China Glaze Winter Holly Nail Lacquer ($7.50 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “gold-flecked dazzling green glitter.” It’s a mix of fine gold and emerald green glitter suspended in a clear base. When applied, there appears to be a few flecks of other colors as well, but it is predominantly gold and green glitter particles. I couldn’t think of a dupe (but we’re definitely building up the glitter polish gallery!). Even when it’s layered over black, it’s quite different compared to last year’s Glittering Garland. It seems simple at first, but depending on the breadth of your glitter polish stash, comes across as more complex when applied.
I applied two coats of it alone on my index and ring finger, and I layered one coat over one coat of black polish (Illamasqua Boosh). It’s a shade best for layering, and I think it’s going to be a color that looks superb over dark creams. The consistency was thin but not watery, so even layering three or four coats with this shade is possible without resulting in a thick sandwich of polish. For layering, it packs a good amount of glitter in a single coat, and the glitter spreads evenly across the nail without any trickery. If you’ve been hesitant about glitters because of thicker bases or having to maneuver bits and pieces around, this is a great glitter to start with.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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This is a beautiful representation of when China Glaze nails a polish. Def Defying is fully opaque in two coats, and the consistency is flawless–not too thick or too thin–so it coats evenly, fluidly, and doesn’t streak or bubble. It dries down in the average amount of time, but it is forgiving if you apply a second coat too quickly. China Glaze’s formula typically lasts a week on me without chipping (just minor tip wear).
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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Heavy on the shimmer, Running in Circles had an interesting finish–there was something about the base color that almost looked jelly-like. It was fully opaque after two coats of polish, and it applied evenly without streaking or pooling along the edges. This shade is definitely fitting for the holiday season, but it’ll also work on other occasions, because of its brightness. Plus, it is the color of the year for 2013, so you can be on-trend before the 31st! I’m sure by this time next year, we’ll all have half a dozen emerald green polishes and may even start looking a little green around the cuticles
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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China Glaze It’s a Trap-eze Nail Lacquer ($7.50 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “white cream base with multi-glitter.” It has a cool-toned, milky white base with large, hexagon-shaped glitter in pink, light-medium blue, yellow, green, orange, and white, along with smaller glitter in the same colors. I don’t know of any dupes at this time, but I’d love to hear from any of you that may! The whole combination reminds me of confetti birthday cake.
I tried one coat layered over China Glaze Escaping Reality as well as two coats of the polish on its own. It had a streaky base–just as milky lipglosses tend to streak and settle into lip lines, so did the polish. Whether worn on its own or was layered, you could see a streakiness that made it look uneven. The consistency of this was incredibly thick–nearly goopy–and it was difficult to apply in even layers. Because it is so thick, each layer had quite a bit of glitter, but the glitter particles didn’t spread evenly. I think this would be best over a white base with one or two coats of glitter, and if you don’t like the feel of glitter on your nails, you’ll need a really thick top coat or two layers of your regular top coat. I wanted to love this one so much, because everyone else was raving about it but I couldn’t get past the thickness of the formula.
This was incredibly thick--one of the thickest formulas I've ever used--which made it difficult to apply. The base color was very streaky, so it's something that I'd recommend layering over a white polish, to help minimize the streaky result and also increase opacity without having to apply more than two coats of the glitter polish.
Product
7.5/10
Pigmentation
9/10
Texture
6/10
Longevity
8.5/10
Application
3/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
China Glaze Pure Joy Nail Lacquer ($7.50 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “fiery red glitter with gold particles.” It has small, orange-toned red glitter and then larger champagne gold glitter particles, both suspended in a clear base. I don’t have a dupe for you, but hopefully, I’ll be able to ramp up the glitter nail polish swatch gallery sooner rather than later, so we’ll be able to find dupes going forward! Until then, I welcome any suggestions from you, dear reader!
I layered one coat over China Glaze Cranberry Splash for the majority of swatches, and then I also included a photo of two swatches of Pure Joy (on my thumb nail; it’s the last photo in the set) so you could also see it on its own. I always love a glitter that works for layering but also stands on its own–I think that’s really the holy grail of glitters. There’s enough glitter in a single coat to work for layering, but it’s a polish best for layering as after two coats, there’s still a lot of visible nail coming through. I liked that the consistency of this shade wasn’t too thick, almost thin by glitter polish standards, so it dried down quickly and didn’t pool along the sides.
It's not the most exciting/interesting holiday glitter from China Glaze's collection, but I did like the formula better than some of the others, as it wasn't too thick and dried down more quickly than others.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
9/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
China Glaze Pizzazz Nail Lacquer ($7.50 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “twinkling multi-dimensional glitter blend.” It’s a mix of light blue, green, orange, yellow, fuchsia, and pink medium-sized glitter particles. It’s definitely not too similar to Glitter all the Way. This is a bit more pastel, and the size is more confetti-like as well as more are uniform. I couldn’t think of a dupe, so I’d love to hear any suggestions you may have!
It’s glitter suspended in a clear base, so it’s best used as a layering polish; particularly because it’s really sparse. I layered one coat over China Glaze Blue Bells Ring, and then I did two coats of the glitter on its own on my thumb nail so you could see the coverage. It’s not a glitter that ever gets close to being opaque. There was something about this polish that didn’t translate well no the nail–I think the thicker, almost gel-like consistency wasn’t helping, because the glitter didn’t spread evenly, which resulted in almost bald-looking spots in areas. This shade required some pushing and pulling and patting to get the glitter to space out evenly.
I wasn't keen on the application--it was just extra thick, even for a glitter-in-clear-polish. It didn't apply evenly with ease, so it wasn't the best layering glitter I've come across. Sometimes the glitter composition can be worth the extra effort, but that is definitely going to come down to the individual.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
9/10
Texture
7/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
3.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
