So when I spotted the Candy Sprinkles line, I thought I might have stumbled upon a super affordable dupe!

So to do a quick contrast, as compared to Illamasqua's Speckled Nail Varnishes, Hard Candy's Candy Sprinkles Nail Lacquers have:

• glitter that is all one size and more densely packed (which doesn't replicate the irregular, robin's egg look)
• glitter of different colours, which make them a bit more multifaceted
• more sheer of a base, which prevents the glitter from the first coat from getting covered up (and also makes the glitter more prominent)
• a more gritty texture
• less of a smooth, shiny finish

So overall, while the Speckled Nail Varnish and Candy Sprinkles ranges do have a similar overall aesthetic, they are definitely not exact dupes. I think the Illamasqua version wins out in terms of top-quality formula and the unique, irregularly dispersed glitter. While Hard Candy's line may not be quite as elegant, the multi-coloured, densely-packed glitter really make for a lovely effect! For only $3, I highly encourage that you pick some up!

Here are a couple more shots of Gummy Green on my nails:

And that's it! Hope you found my comparison between Hard Candy's Candy Sprinkles and Illamasqua's Speckled ranges to be helpful! And hopefully I've piqued your interest with the lovely Gummy Green?! Is this a shade you would wear? Have you tried any of the Candy Sprinkles Nail Lacquers yet?

Thanks for reading! xo