You can’t talk about vintage nail polish and not mention the phenomena that was Hard Candy. Hard Candy was the original “indie” polish brand. Their first polish, Sky, was literally mixed in the founder’s bathroom to complement a pair of Marc Jacobs shoes. Alicia Silverstone wore Sky on Letterman and thus, a legend was born.
Hard Candy has switched hands over the years and is now a Walmart-exclusive brand. In 2015, Hard Candy celebrated 20 years with an 8-piece limited-edition polish collection.
Sky (two coats) is the color that started it all. It’s a light blue crème with a faint blue flash.
Claws Up! (two coats) is a nude crème with silver shimmer.
Coconut (three coats) is a white crème with purple/pink shifting glass flecks.
Girlie (two coats) is a pink crème with a subtle pink flash.
Mint (two coats) is a light green crème with a faint green flash.
Scam (two coats) is a purple jelly with violet shimmer.
Tangerini (two coats) is an orange crème.
Zombie (two coats) is a dark purple shimmer with burgundy shimmer.
Coconut was a nightmare to apply, plus the glass-flecks do not appear on the nail, probably due to the crème formula. Most of the cremes have a subtle shimmer in the bottle but does not show up when applied.
Collecting vintage Hard Candy is a bit difficult nowadays, due to the passage of time and sifting out Walmart Hard Candy polishes from listings. I have a handful of vintage Hard Candys and will post them in the near future.