China Glaze Budding Romance and Razzle Me, Dazzle Me

 PRESS SAMPLES

  I have been so busy lately it's crazy.  I'm not even sure what day it is most of the time.  I hope you've all been well.  I'm going to try to finish up my China Glaze Avant Garden and Glitz collection reviews this week.  Posts will probably remain a bit sporadic for a while after that unfortunately.  I'm hoping though to get in a routine soon, or that work will settle down some, so I can get back on track with reviews.  If there are any polishes or collections that anyone would specifically like to see, please post a comment and I will make sure to put them on the top of my list.

   Budding Romance is a moss green jelly from the Avant Garden collection.  This is a very yellow based green.  Formula and application are good.  Because this is a jelly, you will need more coats for full coverage.  I used 3 coats over Finger Paints base coat in the photos below.  I did not use a top coat.

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   Razzle Me, Dazzle Me is a mix of extremely pale pink and black glitter from the Glitz collection.  The glitters are a mix of multi-size and color hex glitters and small black bar glitters.  The formula is thicker on this polish than the previous ones from the collection and gives more dense coverage.  I'm planning to add thinner before I use it again.  The dabbing method instead of brushing directly on the nail still works better though.  The following pictures are one dabbed coat over Budding Romance.

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   Budding Romance is what I would call an ugly pretty color.  I really like it, but it's not a traditionally pretty shade.  It reminds me of new plant growth, especially leaves.  My favorite part though is that it's a jelly.  I added one more thin coat over Razzle Me and I think it makes a really nice combo sandwiched like that.

   What do you all think?  Are you fans of the jelly sandwich look?  Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration.

China Glaze Passion for Petals and Mosaic Madness

   Hello everyone.  Happy Monday?  I think it's Monday anyway.  Work is seriously kicking my butt right now so I'm not entirely sure what day it is anymore.  But whatever the day is I have some polishes to show you.  These were both sent to me for review.

   Passion for Petals is a deep pink creme.  This is from the China Glaze Avant Garden collection for Spring '13.  Application was decent, but the formula was a bit runny so you'll want to do thinner coats.  I used 2 coats over Finger Paints base coat and no top coat.  This is a pretty color, but feels very safe to me.

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   Mosaic Madness is a sapphire and black glitter mix from the China Glaze Glitz collection for Spring '13.  The glitters are a mix of different sized hex glitters and short bar glitters.  I got the best application from a mix of dabbing and brushing the polish.  I started with a large dab of polish in the middle of my nail then brushed and pushed it where I wanted it.  The glitters do like to pull forward to your nail edge so be careful of corners hanging off your nails.  The following pictures are one coat of Mosaic Madness over Passion for Petals and no top coat.

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Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration.

New York Summer Hot Sunrise Red

   Today I have a polish from a brand some of you might not have heard of.  New York Summer is a brand I had occasionally seen in salons and heard about online.  But until recently I had never had a chance to try it.  I found a local beauty supply that sells the line, but if you don't have a local store ebay or another online retailer will probably be your best bet.
   

   Hot Sunrise Red is a bright orange-pink neon jelly.  It's not quite coral, though close.  I know the name says Red, but I'd say this is more pink than red.  The formula was nice and application was good.  I didn't have any issues with streaks, just nice even coats.  I used 2 coats in these photos over Finger Paints base coat and no top coat.  

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   You can see a small amount of VNL in my photos, but it was much less noticeable in person.  Hot Sunrise Red is bright on its own, but it would really pop over a white base I think.  I think this would be a great pedi color for the summer.

Zoya Lovely Part 2

   The second part of the Zoya Lovely collection for Spring 2013 consists of 3 pastel metallic shimmers.  The formula and application was good for all 3 shades though dry time was a bit slow.  There is a small silver shimmer in all 3 shades which likes to stick to your skin after cleanup until you can wash your hands.  I used Finger Paints base coat, 2 coats of polish, and no top coat for all of these photos.

Piaf

   Piaf is a creamy yellow.  I experienced some cuticle drag during application.

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Gei Gei

   Gei Gei is a light pink.  When I put this on I immediately had the feeling of having princess nails.  

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Julie

   Julie is a light purple close to a lilac.  

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   Julie is of course my favorite of this collection.  But I was surprised by how much I liked Gei Gei as well.  The metallic half of the Lovely collection overall has the better formula and application, but I think Blu is a good option if you are looking for a pastel blue.

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration.

China Glaze Love's A Beach

   Summer is the season of neon.  On tips.  On toes.  On tweens in every mall causing bad 80's flashbacks for those of us old enough to remember those bad decisions the first time around.  China Glaze brought us their annual Summer Neons collection for Summer 2012.  

   First up is Love's A Beach.

   Love's A Beach is a bright pink with shimmer.  The shimmer is a nice touch that is uncommon in a neon and gives the polish a pearl-like finish.  Neon polishes are bright on their own, but pop even more over a white base.  I used Finger Paints base coat, 2 coats of Love's A Beach- over 2 coats of WnW White Creme on my ring and index fingers, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat on my middle and index fingers.  The formula was good and application was smooth.  Like all neons this one dries matte, well really more satin because of the shimmer, but top coat will give you a nice shiny finish.  The shimmer is subtle, but still noticeable even without top coat.

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   Can you see the difference with the white base?  As always please click to enlarge the pictures for better detail.  You know I'm not a big pink person, but this might make an appearance on my toes before the summer ends.

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were sent to me by the company for consideration.

China Glaze Full Spectrum and Optical Illusion

   Today I'm bringing you two polishes from the China Glaze Prismatic collection from Spring 2012.  Both are glitter polishes with very small multi-colored hex glitters and a bit of duochrome/color shift to the bases.

   Full Spectrum has a light pink base with a silver shift and darker pink flashes.

   Application was good on Full Spectrum.  It doesn't have the typical thick glitter formula, in fact it is a little thin formula wise.  I used 3 coats for full coverage and Finger Paints base coat.  I added Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat on my index and ring fingers.

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   Optical Illusion has a sea green base and flashes purple.  Sadly the purple mostly just shows in the bottle and not as much on the nail.

   The formula was a little thick on Optical Illusion, but not too thick and application was still smooth.  I only needed 2 coats on this one for full coverage.  Again I used Finger Paints base coat and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat on my ring and index fingers.  

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   The color shift is very subtle in both of these polishes.  Though I've heard it comes out more if you layer them over black or another dark color.  They are still pretty polishes and apply extremely well for glitters.  The Prismatic collection has been out for a couple months, but should still be available for purchase easily online or at independent beauty supply stores.

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the company for consideration.

Finger Paints Pop Rock Pink

   You all know that I'm generally not a big fan of pinks.  But from the first swatches I saw of Pop Rock Pink from the Finger Paints Gumdrops and Lollipops collection I wanted it.  When I found it on clearance recently I of course had to grab it.  Once I put it on, I loved it.  This might be my favorite pink ever.  I've even worn it as a full mani already, as part of a jelly sandwich, and didn't want to take it off.

   Pop Rock Pink is an orange leaning pink jelly with brighter pink shimmer.  It is definitely pink and not coral, which is why I say orange leaning.  I just love the squishy texture and how you can see the depth of the shimmer.  Application was very smooth and the formula is good, but a tiny bit thin.  I used Finger Paints base coat, 2 coats of polish, and no top coat.  With 2 coats you can still see a little bit of vnl (visible nail line), so you might want a 3rd coat if that bothers you.

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   The shimmer flashes a little blue at times.  Please click on the pictures to enlarge them.  My camera didn't capture the shimmer that well, but I promise it's there in person.  

   When I wore this as a jelly sandwich, I used Sally Hansen Princess Cut with Pop Rock Pink.  Princess Cut is a small flake polish with a pink base.  Here's a couple pictures from my phone of that mani.

   Again, please click to enlarge these photos.  What I love about jelly sandwiches is how the glitter or flakes appear to almost float in the polish.  For this look I did 1 coat of Pop Rock Pink, 2 coats of Princess Cut, then 1 more thin coat of Pop Rock Pink.

Zoya Lara and Kimber

   I have 2 more pinks for you today from the Zoya Beach and Surf collections.  These are darker pinks, bordering on berry even. 

   Lara is a medium pink creme from the Beach collection.

   Lara is very red/purple tinged and warm toned.  Formula and application were very good and the polish dries bottle color.  I used Finger Paints base coat, 1 coat of Lara, and no top coat.

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   Kimber is a raspberry metallic foil with gold and silver shimmer from the Surf collection.

   Kimber is very warm toned, probably from the gold shimmer, and dries bottle color as well.  It reminds me a bit of a fruity tropical drink with a little paper umbrella- I may need to hit the beach soon.  I had no issues with formula or application.  I used Finger Paints base coat, 2 coats of polish, and no top coat.

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   Unlike Shelby and Rory, I really like Lara and Kimber.  In fact, Kimber is one of my favorite polishes from these collections.  If you only pick up a couple polishes from the Summer collections, Kimber should be one of them.

Disclaimer: The product(s) in this post were sent to me by the company for consideration.