A Look at China Glaze Halloween 2011

Want a SPOOKTACULAR manicure? I couldn’t resist. I just had the chance to play with the Halloween kit, which contains one real color shade, two layering coats, and China Glaze’s Fast Forward Top Coat. I bought the other new color shades but am waiting for them to arrive still (boo, west coast!). The kit I have includes the top coat but there’s one available at Sally’s ($12.99) that also includes Cross Iron 360 instead of the top coat.

It’s Alive is a blackened-olive green base with murky olive green micro-glitter and larger particle glitter. I like how the base color looks like a pool of murkiness–I think the play of really light color compared to the base creates that effect. I only needed two coats for opaque color, and the formula was easy to work with; not too thick or thin, good flow, and coverage.  It is rather different from Zombie Zest, actually–darker and glittery.

Ghoulish Glow is a glow-in-the-dark top coat, which does really glow when the lights are all off. I didn’t like it much layered over It’s Alive; it gave It’s Alive a muted, washed-out quality and when I turned off the lights, it didn’t look significantly different than if I had just painted my nails with the top coat itself. I’d say if you want a day and night look, it’s not a bad compromise to layer, because when it’s worn alone, it’s not exactly the prettiest shade (an off-white). I had good results with both one and two coats of it (alone), but, as my boyfriend pointed out, it glows better if you let it soak up some light first.

Black Mesh is old news, but it’s a black crackling top coat. It crackled in large chunks and pieces when I did it over It’s Alive. I don’t feel like there is much to say on it; it crackled and dried quickly to a matte finish (so use a top coat for shine). It does have a cool effect over Ghoulish Glow, but I’d recommend doing two coats of Ghoulish Glow underneath and then layering Black Mesh on top.

It’s a fun set! I really liked It’s Alive’s formula and am happy to be able to report back on Ghoulish Glow… actually glowing. I attempted photos of it, but let’s just not revisit that–it was an exercise in futility and “this is so not worth it” amongst many expletives.

China Glaze It’s Alive Nail Lacquer

China Glaze It’s Alive Nail Lacquer

China Glaze It’s Alive Nail Lacquer

China Glaze It’s Alive Nail Lacquer

China Glaze It’s Alive Nail Lacquer with Black Mesh (middle nail)