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China Glaze I'm Not Lion Nail Lacquer Review, Photos, Swatches

China Glaze I'm Not Lion Nail Lacquer
China Glaze I’m Not Lion Nail Lacquer

I’d Be Lion if I Said This was Easy to Remove

China Glaze I’m Not Lion Nail Lacquer ($3.00 to $7.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “glistening gold and multi-colored glitter.” It’s a predominantly pale, antique gold glitter with an assortment of smaller glitter particles. The base color really seemed clear to me. The inclusion of multi-colored glitter makes it look different from a lot of the other antique gold shades we’ve been seeing (think Illamasqua Swinger, Revlon Gold Coin, and Chanel Diwali). The closest color I could come up with was China Glaze Medallion, which is darker gold, chunkier glitter all around.

It’s almost opaque after two coats–there’s a hint of visible nail line at certain angles.  Because it’s full of glitter, this takes longer to remove, but it doesn’t have to be challenging.  Brooke discovered an excellent way to remove polishes like these, which is really just soaking nails in nail polish remover, but she discovered these nifty devices to use (and they’ll cost you about $3 shipped). Two minutes and you’ll be set!  The texture is just barely rough, because the glitter is fine and the consistency is on the thicker side, so it tends to immerse the glitter in the base.  I typically get a week of wear with minor tip wear but no chipping with China Glaze’s formula.  The polish retails for $7, but you can find it at various e-tailers for under $4 (the one linked in the post sells this shade for $3).

I'm Not Lion

LELimited Edition. $7.50.
B+
B+
9
Product
9.5
Pigmentation
8
Texture
9
Longevity
4
Application
88%
Total

China Glaze I'm Not Lion Nail Lacquer
China Glaze I’m Not Lion Nail Lacquer

China Glaze I'm Not Lion Nail Lacquer
China Glaze I’m Not Lion Nail Lacquer

China Glaze I'm Not Lion Nail Lacquer
China Glaze I’m Not Lion Nail Lacquer

China Glaze I'm Not Lion Nail Lacquer
China Glaze I’m Not Lion Nail Lacquer

China Glaze I'm Not Lion Nail Lacquer
China Glaze I’m Not Lion Nail Lacquer

China Glaze I'm Not Lion Nail Lacquer
China Glaze I’m Not Lion Nail Lacquer

35 Comments

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Kelsey Avatar

I think the color of this is lovely and quite unique!! Did you use a top coat here? If so, is the finish with a topcoat the same as without?

Julie Avatar

Sallys has China Glaze on sale this month and I picked up this color recently and I love it!!! This will be my nail color for my birthday weekend.. Its also great painted on top of of another color on an accent nail!!

MonicaP Avatar

It would be a great business idea if nail polish companies came out with a remover for this type of polish 🙂

It’s really pretty though .. ooh, I want it 🙂

Wwendalynne Avatar

I love this one and have it as well. It’s a SOB to remove..seriously! It’s like removing concrete. But, I still love it! I’ve just purchased a mustard yellow polish to wear under a single coat of this one called Kalahari Kiss from the same China Glaze Safari collection.

Miss J Avatar

I am definitely getting this polish – I’ve been looking forward to it since your initial post about the collection. Watched Brooke’s vid, and HOLY CRAP, that was amazing. I want those things!!!!!

Becca @ The Beauty Sample Avatar

This is gorgeous!!! I love it–need to make a stop at Sallys sometime. I don’t use glitter polish enough to order those really cool finger contraptions, but I will be needing one of those enormous bottles of acetone! I go through regular nail polish waaaay too quickly…

Rachel Avatar

I’ve never tried the method in Brooke’s video but I found the jars of nail polish remover to be pretty useful when removing glitter polishes. The ones with the bristles inside since they basically scrub off the polish more thoroughly than just using tissues, cotton balls, etc.

Dinitchka Avatar

This is quite bling-y. Loving it!

Brookes video is interesting. I’d like to check them out locally. I could have sworn I saw something like those at Sally’s.

Dinitchka Avatar

Will do Miss J!

I did do a bit of looking around on Ebay. The prices seem to be good but I am worried that I will get a crappy seller. I hate being skeptical! I guess for now I will stick with the shot glass and acetone.

Malia Avatar

so beautiful! I got some gold nail strips thinking they would be easier to remove but they werent either… and this one is so much prettier!

Jamie Avatar

Another great way to make sure that glitter polish comes off easy is to make sure to use a clear polish under it so that way you can take it off easy like any other nail polish.

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