NOTD - China Glaze Grape Pop

I love this polish. It's great medium-dark purple cream polish, although my camera skews it a bit blue. This is 1 and a half coats (to even some streakiness), and the coverage is great. I could've done another full coat, but I was in a little bit of a hurry, and I think it turned out just fine. This is very similar to the Rescue Beauty Lounge polish called Mismas. Close enough that I swapped away Mismas (this is sacrilege, but I dislike RBL's polishes. I know, I know. How dare I). Anyway, I love this color. I think it suits me rather well, and I love that it's a dark-ish color that isn't blackened in some way. 

NOW (Nail of Wednesday) - China Glaze OMG!

I totally lucked into getting this polish. It was still available when I first started to get into nails, and I thought the name was very funny. I've had it for a couple of years, and Wednesday was the first time I had worn it. OMG is a silver holographic polish. I did wear a top coat (Diamont), which did tone down the "holo" by a remarkable amount. This polish was extremely thin, even though I applied 2 coats, you can still my nail line (click to enlarge). I'm not sure if I love it. I'll have to compare it to Nfu oh #61.

NOTD - China Glaze 108 Degrees

I love shimmery hot pink nail polishes. I really love shimmery (not glittery) polishes in general, and China Glaze makes amazing shimmers. So pretty and sparkling. It really reminds me of Zoya Astra, one of their uber-glitter polishes. I probably don't need both, but I love this type of color for summer. This is two coats and 1 coat of Diamont, and even though I just did this mani last night (and haven't done anything strenuous since), I've already got a few minor chips. What's up with that?

As a side note, I recently bought the entire Summer 2011 China Glaze collection, Island Escape, on eBay from a relatively new seller (she had 2 feedback). Normally, I have no issue with purchasing from new sellers, but I can't recommend this seller. Mostly, because the 6 polishes were sent in a small flat rate Priority box with NO PACKAGING MATERIALS, save those thin-walled boxes polishes arrive in from Trans-Design. Seriously. Amazingly, only one polish broke (one that I was super interested in, too, Cha Cha Cha. This explains why there's green polish on the bottle of 108 Degrees). I was dissatisfied with how the seller decided to resolve the issue - either a refund of what the polish was "worth," based on the final auction price (which was a bit over $3.00), or she could try to source another one, and I'd have to pay shipping for her to send it. I took the refund, and still have not left feedback. Note to would-be or current eBay sellers, per FTC regulations it is YOUR responsibility to make sure your buyer gets exactly what they ordered in the condition they ordered it in. I'm looking at you, Sparkling*Nails (also sent a polish that got broken when shipped, and has forever lost my business for not making it right) and friedpickles63 (latest seller).

NOTD - China Glaze Sugar Plums

My nails were naked for a long, long time. I just didn't have time to do much with them. Not so now, though! I lusted after this polish the moment I saw swatches on Scrangie's blog, and knew I had to have. Unfortunately, I was on a no-buy when China Glaze's holiday 2010 collection was out in stores, so I couldn't buy it then. And, swapping for it always failed for me. So, when I had a bit of spare cash, I picked this beauty up on eBay for a nice price. Love it!

Shimmery mulberry/cranberry with red and holo glimmers (I can't call it glitter). I noticed this polish went on a little bumpy, though. Almost like there were bubbles that couldn't quite get it together to become true bubbles, so instead, they made the polish uneven? I don't know. And, although most China Glaze polishes play well with Diamont for me, I think Sugar Plums doesn't like it. Oh well. I'm almost out of it, anyway! If you like warm berry colors, this is a must have!

NOTD: China Glaze Afterglow + LA Splash Be Mine

I had been lusting after Afterglow from China Glaze for months before I finally decided it would be worth paying retail for. And I'm glad I did. Afterglow is a pretty neutral pink with a blue pearl - super pretty, but fairly sheer. I did 2 coats of Afterglow, and decided to add some sparkle and make this my first Valentine's mani. I had picked up LA Splash's Be Mine glitter top coat, which is a clear base, with light pink hearts, and small-sized golden glitter.


Afterglow applied like any other China Glaze, very smooth and easy. Be Mine, however, was a PITA. It was super, super thick, so it looks like I just glopped it on (I didn't! I swear!). I tried to smooth things over with a topcoat of Diamont, and it's lasted 4+ days. The glitter and hearts from Be Mine ended up being the same tone or shade as the pink in Afterglow, though. I was kind of hoping for some contrast, but, hey, live and learn! Plus,I still have visible nail line. Ugh. Oh well. I still love it!