Island Girl Hawaii Polish Haul Part 1: Aloha Sunset and Sugar Cane (plus an update!)

Hi errbody! Last Saturday (June 22nd) was me and my boyfriend's fifth anniversary. It also fell on the second day of summer and what better way to spend it than a weekend getaway at The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa in Henderson, Nevada! We checked in Friday night and checked out Sunday noon. We spent the weekend kayaking and swimming, and just enjoying life. :) I was sad that the weekend had to end, but there is this thing called work on a Sunday night, which is interfering with my playtime. But if I don't go to work, no money for playtime! Oh, it's a catch-22 situation. Haha.

Here's a little glimpse of our celebration <3

Anyway, a Vegas trip isn't complete without a trip to ABC Stores to buy, what else, nail polish! Island Girl nail polish to be exact. The Strip was actually about sixteen miles from where we were staying at, but we had our anniversary dinner at Cravings at the Mirage so I took advantage and purchased some Island Girls.

I managed to cull my choices down to seven, but will only post two for now. (Two are all I have the energy for today. I'm pooped!) For part one of the Island Girl haul, I chose to feature the two blinding neons that I bought: Aloha Sunset and Sugar Cane.


First: Aloha Sunset.

Without top coat

With top coat

Holy neon... Aloha Sunset is a bright neon pink. It's much brighter and a more saturated pink in person. Neon polishes are notoriously known to be hard to capture and today I proved that right! I've tried everything I can and this is the best I can come up with. It applied like a jelly polish to me. I used three coats over a white base. Can get away with two but I felt like it still had bald spots and was not saturated enough. It dried into a pretty, waxy matte finish. Not much difference between with and without top coat, but maybe my top coat just wasn't shiny enough?


Second is Sugar Cane.

*UPDATE: Apparently this one is called Aloha Color. Sugar Cane is a neon green, according to the other swatches I've seen and been tagged in on IG.*

Without top coat

With top coat

Now this is a neon!!! I think my retinas got seared by the brightness of it. Heck, even my camera's lens probably got burned. I'm not sure why they named it the way they did. Maybe they should have just named it Ray of Light or something. Haha. Sugar Cane is more yellow irl, not greenish like my picture suggests. It's like a highlighter exploded on your nails! And get this. This is one, ONE, coat over a white base. ONE COAT! Granted, it's over a white base, but still! Again, applies like a jelly, and dries to a waxy matte finish.


Thoughts? These are so bright, it's not for the faint of heart. I was expecting it to be a bright neon but I was not expecting it to be as bright as it is! And I was never a fan of neons, but since I started getting more interested in nail art, I've been more open to trying colors which I didn't think I would like before. And neon polishes are starting to grow on me! I'll probably ease into it by using these for nail art and not a full-on plain manicure on all ten fingernails. Only issue I have with them is they make my hands look so dark! I swear my hands are not as dark as the picture shows. And yeah I got a few shades darker due to being in the sun most of the weekend, but still, my hands are not that dark. The brushes are also a little too fat and full for my liking, and it tends to grab a lot more polish than I want. But at least it's soft and didn't leave streak marks or make it uneven and bumpy. Just be sure to make your white base even.


Would I recommend these polishes? If you love neon then yes, I would absolutely recommend you get these! It will satisfy your need for a bright neon and more. The formula is on par for a jelly polish, squishy and a little runny, and because it dries matte then dry time is very quick. You must absolutely use this over white though, because I tried without it and it looks like you painted your nails with straight up highlighter pens. Not very pretty but you can try it if you don't want that in-your-face neon. Availability is an issue though, because these polishes are only available at ABC Stores in Las Vegas and Hawaii. If you have nail mail buddies from either place then ask them to kindly get them for you, or if you are taking a trip to Vegas then be sure to check them out.

That's it for part one of my Island Girl haul! Stay tuned for parts two and three. ;)


*I bought these polishes with my own money at the ABC Stores in Las Vegas on Tropicana Ave. Each bottle is $2.99 plus tax. Here is a list of their locations, but the only stores in the continental US are located in Las Vegas (they have eight stores there.) You can also order some sets here, but they don't have a lot of choices and shipping is $9. Island Girl is sold exclusively in ABC Stores.*


*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*