China Glaze Wait n' Sea

 Wait n' Sea is a bright teal creme.

Collection: China Glaze Off Shore Summer 2014

Color: This a pretty teal creme. I love the brightness and freshness of this color. It's nice, but it's not the most original color either.

Formula: The formula on this was strange. This had a really loose and runny formula. It pooled up in my cuticles and I found it a bit messy. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't a formula I really liked working with.

Price: I purchased this on Head2ToeBeauty for $3.25.

Overall: This is nice color, but it's really not something special or unique especially when it has a runny formula to boot. It's just not entirely worth it to me. The name is cute, but everything else falls a bit flat.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Tuesday!

China Glaze I Sea The Point

Over the past few months, I've been revisiting old nail polish collections. I notice a common theme with me is that when some colors are released I don't have any interest in them but a few years later they're right up my alley. I had to make a purchase over at Head2ToeBeauty and decided to look through their old China Glaze collections to see if anything peaked my interest now. I ended up picking up a handful of colors including this one from 2014!

I Sea The Point

I Sea The Point is a bright blue creme.

Collection: China Glaze Off Shore 2014

Color: I know why I didn't get this back in 2014. Bright blues like this were all the rage then and I'm sure I felt comfortable I had enough bright blues. What's funny is that hasn't changed. I still have enough bright blues, but since bright blues haven't been as on trend they haven't been in the forefront of my mind as much, so I needed this one too now. This is vibrant and bright. I love blues like this and I'm sure this is number 25+ bright blue in my collection 😂.

Formula: This had a nice and easy to use formula. I used 2 coats above.

Price: I paid $3.25 for this on Head2ToeBeauty.

Overall: This is a great bright blue polish. Blues like this are always winning colors in my opinion and I still can't get enough of them. You won't be disappointed in this one!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Thursday!

China Glaze What I Like About Blue

I have another polish from China Glaze's Lite Brites collection to share with you today. This was a collection from China Glaze that really caught my eye. I haven't been too thrilled with China Glaze collections as of late. I wish I could say this polish was all I wanted it to be, but I hit a few snags with it.

What I Like About Blue

What I Like About Blue is bright aqua with a golden shimmer.

Collection: China Glaze Lite Brites Summer 2016

Color: There is absolutely nothing wrong with this color. This is what attracted me to this polish. I love this aqua color and you know me with gold shimmer. This color reminds me of tempting and beautiful swimming pool you just want to jump in on a hot day. It's stunning.

Formula: This is where I hit my snags, and I'm wondering if it's just me because I'm not seeing any other formula issues reported from other bloggers. This formula too me was sticky, goopy, and uneven. When I say sticky, it didn't want to lay flat and spread out on my nail it just wanted to stick to itself and the brush. I found this formula such a pain to apply. I used 2 coats here, but they weren't easy coats for me.

Price: I got this on eBay for around $4. I always get better deals on China Glaze on e-tailers.

Overall: While I love and adore this color I just can't get behind the formula. I don't know if I got a bad bottle or what it is going on with it. I'd love to give this polish stellar reviews, but that sticky weird formula is holding me back.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

China Glaze Papa Don't Peach

I have another one of the jelly glitter polishes from China Glaze's Lite Brites collection to share with you today. I am big fan of this collection and I think it's one of the best collections China Glaze has released as of late. I was a big fan of the other jelly glitter We Got The Beet. Will this one steal my heart too?

Papa Don't Peach

Papa Don't Peach is a neon orange jelly packed with gold microglitter.

Collection: China Glaze Lite Brites Summer 2016

Color: This color caused my camera to flip out of a bit. I tried my best to color correct in my photo program, but I still couldn't get it 100%. This is more yellow-orange in real life. This colors is bright and I love the combination with the glitter. This is the perfect summer shade. It's juicy, glitter, and oh so bright!

Formula: Well, I didn't have issues with We Got The Beet's formula like others had mentioned with these jelly glitters, but I did have problems with this formula. This formula was a mess for me. It was thick, sticky, and goopy. This is a polish you really need to let dry completely between coats otherwise it gets too thick and goopy in spots and will never dry or level. Like We Got The Beet, this does dry flat so it needs a top coat, all the more reason to let it dry between coats unless you want a smudgy sticky nail polish mess.

Price: I paid around $4 for this one eBay. I recommend shopping this on e-tailers it is much cheaper than China Glaze's $7-$8 retail price.

Overall: I'm not a big orange fan, but I do love love this color. It's such a fun color that really pops. I'd wear it if the formula wasn't so bad. This formula was just a mess for me and it's so disappointing.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

China Glaze We Got The Beet

China Glaze is a brand as of late that is very hit or miss. I either love a collection or absolutely hate it. I'd say their summer Lite Brites collection was a definite hit. I had a handful of polishes from this collection I picked up, but I was most intrigued by their microglitter jelly polishes. I have one of those to share with you today.

We Got The Beet

We Got The Beet is a grape purple jelly filled with golden/copper microglitters.

Collection: China Glaze Lite Brites Summer 2016

Color: I adore this color. It's the perfect summer purple that is bold and bright. I love the golden microglitter in this best. You know me I love my cool-toned colors paired with warm metallics. It's an amazing color combination that is very summery.

Formula: Here is what surprised me. I've heard a lot of people complain about the formula on this one. I personally did not have any issues with it whatsoever. I felt it applied nicely. This does dry down matte and textured, so I definitely think top coat is a must. I'm not sure if there were batch issues with this, I just had better luck with it, or I was expecting it to be bad and it wasn't that bad!  I used 2 coats above.

Price: I got this on eBay I think for around $4. I'd search for this one e-tailers. It's always more expensive at Ulta or Sally's.

Overall: I love this fun summer color. I love the jelly look plus the glitter. Yes, it's a definite throwback to jelly shoes. I hate those so much. I loved the look, but they always gave me blisters. Anyways! This polish rocks in my book.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Friday!

Throwbacks Week: China Glaze Sexagon

It's time for another week of throwbacks. I have a fairly coveted throwback to share with you today from China Glaze's Kaleidoscope collection. This is probably one of my oldest nail polishes in my collection and it's definitely one of those polishes I wouldn't ever part with under any circumstance. I'm not sure it holds the value as it did a few years ago, but it's still a treasured polish in my collection.

Sexagon

Sexagon is a silver scattered holo.

Collection: China Glaze Kaleidoscope 2009

Color: This is a pretty straight forward silver scattered holo. I love the glittery look of scattered holos. The holo effect here is moderate. If were to ask me about the holo effect a few years ago I'd tell you it is strong. Today, we have much stronger holos.

Formula: I think age has a done a bit of a number on this polish. It has thinned out tremendously and the pigment has separated from the base quite a bit. I had to continuously shake this one up to keep it together. I used 3 coats here.

Price: I see one bottle of this on eBay for $24. If I didn't have this I couldn't see myself paying $24 for it considering mainstream brands have lost their value in comparison to indies. That being said, if you like vintage polish it maybe worth it to you.

Overall: Sexagon is nice little gem in my collection. I can't say it's my favorite holo in the least, but 4 years ago before indies, I would of definitely said it was one of my favorites. It's a nice little polish. Time hasn't been kind to the formula, but it will remain safe in my Helmer.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

China Glaze Violet Vibes

I thought we were past the stage of tricky purples in nail polish, but I guess not. Those of you who have been on the nail polish scene for awhile will remember how when brands attempted to neon purples some of them would look purple in the bottle, but more pink on the nail. Plus, they'd photograph funky and have weird formulas. Well, China Glaze last summer gave us a tricky purple.

Violet Vibes

Violet Vibes is a medium bright grape purple creme/jelly(?).

Collection: China Glaze Electric Nights Summer 2015

Color: This is one of those purples that looks more purple on the bottle, but looks more pink on the nail. It also photographs more pink than it is, but it's still really more pink than purple? That makes no sense, but this is just one of those weird purple polishes that is just weird. I know that's such helpful commentary.

Formula: Ugh. What is this? This has this weird thin, jelly like formula that dries all uneven and matte. I used 3 coats above. It's not a pleasant formula to work with. I rarely comment on wear time, but I will on this one. I have this on my toes. I usually can wear a pedicure color 3-4 weeks with out any wear or chips before I have to change it. This chipped on my toes in less than a week. Not just one chip or a tiny chip. This chipped off in chunks on multiple nails.

Price: You can find this on e-tailers in the $3.50-$7.00 range.

Overall: Nope. The color isn't bad. It's pretty despite it not really being the color I expected. The formula is what really kills this polish. It's exactly the same type of terrible formula "neon" purples like this have had in the past. Sinful Colors Dream On would be a prime comparison and example as far as what type of polish this is like. I'm not impressed.

My Rating: 1 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

Third Week Throwbacks: China Glaze Strawberry Fields

It's throwbacks week. I look forward to this week every month because it gives me a chance to go back down nail polish memory lane. I end up re-discovering so many favorites of past years in nail polish. Today, I have one of my favorite nail polishes of all time to share with you. This China Glaze nail polish probably has the most use out any of my nail polish bottles. I'm about 75% through this entire bottle. It's tried and true favorite the past 7 years and it my love for it hasn't waned.

Strawberry Fields

Strawberry Fields is a medium rose pink with a golden glass fleck shimmer.

Collection: China Glaze Summer Days Summer 2009

Color: This a type of nail polish color I rarely see anymore, but it's a stunner. I love this medium shade of pink and that glass fleck shimmer is what makes this so special. I love this pink and gold combination and I love the vibrancy of this shade. Pinks don't just have to be neon, bright, or pastel, there are great in-between pinks too!

Formula: This has a nice formula. It is a bit thin, but that is probably from age. It applies easily and smoothly though and I used 3 coats.

Price: This one is still available online from various retailers int he $4-$8 range.

Overall: Strawberry Fields is one of my go-to spring and summer colors. I've had this color 7 years and it still gets love from me. It's a flattering and fun pink that is unique with that golden shimmer. This is a polish that makes me miss a lot of the polishes from yesteryear. You just don't shimmers like this anymore in the sea of holos and glitters. Shimmers need to make a comeback.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

Third Week Throwbacks: China Glaze Cloud Nine

It's throwbacks week! I'm starting to think I need to do either another week of these or add Throwback Thursday polish every week. I have so many older polishes to go through. This polish came out with China Glaze's Specialty Glitter collection almost 7 years ago! This was a polish before its time, and the formula most definitely suggests that.

Cloud Nine

Cloud Nine is a white crelly base with golden iridescent glitter.

Collection: China Glaze Specialty Glitters 2009

Color: This is a beautiful polish. I think it has the perfect name. That perfect white paired with that beautiful iridescent glitter is stunning. I don't think I've seen a polish like it before then and even now. You know what it reminds me of? That Beanie Baby dragon called Magic. This color is magical.

Formula: Well that is where the magic ends. This has the absolute worst formula in my history of nail polish. I can't really blame it though. This was a crelly before there were crellies. The problem with this polish isn't the glitter in the base, it's the base itself. The base is has the consistency of watered down glue with clumps of white pigment floating about. It's gloopy, patchy, thick, sheer, and everything else that could be wrong with a formula. You can tell by the photo it was a struggle. I used 4 coats to get that coverage and I still had patches, so I just dabbed the polish over them. It is an absolute mess. I would love to say the age of the polish is what caused this to happen, but no I remember being just as bad 7 years ago.

Price: You can find this in the $4-$5 on eBay.

Overall: As terrible as this polish's formula is I cannot part with it. It is just so pretty. Will I ever wear it? No. It doesn't dry fully and it's just such a PITA. This is staying around for it's looks and nostalgia. I am curious though if there is an indie out there like this or if one can be created I'm sure with the materials these days there would be a much better result?

My Rating: 1 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

China Glaze Let's Dew It

I almost feel like the time of the glitter topper is over. Over the past 2 years they've diminished greatly in number. We are definitely in the age of holos.  I need to stop talking like Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings. I must say my use of glitter toppers has waned too. I think we just don't need them that much anymore with holos, crellies, and jellies.

That beings said as someone who doesn't do nail art and looks for ways to embellish manicures I do reach for them on occasion. I'm happy to come across a nice one too. I really like this China Glaze one from the the recent fall collection.

Let's Dew It (over Cuccio Wild Knights)

Let's Dew It is a mix of steely blue and silver micro glitters and shimmer in a clear base.

Collection: China Glaze The Great Outdoors Fall 2015

Color: I love the color of the glitter and the complexity of it. This steely blue is perfect because it's not the traditional or gold glitter, but it still falls into that neutral category. I mentioned in a post last week that I'm really into neutral manis right now, and this would fall into that category for me. I absolutely love the mix of glitter types in this as it really gives this glitter a lot of depth and dimension.

Formula: This was easily to apply and glitters spread out evenly on the nail.  I used one coat over a base. You could definitely build this up more over a base for an even more blingy manicure. Personally, I don't feel this could be built up to opacity in reasonable amount of coats. This glitter does cover well, but you'd still see your nail underneath.

Price: I'm not sure this is still available in stores, but it's very easy to find online in the $4-$7 range.

Overall: I love Let's Do It, it rekindled my love for glitter toppers. It's a gorgeous color glitter and I love the density and mix of glitters in it. I love the way it looks topped over similar dusty blues for a neutral and monotone look.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

HPB Presents: A Holiday Manicure

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate out there! I hope you all are having a nice holiday. I have a holiday themed manicure for you today for our HPB monthly link-up post this month. One of my favorite polishes this holiday season has been Noodles Nail Polish Peppermint Twist, so I decided to do a mani based off of that polish.

Polishes Used: KBShimmer Chilly Pepper, Color Club Blue-Ming, China Glaze Break the Ice, and Noodles Nail Polish Peppermint Twist.

This is a pretty nontraditional color palette for me for the holidays. I love adding the mint in there with the Christmas red and white, it's a different fun twist. I love the contrast in colors with this mani and it stands out.

Check out my HPB friends manis below! 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   


Merry Christmas!

Third Week Throwbacks: China Glaze Glittering Garland

It's Throwback Week! How about a week of festive throwbacks? I could probably do a whole month of holiday throwback polishes if I had the time. Holiday polishes are my favorites and I have so many from the past! This China Glaze one from a few years back is one of them.

Glittering Garland

Glittering Garland is a deep forest green base with a green glass fleck glitter.

Collection: China Glaze Let It Snow 2011

Color: Green isn't my favorite of colors when it comes to nail polish, but this is a great green. I love the richness of this green base and that glass fleck like glitter is amazing. I miss nail polishes like this. This is a solid nail polish. The color is great and it has an amazing finish.

Formula: The formula on was excellent. It was easy to apply and I used 2 coats.

Price: You can still find this one one e-tailers in the $3.25-$6.00 range.

Overall: This is an excellent holiday green polish. I love the deep color and the beautiful glitter. I'm sure many of readers who have been with me for while have this one in their stash. Break this puppy out! Glittering Garland is a beautiful holiday polish that needs to see the light of day again!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Monday!

China Glaze Break the Ice

I feel like this blog has been lacking in mainstream polishes this entire year. I won't get into it, but I think we all know the reason for that. Mainstream is falling incredibly short in comparison to indies. I really wish this were not the case. I miss shopping for polish in stores. I hardly do that at all anymore! I did find this China Glaze holiday polish that caught my eye.

Break the Ice (over KBShimmer Chilly Pepper)

Break the Ice is a mix of holographic shard glitter in a clear base.

Collection: China Glaze Cheers! Holiday 2015

Color: It's holographic silver shard glitters. I'm not sure there is much else to say about it!

Formula: I did not have any problem getting these glitters to come out of the bottle. I love the size of them as they're not bulky or chunky. I will say, that this is probably best for dabbing rather than brushing on. The shards do want to stick together, and are easy to dab on the nail to spread them out.

Price: This can be found in stores and on various e-tailers in the $4-$7 range.

Overall: I like this glitter topper. It's nice to see shard glitter from a mainstream brand. I like how these glitters vary in sizes, but are not chunky or thick. I do wish these were easier to brush on rather than dab. I'm not much of a dabber, but I make do when I have to.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Friday!

China Glaze Check Out the Silver Fox

I have a polish from the recent China Glaze fall collection to share with you today. I'm always hesitant to post polishes I'm not very into. It's not because I don't want to review it negatively, it's just that it's not very fun to write about. Plus, I really don't know what to say about it. Here goes anyways.....

Check Out the Silver Fox

Check Out the Silver Fox is a gunmetal silver metallic. 

Collection: China Glaze The Great Outdoors Fall 2015

Color: I love gunmetal colors. This is a pretty color, but this polish is just so flat. It's almost chalky which doesn't make sense for a metallic. I tried adding top coat and that did nothing. I love foily/metallic colors like this, but there is just something off about the formulation of this color. It has no depth or shine. It looks really matte and dull. This could of been tremendously better. 

Formula: The application and formula itself were opaque and so easy to apply. I only needed one coat with this polish. 

Price: This can be found in the $7-$8 range at Sally's, Ulta, and online. 

Overall: I'm sorry, but I really don't like this. I was expecting this to be a beautiful sister to Wood Ya Wanna? which does have dimension and shine. It's not at all. This color is just so flat and dull. I find it really unattractive and not flattering. If you want a silver metallic that has some omph to it I'd recommend Zoya Trixie or OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous.

My Rating: 1 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Third Week Throwbacks: China Glaze Foxy

A little late start to throwback week, but better late than never! Again, I notice this week I gravitate toward polishes releases in 2010-2011. I think those were the golden years as far as mainstream nail polish goes. I have one today from China Glaze's fall 2011 collection.

Foxy

Foxy is a rusty red with golden-copper flecked shimmer.

Collection: China Glaze Vintage Vixen Fall 2010

Color: This is the absolute perfect fall red. I love reds like this in fall. This is has some of those warm brown tones added to it that really warm and spice up this red shade. The shimmer is great, it borders on frosty, but I don't think in a bad way. It gives this color a neat metallic effect.

Formula: Nice formula. I used 2 coats.

Price: You can still find this one online usually in the $4-$8 range.

Overall: I love Foxy. It's a color I break out every year when I'm craving a fall red. It's a beautiful glowing red that never goes out of style for me.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Paint Splatters

Happy Wednesday!

China Glaze Wood Ya Wanna?

Unfortunately, I've been overall unimpressed with mainstream fall offerings this year. In fact, I've been unimpressed with their offerings all year. Come on mainstreams! I know indies are where its at. I love them too, but I started out with mainstream polishes and I'd like to see them thrive too.

I did come across a polish that I really intrigued me from their recent fall collection. I have to say this one is probably a contender for one of my favorites this year. This is probably my only mainstream contender so far this year.....

Wood Ya Wanna? 

Wood Ya Wanna? is a burgundy brown metallic foil.

Collection: China Glaze The Great Outdoors Fall 2015

Color: I LOVE foil finishes. This is a beautiful fall foil. The color soft warm brown with some red/purple undertones to it and silvery foil flecks. This is just stunning. There is so much depth to this color. This reminds me of a fall sister polish to OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous which is a pewter silvery foil. I always wear OPI Lucerne on my toes in winter, and I'm now wearing Wood Ya Wanna on my toes now for fall. Awesome fall pedi color!

Formula: Perfect formula. Foil finished tend to have very opaque formulas and this one definitely does. I only needed one coat!

Price: This can be found at Sally's or Ulta for $7.50.

Overall: I am in love with this polish. It's a brown shade like I mentioned earlier this week I've been into. Also, it's a foil finish. Lots of favorite things going on for me in Wood Ya Wanna? This is spectacular nail polish and in my opinion a must have!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters

Happy Friday!

Third Week Throwbacks: China Glaze Midnight Mission

China Glaze is a brand that hasn't been hitting their marks in the past few years for me. China Glaze when I got into nail polish in 2008 was the "it" nail polish brand. It remained that way probably through 2011 and then they fell flat for me. I still buy a few of their polishes here and there, but I used to buy multiple polishes from every collection back then. One of my favorite fall collections they had was the 2010 Vintage Vixen collection. I have a polish from that one to show you today.

Midnight Mission

Midnight Mission is a denim blue with a blue-silver foil finish.

Collection: China Glaze Vintage Vixen 2010

Color: This a stunning and eye catching blue. I love the foil finish in this. Foil finishes are one of my favorite finishes in nail polish that sadly don't see much anymore. I love them because they have that beautifully shiny metallic effect made with larger metallic glitter particles. They're so much more dynamic than a straight metallic which can look flat. This is gorgeous and it glows on the nail.

Formula: This formula is excellent. Foil finishes tend to have really opaque formulas and this isn't an exception. I used 2 coats here.

Price: You can still find this one! If you search Amazon you can find listings in the $4.50-$7.50 range.

Overall: This blue is a staple in my fall nail polish rotation. I wear it at least one time on my nails and toes every year. It's a beautiful color and I adore the foil finish. Great blue!

My Rating: 5 out of 5 *Golden* Paint Splatters