Filed In: China Glaze
Cowardly Lyin’ by China Glaze – Springtime sunny!
Recently, I found myself in the mood for a pick-me-up kind of colour; Cowardly Lyin’ fit the bill exactly! This is a cheerful goldenrod yellow, with tiny bright gold glitter throughout, but done in an almost subtle manner…as far as glitter goes!
Originally released in 2009 as part of the Wizard of Ohh Ahz Collection, I really like how this is a glittery polish without being over the top. Note how the glitter shows up as black dots in some pictures, but it’s really the gold being reflected back. This is a fairly sheer polish, but I was able to achieve pretty good opacity by the third coat. I used a new topcoat: Sèche Natural Matte Finish Nail Treatment and according to the company, contains “wheat protein, calcium and polyurethane to strengthen weak nails while leaving a healthy natural finish without a high shine”. Now, my nails are naturally quite strong but since I began blogging and have to polish with increasing frequency, I figured maybe fortifying my nails wouldn’t be a bad thing. I really like how this dries quickly and leaves a delicate & smooth matte finish behind, a perfect canvas to begin painting your nails.
in sunlight
indirect light
in shaded light
Final thoughts: although I’ve never been a big ‘yellow’ fan (Big Bird & bananas excluded!), I found that I actually liked how this shade looked on me. Yellow can be hard to pull off, as it has a tendency to make you look a little jaundiced, but the gold micro-glitter adds just the right amount of ‘pretty’ to this colour. I like how you can build up the intensity of this shade and the finished result was smooth, even before the addition of a top coat Removal was also fairly easy, for a glitter polish. If you’re looking to perk up your fingertips without flashy bling, then I highly recommend this colour.
*Disclaimer: Products provided for my unbiased consideration by the company
China Glaze ‘Anchors Away’ Collection
This morning I received an email from the China Glaze PR department with some promotional pictures of their upcoming ‘Anchors Away’ collection, so I thought I’d pass it along.
The names & descriptions of the shades are as follows:
- · Life Preserver: Highly pigmented and luxurious poppy crème.
- · Hey Sailor: Vibrant crème red.
- · Ahoy!: Delightfully intense pink that flashes with reflective glass speck.
- · First Mate: Sophisticated and rich navy crème.
- · Starboard: Hip and playful green crème.
- · Lighthouse: Multi-dimensional, bright yellow glass speck.
- · White Cap: Whimsical and sparkling multi-dimensional white.
- · Pelican Gray: High shine, cool toned grey crème.
- · Sea Spray: Calming pale blue crème.
- · Below Deck: A flirty mix of taupe and violet.
- · Sunset Sail: Delightful peachy pink high shine crème.
- · Knotty: Micro-particle beige shimmer.
This nautically inspired theme will be available as either two 6-piece acetates, a 12-piece display, a 36-piece rack or as open stock colours. You can find China Glaze products at salons and beauty supply stores, as well as several e-tailers. For more information, visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow them on twitter at www.twitter.com/chinaglaze. All China Glaze lacquers are 3-free: no DBP, no Toluene or added formaldehydes.
I’m really looking forward to Pelican Gray, Knotty, Sea Spray & White Cap……and probably everything else as well! Let me know which ones have captured your fancy! I’ll be posting swatches as they become available, but for now, enjoy the photos!
China Glaze – Anchors Away Collection Spring 2011
Is it just me, or do this year’s Spring 2011 upcoming releases all seem to be brimming with interesting colours, textures and a modern vibrancy? I’m happy to see that apart from the expected pastels, this year’s crop of nail & beauty products, seems to be going in a new and novel direction, and this latest collection from China Glaze is no exception.
Of course, there’s only so many ways one can re-invent the wheel and it’s always a good thing to have some basics in every collection, but somehow the 12 new shades of the Anchors Away collection comes across as ‘fresh’. Please click on the photos to enlarge.
*The following promotional photos were just released through China Glaze‘s twitter account:
Ahoy
Below Deck
First Mate
Hey Sailor
Knotty
Life Preserver
Lighthouse
Pelican Gray
Sea Spray
Starboard
Sunset Sail
White Cap
Of course, not every single one ‘rocks my boat’ (……couldn’t resist….sorry!!), but I am looking forward to Sea Spray, Pelican Gray, White Cap and Below Deck. As for the rest, I guess I’ll have to wait and see them in person before deciding!
China Glaze – Tronica Collection Spring 2011
This past weekend, rumors starting surfacing about an upcoming China Glaze collection simply titled “Tronica”; other than a grainy promo shot, all I found out originally, was that it was to be supposedly a collection of 12 holographic polishes. Well, today China Glaze posted a much clearer photo on twitter as well as on their facebook page, with a touch more information on this collection.
Possibly inspired from the latest sci-fi movie release, Tron:Legacy, this collection looks to be highly futuristic, with 12 limited edition holographic lacquers and will be sold exclusively through 2 sources. Starting January/February 2011, the line will be available via BSG (Beauty Systems Group) for the trade only, followed by a March/April 2011 release through Sally’s Beauty Supply. The one shade I am very excited about, a silvery holo, is said to be a dead ringer for CHANEL’s highly coveted and limited edition ‘Holographic’ polish which had been a European release back in 2007.
Tronica will be available for a limited time only, so if holographic polishes are up your alley, or if you’re simply looking for some very flashy and spectacular fingertips, keep those dates in mind….I’ll be sure to update you as more information becomes available.
**UPDATE – Yesterday on China Glaze’s blog, they posted the names of the colours for the Tronica Collection with a brief description of each:
- Techno Teal – turquoise holographic
- Virtual Violet – violet holographic
- Electra Magenta – magenta holographic
- Gamer Glam – purple holographic
- High Def – blue holographic
- Hologram – silver holographic
- Hyper Haute – raspberry holographic
- 3D Fantasy – peach pink holographic
- Digital Dawn – dusty rose holographic
- Cyberspace – taupe holographic
- Mega Bite – gold holographic
- Laser Lime – lime green holographic
OPI & China Glaze – Christmas Twins?!
While away on vacation this past summer, I finally had the opportunity to try China Glaze nail polishes; after hearing about them for so long but never being able to find a retailer near me, I was happy to pick up three shades: 2 were from their Fall 2010 Vintage Vixen collection (‘Emerald Fitzgerald’ & ‘Jitterbug’) , and the third from their regular lineup, the much talked-about ‘Lubu Heels’….but more on that one another time!
When I returned home, the much anticipated OPI Swiss Collection for Fall 2010 had just been released, and so I hurried over to pick up the 2 colours I had been waiting for: ‘Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvelous’ & ‘Cuckoo For This Color’. Imagine my surprise when I realized that these shades mirrored each other! I put off swatching them because I was upset at myself for duplicating lacquers, but decided to give them another chance…..that, and the fact that the shades seem somehow appropriate for the Christmas season! All swatches are: pinkie-Emerald Fitzgerald, ring-CFTC, middle-LTLM, index-Jitterbug and all are with base coat and Sèche Vite top coat.
First up we have OPI’s Lucerne-Tainly Look Marvelous (LTLM) versus China Glaze’s Jitterbug; the formula on both seemed similar, with both of them flowing easily, no visible brush strokes and a beautiful foil finish. The biggest differences are in the tonal qualities; Jitterbug has a blueish tinge to it making it look more like steel, versus LTLM’s slightly greenish undertone, making it more of a gunmetal. The other thing I noticed is that the OPI was significantly glossier & more sparkly, even before a top coat was added.
Next up is OPI’s Cuckoo For This Color (CFTC) versus China Glaze’s Emerald Fitzgerald (EF); once again, the formula was similar but whereas the previous two had a thinner consistency making for an excellent application, these were on the thick side, making them more difficult to apply evenly. Both are stunning true teals, but whereas Emerald Fitzgerald has a deeper finish and more blue in it’s base, CFTC is slightly lighter with greener undertones. Both have delicate shimmer in their depths but CFTC’s seems to be closer to the surface, giving it slightly more vibrancy.
first coat
second coat
third coat
The first coat shows similar application on all & no real differences; by the second coat, they are basically opaque and you can just see the slight variations between them. I applied a third coat, primarily because I like the finished look, but to see them at 100% opacity. The other main difference is the brush; the China Glaze brush is thin & flexible making it easy to get to the edges of your nail whereas the OPI brush is that ‘pro-wide’ brush and slightly more rigid, making it more challenging for those with smaller nail beds. As well, the two teals show the slightest of brushstrokes, which is probably due to the thickness of the formulas themselves.
Final thoughts: obviously, if you have one pair, you certainly don’t need the other as they are basically identical. It probably comes down to what you wish to spend (the OPI tends to run about $4.00 more than the China Glaze), which brush you prefer and the availability of each range. Personally, I love the colour combination of these two shades (might just have to make a ‘statement mani’ to show you…….!!) and they really do put me in Christmas state of mind….picture glittery tinsel on fragrant evergreen trees!
