China Glaze

China Glaze Hunger Games Nail Lacquer

China Glaze & Hunger Games Collection: Colours from the Capitol

China Glaze Colours from the Capitol Collection is slated for March launch. It features twelve shades with each shade being named after a different district. This post features these six: Hook and Line, Luxe and Lush, Mahogany Magic, Riveting, Smoke and Ashes, and Stone Cold. Reader Kim did an excellent job explaining the names-to-district component.

• Hook and Line is a warm gray with threads of pale silver. This shade is named after District 4 for fishing. It’s opaque in two coats, but this is a little thick, streaky, and has a ton of brush strokes. The color is a little reminiscent of Zoya Dove but it’s darker and warmer.
• Luxe and Lush is a duochrome top coat with various sizes of flakies that reflect gold and pink with a little blue. This shade is named after District 1 for luxury. I applied two coats so you could see it on its own as well as over Smoke and Ashes. I don’t have a dupe for this shade. The closest I could think of were Zoya’s Fleck Effects.
• Mahogany Magic is a warm brown with a yellow base. It was opaque in two coats. This shade is named for District 7 for lumber. Illamasqua Taint is a cooler-toned brown. Chanel Khaki Rose is lighter.
• Riveting is a vibrant orange with orange-tinted gold shimmer. It was opaque in two coats. This shade is named for District 3 for technology. Zoya Tanzy is a little lighter and has more shimmer/glitter. Nubar Arencia is similar but a touch darker. Milani Metal Gear is darker and the shimmer doesn’t appear as light.
• Smoke and Ashes is an inky blue-based black with green and blue shimmer. It was opaque in two coats. This shade is named for District 12 for mining. The base color reminded me of Zoya Cynthia a bit, but it’s blacker. Cult Nails Living Water has a similar look but the shimmer is more dominant and leans bluer.
• Stone Cold is a soft black with silver shimmer–and it’s matte. This shade is named for District 2 for masonry. It’s similar to Nubar Midnight and MAC Butterfly. Orly Iron Butterfly should also be a dupe.

The consistency of Hook and Line was the worst; a little thick, not quite goopy but close, which all resulted in a streaky finish. I had better luck with Riveting, Smoke and Ashes, and Stone Cold, which were easy to apply and didn’t have any consistency concerns–they weren’t too thick or too thin and applied evenly without bubbling or pooling along the sides. Luxe and Lush has a thicker consistency, which actually helps the flakies distribute fairly evenly over the nail.  Mahogany Magic was on the thicker side, but it wasn’t as problematic as Hook and Line.

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China Glaze Hunger Games Nail Lacquer

China Glaze & Hunger Games Collection: Colours from the Capitol

China Glaze Colours from the Capitol Collection is slated for March launch. It features twelve shades with each shade being named after a different district. This post features these six: Agro, Dress Me Up, Electrify, Fast Track, Foie Gras, and Harvest Moon. Reader Kim did an excellent job explaining the names-to-district component.

• Agro is a rich, dark olive green with subtle yellow undertones and olive gold shimmer and metallic threads. This shade is named after District 11 for agriculture. I used two coats for opaque color, and it had a good consistency. Cult Nails In a Trance is much lighter, more olive green without a blackened edge. China Glaze It’s Alive has similar color components but looks totally different. NARS Mash looks almost the same.
• Dress Me Up is a dusty, rose peach with a cream finish. This shade was named after District 8 for textiles. I used two coats for opaque color, but the consistency was a little thick. Zoya Pandora is lighter. Nubar Moire is darker.
• Electrify is red and gold glitter suspended in a clear base. This shade was named after District 5 for power. I did two coats by itself, and it’s not quite opaque–with a little patience, I think you could manage to achieve almost opaque color coverage with three coats. I couldn’t think of a dupe for this one.
• Fast Track is a grayish beige with pale yellow gold flecks of shimmer. It’s not quite opaque after two coats. This shade was named after District 6 for transportation. China Glaze Knotty is lighter. China Glaze Ingrid seemed really similar when I swatched this initially, but it’s much darker.
• Foie Gras is a purple-tinted brown cream. It was opaque after two coats, but it was a little thick. This shade was named after District 10 for livestock. China Glaze Street Chic is browner. Urban Decay Barlust has a similar color but has shimmer.
• Harvest Moon is a rich, warm copper with lighter copper shimmer. It was opaque in two coats. This shade was named after District 9 for grain. Zoya Tanzy is much more orange. Nubar Caramello is similar but a little more orange.

The formula was inconsistent, but overall, it fell short of my expectations for China Glaze, which is a brand that usually releases colors with a great formula.  The creams had a thicker consistency that almost felt runny.  You really need to make sure to wipe off excess before applying to the nail to avoid having a pool of color.  Electrify has a thicker consistency, which was expected, because of the clear base, but it distributed the glitter fairly evenly.  Agro and Harvest Moon had the best formula from these six, and their drying time felt fast.

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China Glaze Hunger Games Collection: Colours from the Capital

China Glaze, a division of American International Industries is thrilled to announce that they have partnered with studio powerhouse Lionsgate on a collection of nail polish to debut in conjunction with the March 23, 2012 release of THE HUNGER GAMES.  In keeping with the powerful themes and messages of the story, the collection of nail polish will be inspired exclusively by one of the book’s distinct settings – the Capitol of the nation of Panem. Awash in lavish fashion, food, and entertainment, Capitol citizens enjoy extreme cosmetics and body modifications, bold wigs, and outlandish costumes.

The collection of colors, still in development, will be available at specialty beauty retailers beginning on March 1, 2012.  We are expecting more information in January!

China Glaze ElectroPop Collection

Where heavy metal meets rocker chic, China Glaze® introduces the Spring 2012 collection, ElectroPop. Inspired by all things girly, edgy and fun, the 12 shades of ElectroPop bring out the inner rock star in all. For flash and glam this spring, China Glaze® hits the stage in style! ElectroPop will be available February 2012. Individual shades retail for $7; 6 piece collections retail for $42.

• Kinetic Candy Touch the sky in light blue crème
• Electric Beat Periwinkle nails for a wink worthy performance
• Aquadelic Pool blue for nighttime gigs and daytime fun in the sun
• Gaga For Green Green lacquer for the girl craving the limelight
• Sunshine Pop Shine in the spotlight in bold yellow
• Make Some Noise Rock the mic in tangerine
• Wicked Style Party cocktail tropical punch
• Fuchsia Fanatic Fuchsia pink for the rocker diva in us all
• Gothic Lolita Steal the show on girls night out in seductive purple
• Dance Baby Hit center stage in cotton candy pink
• Sweet Hook Blow a kiss in dreamy lilac
• Techno Glitter confetti polish for a dazzling topcoat finish or all over finger tip bling

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Holiday Gift Guide: The Best of Holiday Color

As promised, here is the next installment of our most comprehensive gift guide to-date! This post features my top picks from various holiday color collections that have launched this year.  There are a few more holiday shades I haven’t reviewed or swatched, so there might be a few more of my favorites to come.

Eyes

• Bobbi Brown Dual-Ended Eyeliners ($24) — annoyingly limited edition and really should contain more product, but the color payoff and formula is excellent.
• Chanel Beige Lame ($28.50) has been a go-to shade for a quickie wash of color when I want to brighten up eyes.
• Dior Couture Gold ($59) is one of my favorite eye palettes for the holidays; it’s very on-theme with golds and peaches and metallic finishes.
• shu uemura Dance in Glitter False Eyelashes ($75) is one luxurious gift for the eyes–gorgeous, well-constructed, and comes in a decorative box.
• shu uemura Eye & Cheek Palettes from WKW for shu uemura ($85 CDN) are fantastic and sadly, not available in the U.S., but our international friends–this is a rec for you–because they’re fantastic (and still to be reviewed!).

Cheeks/Face

• NARS Miss Liberty ($27) gives cheeks a really glistening glow, very apropos for the holidays.
• Guerlain Parure de Nuit ($67) is the one product I’d recommend above all others for the holidays, and I say that because it’s a product I keep reaching for (to the point that I had to forcibly remove it from my reach).

Lips

• MAC What Joy! ($15.50) is a berry-red with subtle micro-shimmer and healthy shine with good color coverage.
• Illamasqua Belladonna ($20) is a fierce magenta pink with opaque color and lots of shine.
• Bobbi Brown Party Alice ($24) — super pretty pink-coral, perhaps not seasonally appropriate but divine anyway.
• NARS Joyous Red ($24) is a muted orange-red that’s workable on cool and warm-toned skin.
• Chanel Triomphal ($32) is a pinky-red with great vibrancy and glossy shine; and Chanel Empire is perfect for those who love a brighter pink with yellow undertones.
• Dior’s holiday lip colors ($32 each) were my surprise hit for lips this season–they’re so pretty on and wear well.

Nails

• China Glaze Let It Snow ($3-4 each) is a perfectly festive set of twelve polishes, and all of them are available individually, so you can pick your particular poison.
• Zoya Gems & Jewels ($8 each) is short and sweet with beautiful shimmers and extra-fun glitters (because they’re horizontal!).
• Dior Merveille is a festive orange-red with golden shimmer that will work well on warmer skin tones.

China Glaze Nail Lacquers in Blue Year’s Eve, Glittering Garland, Twinkle Lights, Icicle

China Glaze Let It Snow: Blue Year’s Eve, Glittering Garland, Twinkle Lights, Icicle

To round out China Glaze’s Let It Snow Collection, we have the final four: Blue Year’s Eve (shimmering blue), Glittering Garland (glittery green), Twinkle Lights (mix of glittery shades), and Icicle (silver shimmer).

• Blue Year’s Eve is a medium-dark blue with lighter blue shimmer. It almost has a violet edge to it. It was mostly opaque in two coats–there was a hint of visible nail line at certain angles. MAC Ming Blue was the closest dupe I could think of, but it is a bit darker.
• Glittering Garland is a deep, dark blackened-green base with lighter forest green shimmer–it almost looks like flakes of sparkle to me. It was opaque in two coats. The base color reminded me of China Glaze Jolly Holly but mixed with the shimmer from ORLY It’s Not Rocket Science.
• Twinkle Lights is a mix of gold, emerald green, and ruby red glitter suspended in a clear base. It was surprisingly opaque at two coats, and I’d expect a third to have made it opaque or just nearly. I couldn’t think of any dupes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a few.
• Icicle is a bright silver foil with slightly darker silver micro-glitter. It dries super quick and was opaque in two coats. It looked a lot like China Glaze Cheers to You, but Icicle is slightly less metallic but not by much and a touch lighter.

I didn’t have any notable issues with the formula on these four.  Blue Year’s Eve was less pigmented than anticipated but still was just about opaque in two coats; I could only detect visible nail line faintly at certain angles under a fair amount of lighting.  Icicle seems the most dupeable out of this set, while Glittering Garland was the shade I felt stood out the most; there’s something about the way the shimmer is shaped and set in the base color.  These polishes weren’t too thick or too thin, had good, even flow, and applied easily.  I typically get a week of wear with minimal tip wear with China Glaze’s formula.

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