So it was voted on Facebook last night that I do a China Glaze swatch fest, as part of an effort to swatch every color that I own. However, I got about a third of the way through them and realized it was going to take me a while! So, I'm presenting the colors in order of their release dates based on a little research I did, because I feel it's good to know a little about when a certain color came out, or what colors it was meant to go with. This is the first third of the batch of China Glaze's I own. As a note, each color starts with a picture with flash, then a picture without flash in artificial light.
Reggae to Riches (Year Unknown), Caribbean
Temptation collection: Gorgeous fuschia with blue-purple duochrome shimmer.
Opaque in two coats, fantastic formula and shine, no topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply as
part of regular collection.
Fairy Dust (2004), Fashion Fairies collection: Holographic
sparkly topper, full of small holographic glitter with a silvery tint. The
glitter is a little thick but covers nicely. One coat over Sally Hansen White
On, no topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply as part of
regular collection.
.
Exceptionally Gifted (2006, re-release 2011),
Exceptionally Gifted wedding collection, Susan G. Komen color of 2011: Semi-sheer pink frost. Formula
is okay, requires three coats for full opacity and has the streaky finish of a
frost polish. No topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply when released
for Susan G. Komen foundation.
Lubu Heels (2007), Louboutin Manicure inspired
polish: Dark black jelly with small red glitter throughout. Creates a very
vampy, high fashion dark look that’s beautiful. Formula was pretty good, opaque
with two thicker coats of polish and not too runny or thin. No topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply as
part of regular collection.
Unplugged (Spring 2008), Ecollection: Brown
metallic with undertones of red tint and gold shimmer. Beautiful formula that
went on smoothly and opaque in two coats, no topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply as
part of regular collection.
Secret Peri-wink-le (Fall 2008), Operation
Colour collection: Pale blue/purple cream, pretty much the color periwinkle to
perfection (refer to Periwinkle from Blue’s Clues, it’s her in a bottle!).
Pretty nice formula, slight running toward the cuticles and streaks with one
coat, but perfectly opaque and smooth in two coats. No topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply as
part of regular collection.
Atlantis (2009), Specialty collection: Teal
jelly base with medium holographic glitter throughout. While this color is
absolutely amazing, my particular bottle’s formula is awful! It’s very thick
and goopy the more you use it during the manicure, and if the first coat
doesn’t dry entirely, the second coat drags. I don’t know if my bottle is
older, has too much glitter, or a bad batch, because this isn’t a problem I’ve
seen before. So if you are able to get your hands on this color brand new, you
might be better off. One thick coat of Color Club topcoat.
Bought in a blog sale, but can be
found on e-tailers such as Amazon and
eBay.
Dorothy Who? (2001, 2009 re-release), Wizard of
Ooh Ahz collection: Blue jelly base with small silver glitter throughout. Can I
just say I am one that is not only glad they came out with the re-release of
these polishes, but that this color is now part of the regular collection? It’s
such a vibrant blue, and the sparkle gives it a magical touch associated with
The Wizard of Ox movies. Formula wise, this polish was decent, but it required
three coats for full opacity and could use a topcoat one dry to smooth out the
slight texture from the glitter. One coat Color Club topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply as
part of regular collection.
Ruby Pumps (2001, 2009 re-release), Wizard of
Ooh Ahz collection: Red jelly base with small red glitter throughout. I feel
like I put the ruby slippers on my fingers when I put this polish on, and the
sparkle is mesmerizing. The formula is just as beautiful, two coats to full
opacity but could use a topcoat as there is a slight texture one dry. One coat
Color Club topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply as
part of regular collection.
Four Leaf Clover (Spring 2010), Up and Away
collection: Somewhere between a kelly and mint green crème. The actual color of
this polish is poorly represented by my camera. It is not nearly as blue as it
looks without flash, and not nearly as mint as the picture with the flash. But
the formula of this polish was fabulous, opaque in two coats, smooth, not too
thick or thin. No topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply as
part of regular collection.
Flip Flop Fantasy (Summer 2010), Poolside
collection: Bright pink-coral neon. This pink is SCREAMING at you even from the
bottle, it is a perfect summer color for toes and fingers. The formula wasn’t
the greatest, though, it was rather streaky and barely smoothed out with three
coats (topcoat helped, though). It also has that neon tendency to dry with a
matte finish. One coat China Glaze Fast Forward Topcoat.
Bought at Sally Beauty Supply as part of
regular collection.
Lightning Bolt and Cracked Concrete (Spring
2011), Crackle collection: Lightning Bolt is a white crackle finish, Cracked
Concrete a cement-gray crackle finish. The cracks on these are generally thin,
sometimes a little stringy-looking for my taste. However, they always crack on
fully dry nails, even though they are starting to get slightly goopy with age.
They do dry matte and leave some texture without extra coats of topcoat. One
coat Color Club topcoat.
Lightning Bolt
bought at Ulta on clearance.
Cracked Concrete
bought at Sally Beauty Supply’s website on clearance.
