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China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches

China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer
China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer ($6.49 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “bright sky blue shimmer.” This is a brightened medium sky blue with fine, pale white-blue shimmer. It’s a very swimming pool-inspired blue, I’d say. It’s not quite bright enough to be called a neon, but it’s certainly not subdued. I thought this would be readily duped, but out of all these blues, nothing came close enough. At a glance, China Glaze Blue Iguana seemed like a possibility, but upon closer inspection, it’s much, much darker, and it has purple shimmer. I’d love to hear from you if you have any dupe possibilities!

The color was opaque after two coats, but the formula was on the thicker side, so I actually had some pooling polish along the edges of the nail.  I haven’t had this issue very often, so I’ll clarify so we’re all on the same page:  I’m certain there’s a textbook definition of “pooling,” but here goes:  when the polish seems to gather along the edges of the nail, so it looks thick and rounded.  A good visual is thinking of slime or sludge as it covers more and more surface area.  It’s not a good thing.  I did two coats for swatches, and it took a long time for the initial coat to dry enough to apply the second coat, and a surprisingly long time for it to dry after that.  Neon shades typically dry incredibly quickly, but this one took its sweet time.  Once it did, it did dry to a mostly matte finish–you’ll want a really shiny top coat to get a glossy finish (I used Seche Vite).

Splish Splash

LELimited Edition. $7.50.
C+
C+
7.5
Product
10
Pigmentation
6
Texture
9
Longevity
3
Application
79%
Total

China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer
China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer
China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer
China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer
China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer
China Glaze Splish Splash Nail Lacquer

20 Comments

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Miss J Avatar

Oh, wow, this is gorgeous…it’s a shame that it’s not such a great formula. Waaah, lol. I hate thick nail polishes because I feel like they glop up, don’t go on evenly, and then they chip/peel super quickly. This is my favorite color blue!

Gina Avatar

Ughh, but it’s SUCH a pretty blue! I’m trying to figure out if I can live with the goopiness, especially since there are no close dupes–it’s a bummer, because the only time I ever really look for dupes is when I love a color, but the quality is bad! I might just get it, because $7 isn’t too bad for a polish, and I think the color makes it worth the work.

xamyx Avatar

I’m pretty sure I saw something similar from Sinful Colors not too long ago. I didn’t look at the name though. They have such a vast color selection, and $2 each, it may be worth looking into.

GlossAndGlitz Avatar

oh too bad:( the color is so pretty!!! I am loving BLUES… I just painted my nails “Pacific Blue” byt Sally Hansen yesterday. Just ONE coat and it’s amaaaazing! love it!

mel Avatar

I love China Glaze colors, but their nailpolishes ALWAYS:
1. need a top coat, since they all dry matte and dull.
2. never last a day without chipping, it is unbelievable.
They really REALLY need to improve their formula.

AmyAmyAmy Avatar

China Glaze NEVER works well for me. Last November I picked up a few bottles, and each shade (Tinsel Town, Champagne Bubbles, and Ruby Pumps) peeled off in less than 24 hours. Then I bought Orly Bonder and had more success keeping colors like For Audrey and Princess Grace on. Except both colors chipped within 2 days and I eventually swapped them. Reggae to Riches turned my nails orange, even with a base coat. Such a shame, because CG has some of the best color ranges on the market, and their polishes aren’t very expensive! Splish Splash is sooooo gorgeous, but thanks to your review, I’ll skip it.

diamond_8806 Avatar

For some reason I have been extremely drawn to blue and green polishes this summer, and this color is absolutely beautiful!  Plus, I am infatuated with China Glaze!  I was in Sally’s Beauty yesterday and so tempted to buy it, but all I could think about was this review and I put it back! lol  I have a coupon that would make it practically free, so I may pick it up anyway.  That way, I won’t feel bad for spending money on a crappy formula!  =)

Alicia Avatar

I just went and picked this up yesterday from sally’s in the clearance bin. Got it for $1.30 and I’m glad I didn’t pay more because application was HORRIBLE. It’s so thick my mom asked me “Do you have on acrylics?”. But the color is beautiful so I just added a blue glitter (Orly Spazmatic) and a nice shiny top coat and I love it. Glad I picked it up but glad I didn’t pay full price.

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