China Glaze Nail Lacquer: Zombie Zest, Mummy May I, Ick-a-bod-y
China Glaze Awakening Collection for Fall 2010
To get in you in the Halloween spirit, China Glaze’s Awakening Collection contains three spook-tacular shades–Zombie Zest (mossy green shade with gold flecks of migro glitter), Mummy May I (vampy, wine colored purple with flecks of hot pink glitter), and Ick-a-bod-y (dark green base chock full of orange glitter). Come September, expect to see the full display at Sally’s Beauty Supply Stores, while a four-piece set (which includes the three shades plus a Fast forward Top Coat) at all other beauty and nail supply outlets, stores, and e-tailers.
Zombie Zest is a yellow-tinged green brown base with darkened chartreuse and emerald green micro glitter. I found I needed three coats to get an opaque look. This shade felt smooth to the touch, similar to most other polishes, while the other two shades dried with a more obvious glitter feel.
Mummy May I is a deep black-purple base with fuchsia pink glitter. It took about two coats to go opaque, and the formula itself was on the thicker side but did not feel unmanageable. You will definitely need a thicker top coat so you don’t feel the glitter on the surface.
Ick-a-bod-y is a blackened brown color base with lots of bright orange and copper glitter. It is much, much more glittery than Mummy May I, which has sparse glitter. I needed two coats here, and again, it will dry gritty without a thick top coat on top.
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Product: 27/30
Value: 8/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: As long as you don’t mind using a thicker top coat, Mummy May I and Ick-a-bod-y are both fun shades for Halloween. Zombie Zest is my favorite, just because it isn’t necessarily a pretty shade at first glance but looks quite lovely on.
China Glaze: Classic Camel, Ingrid, Swing Baby, Goin’ My Way, Riveter Rouge, Foxy
China Glaze Vintage Vixen Collection Review, Photos, Swatches (Part 1)
Vintage Vixen includes twelve new shades of polish, ranging from a khaki beige to a midnight blue to a darkened teal. The collection starts shipping in early July.
The formula on these was consistently good–I had no issues applying these right out of the bottle. As far as I’m concerned, if I don’t have to fuss over a formula and experiment with application, it’s a solid formula. It is a thinner consistency, but each coat still packed quite a bit of pigment. Most of these shades are two-coaters, but you can do three, too, if you so desire (which is usually what I do).
The collection is made up of a mix between frost and microglitter finishes. The feeling is decidedly fall, so it’s perfect for the season (remember–this is China Glaze’sfall collection!). With twelve shades and sixty photos in total, I split up the two posts to help narrow the focus a bit. Of these six, my favorites are: Classic Camel (elegant with a twist) and Goin’ My Way (the way the light hits it is divine). I also liked Foxy (love the lava-ish look of it), but not quite as much as the other two–there weren’t any dud shades here, really.
Classic Camel is a khaki beige with a stronger yellow undertone and golden yellow shimmer. I needed two thicker coats or three mediums coats with this shade.
Ingrid is a softened deep, molten chocolate brown with ultra fine, light brown shimmer. I found two coats was optimum with this shade.
Swing Baby is a metallic taupe brown with microglitter. I couldn’t get total coverage with three coats, but the microglitter spread pretty evenly overall. It dries down to a slightly bumpy surface–you can feel the microglitter a bit–but a thicker layer of top coat solves that issue.
Goin’ My Way is a burnished copper flecked chocolate brown. I love the way this one catches light. It does show brush strokes just a tad, if you’re looking for them. Two coats was just right fro this color.
Riveter Rouge is a deep red with flecks of silver migroglitter. Like Swing Baby, the surface can be a little gritty so using a thicker top coat helps to smooth it away. Two coats here was perfect.
Foxy is a warmed up, lightened coppered brown with significant red undertones. It’s flecked with copper-orange shimmer throughout. I found two coats to work well here.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
Product: 29/30
Value: 9/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you love your polishes on the darker side (whether now or in the fall), these are some excellent choices.
China Glaze: Hey Doll, Bogie, Emerald Fitzgerald, Midnight Mission, First Class Ticket, Jitterbug
China Glaze Vintage Vixen Collection Review, Photos, Swatches (Part 2)
Here are the other six shades from Vintage Vixen! Just to recap, the formula rocks here. It may feel a little thin, but each coat packs plenty of pigment, despite the consistency. It’s easy to apply–I didn’t have to play around with application to get beautiful, even, and smooth color. Most of these are two-coaters, but they easily work with three, which is my preferred number.
From these, my favorites are easily Emerald Fitzgerald (oh, it’s swoon worthy in its inkiness!) and First Class Ticket (so intense and rich in its color). I also loved the way Midnight Mission looked.
Hey Doll is a rosy-brown with silver shimmer. This was a two-coater.
Bogie is a darkened plummy mauve with silver and reddened shimmer. I don’t think I have any color quite like this in my personal stash. Two coats was perfect here.
Emerald Fitzgerald is a deep, inky teal with lighter aqua-teal shimmer. Love, love this one. It’s distinctly teal, not black, but yet it’s so dark and delicious. I found two coats was just enough to give a nice, opaque look.
Midnight Mission is a midnight navy blue base with silver microglitter. It’s exactly what you’d call midnight blue–with the silver as the twinkling stars over a darkened night sky. Like many other shades in this launch, two coats was just right with this color.
First Class Ticket is a rich, lush violet purple with blue-violet shimmer. Absolutely stunning! I thought this was the best shade out of the bunch. It nearly glows. Just two coats with this one as well.
Jitterbug is a stormy gray with silver microglitter. It has the same feel and texture as Swing baby, but I was able to get this one to go opaque with three coats. It has a grittier surface once it dries, so a thicker top coat works best.
If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!
Product: 29/30
Value: 9/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
Recommendation: If you love your polishes on the darker side (whether now or in the fall), these are some excellent choices.
China Glaze Vintage Vixen Collection for Fall 2010
For Fall 2010, the China Glaze Vintage Vixen Collection captures the vivid and saturated hues of the 1940’s with this seductively complex palette. These classic shades of the season recreate the timeless tableau of movie land mystique, perfect red pouts and steamy nights where swing was the scene!
Step out with these multi-faceted jewel tones, rich reds, titillating taupes and smoldering sands. This collection deliverers a high octane 40’s era glamour with a sophisticated edge! The 12 colors in this collection include:
Goin’ My Way Brown frost with copper shimmer
Riveter Rouge Deep red shimmer
Classic Camel Khaki crème with gold micro glitter
Emerald Fitzgerald Turquoise green frost with shimmer
Midnight Mission Navy blue frost with silver micro glitter
First Class Tocket Deep purple frost with shimmer
Jitterbug Grey chrome with silver micro glitter
Bogie Plum frost with shimmer
Hey Doll Rose frost with shimmer
Foxy Burgundy frost with shimmer
Ingrid “Greige” crème with copper micro glitter
Swing Baby Taupe frost with silver micro glitter
Availability: The China Glaze Vintage Vixen collection starts shipping June 6th internationally and July 6th, 2010 domestically. All 12 colors will be available as open stock, in 6 piece box collections, a 12 piece counter display and a 36 piece rack. China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.
Pool Party, Flip Flop Fantasy, Sun Worshipper;
Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Kiwi Cool-Ada, Towel Boy Toy
China Glaze Poolside Collection: Review, Photos, Swatches
Poolside is a summer collection that includes six shades of neon lacquer. As with most neons, application isn’t the easiest, but China Glaze has certainly improved the formula from the last round of neons they did. Similarly, the finish is mostly matte, but I used a glossy top coat to give it the glossy look (but if you prefer something more matte, then just opt to go without a top coat).
Both a benefit and a potential issue, these polishes dry faster (like matte polishes do), so keep that in mind. All of the shades had a runnier consistency than I’m used to from China Glaze, so I went with a thinner first coat to lay down a “base” in a sense, before layering on two more coats (about medium in thickness — it’s easy to over-apply).
Please note, Poolside will not be available until April 2010. (You may see it start showing up online at etailers in March, though.)
China Glaze recommends, “Like most neon polishes, the first layer will look extremely opaque and thin. You will need to build up to desired coverage and always remember to let each layer dry completely before applying the next. This will help prevent streaks and missing patches of color on the nail bed.”
Pool Party is a brightened hot pink. This applied in three coats for an opaque, smooth look.
Flip Flop Fantasy is a neon coral — I’d say it’s a little more coral-pink than the pictures show, but it’s about that dark. Three coats on this one was good enough to give me a solid and smooth look.
Sun Worshipper is an orange-y yellow — aptly named — that just glows. This is my favorite shade from the six, because it’s something different and really vibrant. Three coats for smooth, opaque coverage.
Yellow Polka Dot Bikini is neon, highlighter yellow. I had the most trouble applying this one, and I think if you take your time and build up to about four coats, you’ll get decent results. It’s ultra bright, though! This kind of cool greenish-edge of highlighter yellow is not so flattering on my skin tone, unfortunately!
Kiwi Cool-Ada is a brightened neon green. It’s brighter than grass, that’s for sure! Like Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, application was a little fussier than the other shades. I think a slower, more precise application might be key, as well as layering two thinner coats as the first two, then building up to four.
Towel Boy Toy is a brightened sky blue with soft blue pearl. This is the only shade that has any shimmer in it, but this was the shade that applied the easiest (in fact, it was easy!). Pictured is just two coats, but a third wouldn’t hurt. This was my second favorite, but I’d say some of that comes from how easy it was to apply.
Application Troubles?
Temptalia readers shared their suggestions on perfecting the neon manicure/pedicure…
Samantha suggested applying a thin coat of white polish on before you apply the color itself. April agreed, while Phyrra recommended Color Club’s Milky White for the perfect base coat for these brights.
DVC and Charlotte agreed that lots of thin coats may not be the way to go–two or three coats should do the trick, neither too thin nor so thick it’s hard to work with.
Roslyn finds a sheer, pearly top coat helps make them pop a bit more.
Review coming soon (probably tomorrow, but in case the sky falls, no promises!)… but boy, capturing the brightness and color of neons on camera is a pain in the behind. Like I cannot even express to you how many shots it took just to get a few decent ones worth posting.
So, I thought, “You know what might be really cool? If Temptalia readers shared their advice and expertise on how to best apply neon nail polish.”
Share your tips & tricks to get the best out of your neon lacquers!
