Dose of Lola: China Glaze

Today, I have three shades from the China Glaze Sunsational Summer 2013 collection. Out of the jelly half of this collection, these three were the most attractive to me.

All of these are sandwiched the same: 2 coats jelly, 1 coat glitter, 1 coat jelly, 1 coat glitter, and a final jelly coat for a total of 2 coats of glitter and 4 coats of jelly. These are are shown with topcoat.

China Glaze Keepin' It Teal swatch Finger Paints Motley nail polish

China Glaze Keepin' It Teal and Finger Paints Motley

China Glaze You Drive Me Coconuts swatch Essie STroke of brilliance nail polish

China Glaze You Drive Me Coconuts and Essie Stroke of Brilliance

China Glaze Shell-o swatch sally hansen glass slipper nail polish

China Glaze Shell-O and Sally Hansen Glass Slipper

These jellies don't self-level at all. Floating the brush and avoid going over the same spot twice helped tremendously. I think they are worth getting if you're willing to be patient with them.

11 May 18 comments

This was kind of an accidental mani. I didn't go into thinking I'd end up with a dotticure. Even though I love nail art, it's not something I indulge in very often. Let's face it, I barely even have time to swatch! However, when I encountered China Glaze Dandy Lyin' Around and its horrible, streaky formula, I had two choices: remove it and go bare or cover it up.

This is 3 coats China Glaze Dandy Lyin' Around with Mimosas Before Manis, Fade Into Hue, and For Audrey dots. For Audrey is obviously not from Avant Garden, but it fit in so much nicer than Sunday Funday, which is the bright blue from this collection.I'll post an update about Dandy Lyin' once I've thinned it and worked with it a bit.Now that all of the Spring collections have been released, which one is your favorite? OPI Euro Centrale was a surprise favorite for me.

24 March 9 comments

Finger Paints I Spy-Der, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Are You Hoppy?, Owlin' at the Moon, Fishin' for Fun

Finger Paints Wild About Spring is pretty much full of win. There are actually six colors in this collection, but the one I left out was an afterthought, meaning I initially passed on it. I'll show you why in a bit.

Let's start with the glitters. I dabbed all of them on, which is much more effective than trying to put these on in coats. With a little patience, you can get all the shards to lie flat on your nail.

Over 2 coats China Glaze Aquadelic

Finger Paints Owlin' at the Moon is a light green shard glitter. The color reminds me of the fake grass that people use to stuff Easter baskets.

Over 2 coats of American Apparel L'Esprit

Finger Paints Are You Hoppy is a lavender shard glitter.

Over 2 coats of Finger Paints Gimme Some Sugar

Finger Paints Fishin' for Fun is a light pink and fuchsia shard glitter. The light pink is kind of salmon-ish.

3 coats

Finger Paints I-Spy-Der is a warm pink crelly with iridescent shimmer. The shimmer is similar to CND Sapphire Sparkle.

2 coats

Finger Paints Itsy Bitsy Spider (what's up with the spiders?!) is a cool purple loaded with the same shimmer. Definitely my favorite of the bunch. Go to your local Sally and pick this up! It's even prettier in person.

2 coats

So, this is the afterthought. Finger Paints Hoppy Go Lucky is a gorgeous teal shade, but I wasn't initially sure I wanted to deal with a possibly frosty polish. I decided later that yes, it is indeed worth the extra effort.

1 extra coat sponged on

The formula overall was pretty decent. The glitters are thick, but if you dab them on, it's not a problem. I didn't try thinning them. The shimmers are a little thick, but I had no major issues applying them.

Finger Paints Wilde About Spring collection retails for $5.29 ($4.49 for BCC holders) and is available at Sally Beauty.

04 March 7 comments

2 coats over China Glaze Refresh Mint

OPI The Man With The Golden Gun is an 18k gold topcoat. The flakes are larger than Sephora by OPI It's Real but smaller than Zoya Gilty. I'll have a comp up soon.

I didn't love the application because the base is pretty thick, and the gold flakes are smaller than I expected. It is pretty, though, and I don't regret purchasing it.

Golden Gun retails for $30 and is available at Ulta.

28 October 16 comments

China Glaze has recently released nail appliques (along the same vein of Sally Hansen's) in several different styles. I had the opportunity to try some, and I chose Cherry Blossom.

If you've had any experience with nail apps, there's nothing new here. Each pack comes with 16 nail apps, an orange wood stick, and a small file.

Applying these was fine. I have weird nails, so only three sizes fit my nails without manipulation. Luckily, they stretch pretty well, and they are long enough to cover two nails for every nail app.

The wear was great. I wore these for a full week and didn't experience any chips until day 5. I used Barielle Manicure Extender as a topcoat. China Glaze's estimate of a 7 day wear is very realistic - much better than Sally's 10 day estimate.

While I wouldn't wear nail apps on a regular basis, they are great for travel and special occasions. If I had a set for my recent vacation, I definitely would have worn them.

I received my China Glaze nail apps from Nail Polish Canada.

17 September 4 comments

Butter London has holos! As in holo that actually shows up without squinting (I'm looking at you AHtQ). Their Autumn/Winter 2012 collection includes Dodgy Barnett, a typical silver holo and Trustafrian, a light green holo.

3 coats, sunlight

flash

Butter London Dodgy Barnett is a silver grey holo. I would call this subtly linear/borderline scattered as I never really saw a distinct flame while in the sun. In terms of strength, I would put this slightly above Color Club's current, non-dud holos (not the Halo Hues!). Indoors, Dodgy Barnett looks like a shimmery light grey. It doesn't fall flat like some of the stronger holos.

The formula is pretty good. Nice consistency, but I experienced a bit of cuticle drag. I dealt with this by just waiting a moment longer in between coats. Dodgy Barnett dried fairly quickly with a nice shine.

I managed to find a dead on dupe for Dodgy Barnett, but it's unfortunately not that easy to obtain.

2 coats China Glaze OMG, 3 coats Butter London Dodgy Barnett, 3 coats Catherine Arley 676

China Glaze OMG is there simply for reference. I wanted to show how much grey Dodgy Barnett has compared to a silver holo. Catherine Arley 676 is the same as Dodgy Barnett in terms of holo strength, opacity, and color.

This comparison probably won't be useful unless you already own 676. If you don't and really like Dodgy Barnett, I would advise you to go ahead and get it. Ordering Catherine Arleys is not very cost efficient unless you want several of them.

Butter London Dodgy Barnett retails for $14 and is available at butterlondon.com and Ulta.

08 August 5 comments

I only picked up half of this collection for two reasons: I have dupes for each of the colors I left behind, and I'm just not fond of the shades. I've purchased enough polish to know what I like; it's time to quit buying colors I'll never wear just because they complete the collection.

Anyway, this collection was so hyped, I feel a lot of us were let down when the first swatches of these popped up. However, don't pass on the Bohemians until you've seen them in person. You may be surprised.

2 coats

with flash

China Glaze Unpredictable shifts from green to teal to gold. Its main color is shown in the flash picture, which is a goldy green.

2 coats

with flash

China Glaze Deviantly Daring shifts from blue to aqua with a touch of gold. It's almost like a deeper, more vibrant version of Unpredictable. It's such a stunner.

3 coats

with flash

China Glaze Swanky Silk shifts from rose gold to golden green. The color dupes both Nails Inc. Stratford and Deborah Lippmann Sugar Daddy. There are difference in the finishes, though. Don't worry, you'll see them in a Purge Wars battle soon enough. :)

The formula on these is nice. I had no application issues even though the consistency of these is on the thin side. I never clean up my manis, so you can usually tell how much trouble I had applying the polish based on how neat my gap is. The brushstrokes are not obvious at all in person once the polish dries. Also, my Deviantly Daring brush was quite frayed, so watch out for wonky brushes when purchasing these.

These shades definitely are not the strongest duos out there, but they are the cheapest and most accessible at the moment. If you haven't yet experienced the awesomeness of the multichromes by Ozotic, Hits, etc., these might be enough for you. Personally, I think weaker duos have their place in the np world and shouldn't be disregarded just because they're not up to par with 505 and the like.

Right now, the Bohemian collection is available at Head2Toe and other etailers. Sally Beauty will probably put it out early August.

Anything from this collection catching your eye? If not, what collection are you most enjoying or looking forward to?

26 July 16 comments

I'm back with the second half of the polishes I purchased from this collection.

2 coats

China Glaze Kalahari Kiss is a slightly grungy, mustardy yellow...I think. It's one of those ugly-pretty colors that is difficult to describe. I kind of love it?

2 coats

China Glaze Desert Sun is a orangey brown creme. It sort of reminds me of OPI & Apple Pie.

2 coats

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum. Talk about the most appropriate name ever. It's a really great plum that's not too red or purple. Wonderful balance.

2 coats

China Glaze Prey Tell is a deep red jelly. I ant to say there's some brown involved, to. It's so glossy and luscious!

I haven't read anything negative about Prey Tell's formula, so I'm sure my experience is unique. My bottle was so thick and goopy, I had to thin it with a ton of thinner before I even used it. I think maybe the cap was never fully closed during the bottling because the evaporation was very visible! So strange.

3 coats

China Glaze I Herd That is a warm gold glitter. Yes, there is holo glitter in this one as well. I didn't notice it as much in this one as I did in I'm Not Lion, but I still could do without the holo glitter. I'm really digging the texture of this, too. I wore this as a full mani for 5 days, and it wore extremely well with no top coat.

The formula of these is great. I'm sure Prey Tell's formula is wonderful as well, I just had a bum bottle. I will probably get another one. I also love the pigmentation of these shades.

Overall, On Safari is a nice collection, but it's not exciting by any means. There are some great choices if you're in the market for basic shades, and the glitters (despite the holo glitter) are quite pretty. I would say the ones to definitely check out are Elephant Walk, I'm Not Lion, and I Herd That. Also, Kalahari Kiss if you're into weird shades like this.

Since my last post on this collection, have you/will you purchase(d) anything from this collection?

14 July 11 comments

My hands look like they've been to hell and back with all the cuts I've accumulated. Open wounds + acetone do not mix, so there's my excuse for having not swatched anything in a while. I'm mostly healed except for a HUGE gash on my middle finger (I swear, it's cursed!), which is why you'll be seeing two nail swatches for a while. Trust me, it's better this way.

Anyway, the On Safari collection is here. I bring you my swatches to add the mountain of swatches already out there.

2 coats

China Glaze Jungle Queen is a greyed out purple with pink shimmer. The shimmer in my picture looks quite violet, but it's warmer and more pink in person. Looks familiar, right?

2 coats

China Glaze Man Hunt is a medium blue creme. It has a nice vibrancy to it without being over the top.

2 coats

China Glaze Exotic Ecounters is a green leaning teal creme that has a slight dusty quality to it.

2 coats

China Glaze Elephant Walk is a green tinged grey with sliver shimmer. It's a really cool shade that I don't seen very often.

3 coats

China Glaze I'm Not Lion is a pale gold glitter with some holo glitter as well. I kind of wish China Glaze had left the holo glitter out of this one simply because I'm sick of seeing it in everything. Not just China Glaze glitters, but in general. It's becoming a bit too ubiquitous for my liking. Nonetheless, I'm Not Lion is quite pretty.

The formula on these is good. They all have a nice consistency and opacity. I could have definitely gotten away with one coat of Jungle Queen and Exotic Encounters.

The must-haves for me are Elephant Walk and I'm Not Lion. The others are not very unique or exciting. I'll have the other half of the ten I purchased later this week.

Have you/will you purchased anything from this collection? Which Fall 2012 collections are you most looking forward to?

02 July 16 comments

Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. You know how life goes.

I've started taking pictures of my stash, which has proved to be quite the task. Eventually I'd like to have close up shots of my entire stash, large group shots will have to do for now. Here's what I've accomplished so far.

Note: I do apologize for photo quality (or lack thereof); I only had enough time to take one picture of each group.