China Glaze Holiday 2010 - Part II

If you haven't already seen Part I of this collection, click here to get a slice of that holiday goodness!

After the jump is Part II of the China Glaze Holiday 2010 collection.  If you thought it couldn't get better, strap yourself in for a bumpy ride.

China Glaze Holiday 2010 - Part I

I was recently fortunate enough to receive the entire China Glaze Holiday 2010 Collection. All 16 bottles of the stuff! You should have seen me opening up the package. It was a mess of bubble wrap, squeeing and lamingtons.  Ok, the lamingtons I was already eating, but still!

To save my poor hands from trying to divorce me on the grounds of cruel and unusual treatment, I will post these over three days, rather than doing them all at once.  And, instead of playing favourites, I'm going to post them in alphabetical order.  I can't have them getting jealous, yo.  Tis the season and all.

China Glaze - Awakenings - Halloween 2010

The beautiful Carina, from Gilded Nails, send me some nail polish last week.  I was expecting just the one, but Carina decided to be sneaky and threw in China Glaze's Awakening Collection.  How sweet, right?

She didn't want anything in return, but she made the mistake of putting her address on the package.  So, uh, Carina, expect some goodness in the next week.  No arguments.  I'm older than you.  By multiples.

Click on the jump to see this fantastic collection!

piCture pOlish - Grape + China Glaze Grape Pop Comparison

This is my first week of swatches using a new macro lens for my DSLR camera. So please forgive any fuzziness as I'm still familiarising myself with the lens. On the bright side, I am thrilled that my photos are 100% colour accurate. On the negative side, I need to take care of my hands better!

The fourth lacquer I have (click here, here and here for the previous reviews) from piCture pOlish is Grape.

This is a great little lacquer.  The formula is superb (two coats) and it dries to an amazing shine. The purple has an almost dusty quality to it, which I quite like.  Classic goodness.

If you haven't entered the October Giveaway as yet, there's still a week to go!  Click here for the rules, and enter using the form below.

Oh, and for those of you looking at Grape and thinking dupes, I have a very close dupe under the cut - China Glaze Grape Pop.

China Glaze - BFF

Another super quickie from me today. I'm kinda behind on... well.... EVERYTHING....  Plus my Director is overseas next week so I'm trying to get a whole lot done before he heads off tomorrow night.

Not that I need to sell the following.

Whoever came up with the idea for this collection..... well I just hope they got the world's biggest performance bonus ever.  Off the chain.

China Glaze - L8R G8R

I've put off swatching China Glaze's L8R G8R because I was underwhelmed by how it looked in the bottle.  I looked at and totally gave it a snobby side eye. 'Meh, I'll swatch YOU when I'm desparate'.

But colour me convinced and red-faced because this is a banging holo.  As with every lacquer in this collection (and really, this could be the best collaction of all time), the formula is phenomenal and easy to work with.  And the holo....... well, let's just say that, with holo-icity like this, I will forever be a holo ho.

Just on a blogging note, you'll note that I'm now including a third photo of just the colour itself.  I think it provides a nice representation of the colour without the distraction of nails.  I saw Helen doing this with her swatches and thought it a good idea (credit to Helen, she always has great ideas).  Let me know in the comments if you like or loathe.

China Glaze - FYI

Ok, I'll admit it.  I'm a holo hoe.  If someone were to buy me lucite heels and a stripper pole, the transformation would be complete.

FYI is not my favourite holo.  I think the base colour (a silvery beige) is a little too close to my skin colour, giving me a case of mannequin holo hands. 

But it's still a holo and the formula is stonkingly bad-a**.  I'm having a party on my nails and you're all invited.

Now that I think of it, Mannequin Holo Hands sounds like it could be a great Tim Burton Film.  Maybe a sequel to Edward Scissor Hands, starring moi?

Kazemlu - Pretty in (Random) Pink Collection - Part II

If you've missed it, here is Part I of the fabulous Kazemlu 'Pretty in (Random) Pink' Collection.

Once again, I can't thank Kaz and Em enough for these. They make me happy.

What I'm not happy about, however, is Em hogging all the Cadbury Creme Egg Twisters. I don't want to exaggerate the seriousness of this situation, but Hitler invaded Poland for less.

Jump to see the awesomesauce....

China Glaze - For Audrey + TBN Aqua

Hot damn, I now know why For Audrey is a classic.

This is luscious. Creamy but easy to apply.  Opaque in two coats. High shine. I'd sell my first born to buy the last bottle of this in the world. Maybe.

But wait, there's more!  I recently trialled TBN's Aqua and thought it might be a great layering lacquer when matched with For Audrey. 

Well, under the jump, check out the results of this most excellent layering experiment!

China Glaze - IDK

I figured out what my grumpy mood was all about yesterday. Bronchitis.  Delightful.

So this one is a quickie post with no commentary.  Disappointed?  Don't be.  My smack talk will be back up and running soon enough.  You'll be rolling your eyes at my stupid by the weekend.

China Glaze - TTYL

Sick of holos yet?  If your answer is 'yes', then close this window STAT because here comes another one.  If you're still here, drag up a chair and enjoy the show.

This is one of CG's more subtle holos but, for that reason, I reckon it's a great beginner holo.  If you're not too sure about holos, this is perfect.  It's also a great holo for those of us working in conservative office environments. 

Love it.

China Glaze - QT

Once again, I am utterly pressed for time so this is just picture-palooza.  China Glaze QT.  Hold your kids and cry at its beauty.

China Glaze - LOL

Sorry guys, but I have to love you and leave you today.

Yesterday was the special blogger event in Sydney.  I didn't get home until around 10pm and then had to be up again at 5am to pick up the parentals from the airport.  Crazy times.

So yes, for this time only, it's just pictures and not much of my chatter (I'm sure some of you are breathing a sigh of relief).   But really, is there anything more to say than it's China Glaze, it's holo, it's magnificent.

China Glaze - 2Nite

For those of you getting bored with my holo obsession, look away now.

Nothing much I can say about this one.  It's exquisite in every way shape or form.  Two coats. Glides on like butter on hot toast.

Getting back to my holo obsession, did you know that, when I started this blog, I did not have a single holo.  Not one.  I just didn't think they were for me.

Now? I can't get enough of them.  And I really think the OMG Collection from China Glaze might be one of THE greatest collections ever.

So to all nail addicts out there...  Has there been a type of lacquer you never rated before that you now can't live without?  Let me know in the comments.

China Glaze - DV8

After yesterday's epic fail, I figured we all needed some cheering up with something beautiful.  And here it is.

DV8 is from China Glaze's OMG Collection.  All of these lacquers are beautiful, stunning, [insert superlative here].  Thanks to Kris for procuring these for me!

This is a gorgeous holo. It glides on like a dream (you could get away with one coat if you're skilled. I'm not so this is two) and the holo is both delicate and beautiful.  Don't be surprised if I start cuddling this at night.

City Girl 2000 - #34 + World Cup Manicure for our Socceroos

Today I have another City Girl 2000 for you.

#34 is a sheer gold which went on a whole lot easier than it's #19 cousin. 

The above is three coats.  I suspect if I had added a couple more I just might have gotten it to opaque.  All up a total winner, albeit I suspect it's a tad too warm for my colouring.

Now for my Socceroos manicure....

As you all know, I'm from Australia.  More than that, I'm from Melbourne where soccer's popularity  is... well, let's just say it's somewhere behind Australian Rules Football but more popular than a root canal.  I'm sure that, if we were any good at soccer, like, say Brazil, it would be a whole lot more popular.

But even I, a staunch Collingwood Magpie fan, am getting a little exciting about Australia's upcoming match against Ghana.  So I teamed up this lacquer with yesterday's China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada and the results are.... well check it out after the jump.

China Glaze - Kiwi Cool-Ada

When I first opened this package, kindly sent by the good ladies at China Glaze, my first reaction was... errrrr.... okkkkkkk.

I'll be honest when I say I thought this could be one of the ugliest colours ever.  Thankfully, the little ugly duckling in the bottle turns into a swan on the nail.  It's fabulous.

Now, this is a neon so the rules of neon apply here: you're going to need at least three coats to get to opaque AND this dries to a semi-matte finish (think BYS Matte Deep Purple and that's the finish).  I ended up putting a coat of Seche Vite over this just because it looked 'unfinished' without it.

Despite my initial misgivings, and I truly think this does look unattractive in the bottle, on the nail it's an oustanding neon.  Kudos to China Glaze for taking a risk, and banking on their clever fans trusting their judgement, with this lacquer.

A risk well worth taking, don't you think?






The lacquer featured in this review was provided by China Glaze. For more information on YGN's Disclosure Policy, please click here.

China Glaze - Wireless Holographic Top Coat

Photo Source

I have to be honest.  I did not think the China Glaze Wireless Holographic Top Coat would work.

I really thought that China Glaze had set themselves an impossible task.  The top coat needed to be sheer enough that the original lacquer colour shone through, but needed to have enough 'holo-icity' (I think I just made up a word) to make it worthwhile ( I know that reader, Millie, likes her holos strong and present).

So did it work? I tested it against four colours - Chanel (that's right, I holo-d a Chanel), kit, Mecca Cosmetica and BYS.  Check out the skittles after the jump, including mega closeups of my favourites.

China Glaze - Fortune Teller - Take II

One of my favourite lacquers of all time is China Glaze's Fortune Teller.  So let's welcome an encore performance from this most lovely lacquer.

Some of you will recall that this was a lemming that kinda went wrong for me.  I was expecting this to be an orange Lubu Heels and, when it wasn't, I was five different types of angry.

I couldn't stay angry for long though.  It's the mixture of glitter sizes.  It's the creamy formula.  It's the fact that it looks so freaking amazing.

Sure cleanup is a pain in the a**, especially if you get a glitter piece in an odd place (check out my ring finger to see why cleanup is a pain - I can't shift the glitter without removing it entirely and ruining my finish).  And you need a good thick coat of Seche Vite to even out the finish.

But this is an absolute keeper and I'm glad to have it in my collection.

TBN - Midnight Blue + China Glaze Dupe

Poor TBN.

It's not as beloved in Australia like it's discount brand cousins, Ulta3 and BYS, but I'm here to change that!

Diffused Light

I LOVE THIS COLOUR!  It's just beautiful.  Three coats to opaque and it dries smoother than a gigolo at ladies night. 

For those not in Australia, never fear because there is a dupe for this in China Glaze's Eyes like Sapphires.

Yep.  Pretty much identical colour-wise.  Formula wise - and I know this is going to be controversial - but the TBN is far superior.  Ok,  it only takes two coats to get opaque with the China Glaze, but the finish is gritty.  I'd rather do the three coats with TBN and have that glorious, glass-like sheen.

So would you guys like to see more TBN lacquers?  There's a big vat of them at my local chemist containing a huge range of colours.  And, since they're only a couple of dollars each, I can buy 20 and not feel guilty for it!