China Glaze – ElectroPop Collection part 1 ‘the pinks and purples’ (swatches & review)

China Glaze’s new spring 2012 ElectroPop collection, is like a boost of adrenalin: bright, vibrant, happy and just so much fun! While neutrals and deeply brooding shades will always rank high on my favourites list, I have to say that I’m really loving these “hot” shades and look forward to sporting some much needed colour on my nails – always feels good after the winter “blahs”. All swatches are with two coats of lacquer, and Poshé Fast Drying Basecoat, and Topcoat.

‘Make some Noise’ is an incredibly juicy-looking, pink-tinted coral in a jelly format that mysteriously applies like a crème. Exceptionally glossy, the finish was also very self-levelling (as were basically all of these shades), and I experienced absolutely no staining upon removal – always a plus.

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

With one coat of ‘Techno’ (to be reviewed and compared in detail in part 2) layered over ‘Make Some Noise’. Quite smooth to the touch at the finish.

in sunlight

closeup

indoors

with flash

‘Wicked Style’ is a paradoxically muted yet vivid deep rose pink, bearing the same hybrid jelly-crème formula as ‘Make Some Noise’, as well as a similar high-gloss shine and super smooth finish. No staining with this lovely, either!

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘Wicked Style’ with one coat of ‘Techno’ layered on top – very retro looking but so pretty at the same time.

in sunlight

closeup

indoors

with flash

‘Fuchsia Fanatic’ is an absolutely true fuchsia hue, with definitive blue undertones to give it depth. I was surprised by how much I totally fell for this hue on my nails, and how flattering it seems to be against the skin. Very self-levelling and ridiculously glossy at the end, this one felt much creamier than the previous two. Once more, no staining was noticed upon removal.

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘Fuchsia Fanatic’ with a coat of ‘Techno’ layered on top, brought me right back to the “groovy” 70’s … love this!

in sunlight

closeup

indoors

with flash

‘Sweet Hook’, a grey-tinged lavender hue, was the problem child of the six shown here, but with a little patience, it did eventually behave. A true crème formula, the first coat applied somewhat patchy, but the second coat levelled everything off and gave full coverage. I was not prepared for how naturally glossy this shade ended up – not usual for a pastel hue. Sometimes showing some pink, at others flashing rather purple, this shade holds some unique properties indeed.

in sunlight

indoors

indoors, alternate view

with flash

‘Sweet Hook’ with one coat of ‘Techno’ layered on top, wound up being my favourite combo of the six. Dainty, feminine & punk, all rolled into one!

in sunlight

closeup

indoors

with flash

‘Dance Baby’ is a girly bubble-gum pink hue, made slightly cool by its blue undertones. Bearing an excellent flow to its crème formula, it was perfectly opaque by the second coat, although I did notice some patchiness with the first layer. Gorgeous gloss at the finish.

in sunlight

indoors

with flash

‘Dance Baby’ with one coat of ‘Techno’ layered on top – gives this cotton-candy hue a nice “kick”.

in sunlight

closeup

indoors

with flash

‘Gothic Lolita’, the only shade with shimmer in this entire collection, is in a word: SUPERB. A violet-grape hue, this shade had the best formula of the six, flowing across the nail with barely any effort at all, and its understated dark pink shimmer dust gives it an amazing depth of tone. As it was also the least glossiest of them all, you definitely need topcoat to really bring out its gorgeousness. Note how this colour shifts, depending on the light – incredible!

in sunlight

in sunlight, alternate view

indoors

indoors, alternate view

with flash

with flash, alternate view

‘Gothic Lolita’ with one coat of ‘Techno’ layered on top – slight overkill in my opinion, as this base colour doesn’t need any more amping up, but looks good just the same.

in sunlight

closeup

indoors

with flash

Final thoughts: The first part of my ElectroPop collection review, didn’t yield any surprises, but it didn’t hold any disappointments either. China Glaze continues to impress me with the quality of their formula, their vast range of colours, their wonderfully medium-density and flexible brush, as well as their excellent price point. All six shades gave an easy application, and even though the two pastels had some slight issues, they wound up complying along with the others. While ‘Gothic Lolita’ is a total eye-catcher, I was actually surprised to find myself gravitating more towards ‘Fuchsia Fanatic’ – and you know how much I’m NOT a pink girl! Stay tuned for my upcoming part 2 of this collection!