China Glaze Pelican Grey

More neutral non glittery polish today :) I chose China Glaze Pelican Grey also from the Anchors Away collection. Pelican Grey is a medium grey (shock!) with a subtle shimmer.

I used one coat of Sally Hansen Triple Strong bofr my base and then two coats of Pelican Grey. No problems with application. I topped it off with a coat of Revlon Colorstay top coat. I have to point out that this polish dries darker than the bottle and when you first apply. Also once it's dry the gorgeous silver shimmer mostly disappears.

Picures, pictures, pictures! None in direct light unfortunately :( I swear my timing is terrible!

China Glaze Pelican Grey in Artificial Light

China Glaze Pelican Grey in Artificial Light

China Glaze Pelican Grey in Shade

I really wish I had some daylight shots because I want to show the gorgeous silver shimmer in this. You can faintly see the shimmer at my tips in the photos above. I don't usually wear grey shades but I really like this colour. Overall I prefer the grey/blue shades like Sea Spray which I was wearing previously.


Blargh

China Glaze Sea Spray

I was in the mood for some more demure shades so I searched through my stash and came up with China Glaze Sea Spray! Sea Spray is from the China Glaze Anchor's Away collection and is a gorgeous blue grey polish.

One coat of Sally Hansen Triple Strength base coat and two coats of Sea Spray. Application was flawless and very smooth. I finished with one coat of Revlon Colorstay top coat.

Some pictures!

China Glaze Sea Spray in Artificial Light

China Glaze Sea Spray in Shade

China Glaze Sea Spray in Natural Light

Love, love, love this! Oh so much! I actually didn't want to take this off! I've shortened my nails a bit more and I think it looks gorgeous on this shorter length. My only complaint is that when the polish is wet there is this gorgeous blue silver shimmer all throughout it but once dried it almost completely disappears :( Definitely can't wait to try this one again!


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China Glaze Poinsettia

I haven't worn a red for some time so I chose China Glaze Poinsettia from the Let It Snow collection. Poinsettia is a gorgeous bright red jelly that fits in very well with the Christmas collection it's from.

I used Sally Hansen Tripe Strong for my base coat. Then I applied two coats of Poinsettia which applied like butter! Since it's a jelly after two coats there was still VNL but it actually didn't seem to bother me which is strange since I usually hate it. I finished off with a coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine top coat.

Now for the photos. As I said there is definite VNL that you can see in the photos.

China Glaze Poinsettia in Artificial Light

China Glaze Poinsettia in Natural Light

China Glaze Poinsettia in the Shade

I can't believe it took me this long to try Poinsettia! Since I had almost forgot about it the jelly formula was a pleasant surprise! I actually can't wait to use this with one of the new Spoiled glitters that I received from Sarah :) Jelly sandwich here I come!

China Glaze Style Wars

Continuing my attempt to pretend it's Autumn I decided to go with an orange and somehow ended up with China Glaze Style Wars from the Kicks Collection. Style Wars is a vibrant orange jelly with a reddish tint to it.

A base coat of Revlon Calcium Gel Nail Hardener to start me off (why do I keep using this??). When I was applying my first coat of Style Wars all I kept thinking of was orange cordial because it was so thin and runny O_o. I followed it up with another two coats to try and get it as opaque as possible. I found the first coat of polish was the hardest to apply because it was so this so I had to paint slowly to control the brush and therefore the polish.

Now I tend to watch a movie while I paint my nails so I have a habit of paint a few nails and then pausing to watch the screen. But with this polish I discovered THIS IS A BAD IDEA!! I did my right hand and then moved onto my left but got distracted by the movie. Then when I got back to doing my left hand I discovered that the polish on my thumb on my right hand had pooled down the side of my nail because I had been holding it at an angle >.< I was one unhappy camper! So I learnt to paint my nails quickly and then lay them flat and keep them there!

After applying my final coat and leaving my hands nice and flat to dry I applied a coat of Sally Hansen Mega Shine for my top coat. Luckily since it is a jelly the mess I made when applying my first coat was easy to remove when cleaning up my manicure.

And pictures!

China Glaze Style Wars in Artificial Light

I'm sitting here looking at my nails in the artificial light and they're not this bright!

China Glaze Style Wars in Natural Light

China Glaze Style Wars in Natural Light

This is one elusive colour to capture! It shifts from a bright candy orange to a bright reddish orange depending on the sunlight.

China Glaze Style Wars in the Shade

Glorious jelly goodness!!! Lol! I really love this colour. I actually didn't realise it was a jelly when I bought it so I was quite surprised when I applied my first coat. As with most jellies there is still a VNL which I usually prefer not to have but I couldn't be bothered doing a fourth coat so late at night. Ooohhh I definitely see a jelly sandwich in my future :)

China Glaze Magnetix Swatches

As you may remember I won a giveaway over at Carinae L'etoile's Polish Stash and received the entire China Glaze Magnetix collection! For me there was quite a learning curve to getting these to work out and I actually started swatching them and then stopped and gave up from frustration! But I decided to give them another go and I'm glad I did!

First off: WHY ARE MY NAILS SO CURVY!!! LOL! For starters my index fingers are more like talons once they start to get some length and this made it nearly impossible to get a design to cover my entire nail >.< You can see the ledge where you can rest your nail at the cuticle as a guide and so as to not touch the magnet. Every time I tried to twist me nail up to get the end half of my index finger I kept whacking it against the magnet :(

Middle Finger

Index Finger

Then on top of that my nails are very curved so I usually get a strip of the design down the centre of my nails but no designs on the sides O.o It's very frustrating but I just decided to be happy with the design that did show up because it still looked awesome - just not as good as if I had flat nails.

Terribly blurry photo! Oh well just to show how "curvy" my nails are

Magnet

Top of Magnet

 You can see the three different designs that the magnet has: a chevron, a star and a diagonal pattern.

Bottom of Magnet

On the bottom near each magnet there is a spot to rest the cuticle of your nail on to stop your finger touching the magnet. I found it easier to rest the magnet further back than my cuticle.

Bottom of Magnet showing the ledges

Instructions

The magnet comes with a set of instructions:

1. Choose desired magnetic design.
2. Apply base coat.
3. Apply one coat of Magnetix Nail Lacquer.
4. Immediately hold magnet over damp nail. Hold close without touching for 5-10 seconds.
5. Once nails are designed and dry, seal with a top coat

TIP: Keep magnet clean. If lacquer gets on magnet, wipe off immediately. To achieve different looks, alternate magnet design and/or rotate magnet.

I don't do it that way :) I applied one coat to all fingers and then waited for them to dry. Then I add a second coat one nail at a time and then place the desired design over my nail for 5-10 seconds. I have since noticed that it is better to hold the magnet for longer because as it dries the design will "settle" blurring your lines when you apply a top coat. So if you hold it there for longer as it dries then there will be less settling and the design will stay crisp.


Each of these swatches is without a base or top coat. All photos are in artificial light.
All swatches are two coats.

Pull Me Close

Pull Me Close is a gorgeous intense blue/black colour magnetic. I used the diagonal design for this one. The design turns out very dark on this colour and the intensity of the effect was high. Pull Me Close was opaque with one coat but I did two because I use one for a base coat and the second coat to develop the magnetic design. This was the first colour I swatched and I didn't want to take it off to do the others! I even got the design to appear on my index finger by "rocking" the magnet backwards and forwards lol!

Attraction

Attraction is a grey/black with sparkly silver. I used the chevron design on this one. I would say the effect of this one is about medium in intensity. I was surprised to see the silver sparkle in this one.

Instant Chemistry

Instant Chemistry is a dark/vampy purple. This one was also an easy one coater but I used two. Oh star pattern how I despise you lol! Using the star pattern was a lesson in frustration! I didn't even attempt to get a proper design on my index finger what with it being so curved I knew it didn't stand a chance. And see the poor half star on my pinkie finger *eeekk*! However, this colour works great with the other designs (see TIMING pictures) it's just the star magnet that didn't like me :( The effect of the magnet was low in intensity.

Drawn To You

Drawn To You is a light and dark purple magnetic. Lol my poor index finger! I really liked this one even though it seems more delicate than the others so far. This one also has a gorgeous pink sparkle to it.

You Move Me

You Move Me is a gold/brown with silver magnetic. Aww my poor index finger again! You can see that I touched my index finger to the magnet - stupid talon nail >.<  This one is very much on the sheer side and I would recommend either three thin coats or use a base coat before apply one coat for the magnetic effect. I think I'll try this one over black at some point :)


Cling On

  
Cling On is a brown/olive with silver magnetic. Ok so I admit to having a giggle when I read this one being an avid Star Trek fan! This one gave me flashbacks to me and my family (also Trekkies) calling each other petaQ and saying Qapla' - not to mention the Klingon Drinking song :) Any who, the star magnet worked out better for this one. The magnet seemed to have a stronger effect on the sheer magnetic polishes. I also plan on trying this one out again with an appropriate base colour.




Timing

I wanted to see the difference for the 5-10 seconds for exposure and to compare the effect for a one coater to a several coats polish.

Using Instant Chemistry - two coats and to make up for the terrible swatch

Exposed for 5, 6 and 7 seconds

Exposed for 8, 9 and 10 seconds

You can see the difference between holding the magnet for 5 seconds to holding it for 10. The lines are much more crisp when exposed for 10 seconds compared to the 5 second exposure. For this opaque polish the area between the design becomes darker the longer the magnet is applied.


Using Cling On - two coats is still too sheer

Exposed for 5, 6 and 7 seconds

Exposed for 8, 9 and 10 seconds

Again much crisper lines when exposed for the 10 seconds. Since this one is so sheer you can really see the sheer "jelly" brown in between where the design was formed.



Overall

 I definitely think these suit short nails the best! As you can see from the swatches from Scrangie and The PolishAholic, the designs seem to turn out better on smaller nails since you're not missing half the design down your long nails. I definitely can't wait to wear these once my nails are shorter although I personally don't think the diagonal and chevron patterns turned out too bad.

The diagonal pattern gave the crispest design followed by the chevron. Lastly the star pattern produced a blurred design. I found the star pattern to be the hardest to work with but I would try it again with shorter nails.

You Move Me and Cling On are on the sheer side and would require either three coats or one coat over a base colour. My favourites of the collection are Pull Me Close and Instant Chemistry.

China Glaze Westside Warrior

When I first saw China Glaze Westside Warrior I had to get since I adore khaki greens and I can't believe it has taken me so long to finally put it on! Westside Warrior is part of the China Glaze Metro collection.

I started with a coat of Revlon Calcium Gel Nail Hardener followed by two coats of Westside Warrior. I'm assuming Westside Warrior didn't like my base coat because it kept forming bald patches RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES! Ignoring this the actual application was smooth. Luckily the second coat worked to give a lovely even finish and a coat of Seche Vite to finish the job :)

These photos were taken in artificial light that night.

China Glaze Westside Warrior in Artificial Light

China Glaze Westside Warrior in Artificial Light

Then the following morning I took these photos in the bright, bright sunlight. Lol please ignore the edges of my nails! I managed to rake my fingers down the stupid front door mesh *sigh*.

Love. It. This is such a gorgeous khaki green creme and it perfectly matches the khaki green clothes I have lol! I would definitely wear this one again it's just so pretty and, ignoring the weird balding tantrum, it was a dream to apply :)

China Glaze Fairy Dust

I wanted to try out China Glaze Fairy Dust and at the time I already had on Modelista On Location - Berlin. Fairy Dust is multicoloured holographic glitter in a clear base. I applied one thin coat of Fairy Dust over On Location - Berlin. Then I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast top coat which made the surface nice and smooth.

These photo's are in artificial light after I applied Fairy Dust.

 China Glaze Fairy Dust in Artificial Light

  China Glaze Fairy Dust in Artificial Light

China Glaze Fairy Dust in Artificial Light

 Intentionally blurry to try and show just how intense the holographic glitter is in Fairy Dust!

Then the following day I took photo's in the sunlight.

 China Glaze Fairy Dust in Natural Light

  China Glaze Fairy Dust in Natural Light

 China Glaze Fairy Dust in Natural Light

 Again the blurry shot :)

Fairy Dust is perfect to add some holographic sparkle to any colour. The formula is slightly thick so a bit of thinner might be on the menu. I was moving my nails around at night, playing around to see the different sparkles. The primary colours were blue, red and green but as you can see in the photo's its full of many colours. Be warned I only applied a thin coat of Fairy Dust and yet it was a massive PITA to remove. It was so gritty and I would definitely recommend using the Foil Method to remove it. This is now my favourite top coat to apply to spice up any manicure!

China Glaze Dorothy Who?

I wanted to change my manicure to something sparkly in preparation for the New Year. But first I had to remove Glittering Garland which wasn't exactly the smooth removal I had been hoping for. Due to the large amount of microglitter in the polish the removal was a bit more involved that usual. As I was attempting to remove the polish, the left-over microglitter made the surface feel like sandpaper and was determined not to come off. First I tried using Sally Hansen Polish Remover, which I usually use when konading as it doesn't leave a film on my plates, but it barely removed any of the polish. Determined I grabbed my Jessica Nail Polish Remover and tried that instead. Thankfully it was a success and, applying some pressure, Glittering Garland finally came off!

Thinking I wanted something as glittery and sparkly as possible I grabbed China Glaze's Dorothy Who? from the Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection. Dorothy Who? is an intense blue jelly packed with light blue and silver microglitter. To begin with I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat followed by two coats of Dorothy Who?. The first coat gives a transparent light blue jelly with microglitter but the second coat gives a vibrant opaque blue jelly base with plenty of microglitter. I had problems with the formula of this polish being on the watery side so I did relatively thin coats in an attempt to control the fallout. I found it frustrating because with the formula being watery I had to use less polish on the brush. Then when I would return with more polish to finish the nail the brush would pull the polish already on the nail as it was quickly drying. So it was a balancing act between working slowly to control the thin polish and working quickly before the polish began to dry. Let me tell you all this trouble was definitely worth it!

I sealed the manicure with a coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat to even out the microglitter and then used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Drops to speed dry it. Then once set I took the following photo's that night under artificial light.

 

China Glaze Dorothy Who? in Artificial Light

China Glaze Dorothy Who? in Artificial Light

See how perfectly Dorothy Who? translates onto the nails. Not to mention just look at all that mouth-watering glitter! 

The following day I took photo's outside in the blasting summer heat. In 38°C heat the sun was most definitely shining giving me the perfect opportunity to show case the beauty of Dorothy Who?.

 

China Glaze Dorothy Who? in Natural Light

 China Glaze Dorothy Who? in Natural Light

I bought Dorothy Who? from Nailetc as a single polish order. It took three weeks to get from the US to Australia via First Class Shipping. What I love about Nailetc is that with each order, even if you purchase only one polish like I did, they give you a code for a 10% discount off your next order!

I chose China Glaze Dorothy Who? because I wanted a sparkling sensation, a glitter-bomb, and that's exactly what I got! I am absolutely intoxicated with this colour! It's just so eye-catching and even as I write this I keep finding myself following the sparkling of my nails and stopping to admire them. Distracting but SO worth it! Along with Glittering Garland this has become one of my favourite polishes - shining blue, glittering silver - I ask you, what's not to love!

China Glaze Glittering Garland

Every since it arrived I've been dying to try China Glaze Glittering Garland from the Christmas Let It Snow Collection. Glittering Garland is a dark green jelly base with yellow/green toned shiny microglitter. When I first saw swatches of it I was reminded of China Glaze Emerald Sparkle which I don't yet have but has been high on my Must Have list.

I had been hoping to wear this one for Christmas but didn't get a chance to change my manicure and so I took the opportunity to try it on now. I applied my usual Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat and then two layers of Glittering Garland. It was opaque with one coat but I decided to put on two in the hopes of longer wear. A coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast topcoat and my favourite Sally Hansen Quick Dry Drops and my manicure was complete!

These are the photo's I took in artificial light that night after completing my manicure.

 

China Glaze Glittering Garland in Artificial Light

 China Glaze Glittering Garland in Artificial Light

Application was smooth and there was almost no clean up. My only complaint is that I found that once I added a topcoat the microglitter was somewhat muted. However, the full effect of the yellow/green microglitter still came through clearly in the sunlight - but not in my photo's!

The next photo's were take the next day in the natural light. Although the microglitter was shining through like crazy every time I tried to take a photo the glitter wouldn't photograph unless it was blurry.You can get an idea of what the microglitter looks like from the photo's in artificial light.

 

China Glaze Glittering Garland in Natural Light

China Glaze Glittering Garland in Natural Light

I am an absolute sucker for greens, add glitter and I'm a complete goner! China Glaze Glittering Garland is currently my favourite green, it is just so pretty with all that sparkling green and in the sunshine it is simply gorgeous! If you don't have this one yet in my opinion it is a definite must have.

China Glaze Holly-Day

I removed my Velvet Bow manicure which went quite well especially considering I had a coat of Seche Vite and a Konad Top Coat to get through. I don't think my nails had ever been so rock hard! I didn't have any staining from Velvet Bow which surprised me since I come to expect it from most dark nail polish colours.

I decided to go with a green for my next Christmas themed manicured and ended up choosing another from China Glaze's Let It Snow Collection. This time I chose Holly-Day, a dark forest green creme. This weekend is new nephews Christening so it seemed like a suitable colour to wear.

As with Velvet Bow the application was very smooth and needed very little clean up. I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat followed by two coats of Holly-Day and then topped it all off with a top coat of Seche Vite.

I took some photo's in artificial light after applying the polish that night. At night it appears as a much darker green but still manages to be a gorgeous colour.

 

China Glaze's Holly-Day in Artificial Light

 

 

China Glaze's Holly-Day in Artificial Light 

The next morning we had actual sunshine so I took the opportunity to take some photo's in the natural light. In the natural light it definitely lives up to its name-sake, a vibrant holly green creme.

 

 China Glaze's Holly-Day in Natural Light

 China Glaze's Holly-Day in Natural Light

I LOVE this colour! The moment I saw Scrangie's swatch of Holly-Day it immediately jumped to the top of my Must Have List and I must say I am not disappointed. Green's have got to be one of my favourite colours to wear and Holly-Day is no exception!