China Glaze Four Leaf Clover

With dreams of cooler weather, I reached for China Glaze Four Leaf Clover. The grassy green color made me think of cooler weather, a spring day. The first coat on this polish was horribly streaky- I was really worried that I was going to be extremely disappointment, but by the second coat, this polish had completely redeemed itself. With the second coat bringing some fantastic color to the table, I was also really happy with how easy it was to paint with.

China Glaze China Rouge

Everyone now and then you want something red hot- something sexy!
China Glaze China Rouge totally fit that bill. This beautiful, super glossy polish is your classic bold red, a must have staple in any woman's collection.
In just two coats it was completely opaque. I do warn you to be careful when polishing because it will stain your cuticles, and it is not an easy polish to remove from skin.
I still really like this polish and I hope you do too.

China Glaze Swanky Silk

China Glaze Swanky Silk from the 2012 Bohemian collection
This polish hasn't got much love in the reviews I have read, but when I saw it in the store, I thought it was interesting, so it came home with me. This polish appears to shift between pink, golden and soft jade in the bottle.
The formula was very easy to work with and it only took two coats to be opaque. However, my biggest complaint about this polish was the very visible brush strokes- I had to do a third very careful coat with the least number of strokes possible because they bothered me so much. With the third coat, they were minimized enough where no one else seemed to notice them.
It was a very pretty not quite nude and I enjoyed it quite a bit!

China Glaze Manhunt

China Glaze Manhunt from the 2012 On Safari collection

The first time I purchased some polishes from the On Safari collection, I left this one behind thinking I had too many similar blues already. When I saw the collection a second time, I could not stand to go home without it! Manhunt is a great blue- it manages to be both bright and rich at the same time. The shine on the polish is quite impressive too! My first coat of this polish had almost jelly like results- a bit sheer, visible nail line, though with just two coats this reached opacity. The formula on this was so impressive though- this polish required no clean up what so ever! When was the last name you were able to say that about a blue like this?
If you haven't purchased this one already, I really recommend getting it while it is still easy to find.

China Glaze Lasso My Heart

China Glaze Lasso My Heart from the 2008 Rodeo Divas collection

It was recently my seventh anniversary with my dear husband. Deciding to play upon this theme, I chose this color just as much for the name as the color. Lasso My Heart is a purple with hints of pink and a lovely shimmer. The formula on it was a bit watery than I like, but still was very manageable. The first coat was very sheer to the point I worried that these was a polish that would have benefited from undies, but by the second coat, was nice and opaque.
If you are a fan of shimmery purples, like me, these is a great choice, and the cute name only adds to the charm!

China Glaze Exotic Encounter

Try to act surprised when I tell you that this was of my favorite polishes from the 2012 On Safari collection. Was it that this hue was a delightfully dusty teal? Was it that this was one of those perfect cremes that applies effortlessly? Was it that I had no true dupes in my collection? I would say that it was all of those factors combined that make this my new go to teal in my stash.

In two very easy coats, with very, very little clean up I got rich, well pigmented teal color on my nails.

Please forgive any hints of glitter you may see in my pictures as I was completely unaware it had made its way into my top coat.

I hope you like this color as much as I do!

China Glaze Concrete Catwalk

China Glaze Concrete Catwalk from the 2011 Metro collection

I have decided that I really do like grey polish- it's dark but doesn't scream 'goth' or 'emo' the way black can.  One of my favorites is from last year's Metro collection by China Glaze. This deep grey with just the tiniest bit of blue is a wonderful creme to work with! The pictures are two effortless coats of this polish. The polish has great shine, and I think would be flattering a range of skin tones...

China Glaze Skyscraper

China Glaze Skyscraper from the 2011 Metro collection layered over Essie No More Film

I was truly looking forward to this color when the Metro collection was released, but I had left it untried until this past weekend. Skyscraper is a deep blue jelly with densely packed silver glitter. The color in the bottle made it a great match more Essie No More Film- time to layer!
It was very easy to paint with, the jelly consistency was quite pleasant. I was also pleased with how silver glitter was in just a single coat. From what I understand if you chose not to wear 'undies' under this polish, you can achieve opacity in three coats- not bad for a glitter polish.
While I know there are some differences, this might be a nice polish for those lusting after the impossible to find Essie Starry, Starry Night. I certainly enjoyed it and hope you do to!

China Glaze Fast Track

China Glaze Fast Track from the Spring 2012 Hunger Games collection

Despite the gloriously warm weather, sometimes you want a little break from all the corals and neons that scream summer. This is why the Hunger Games collection was so great- for being a spring collection, there was such a nice variety of colors; darks like Smoke and Ashes, bright oranges like Riveting, taupes like Foie Gras, and the most incredible nude ever Fast Track.
Yes, I just declared the Fast Track the most incredible nude ever! Why? Because it's more than just your typical "How close can I get to my skin tone?" nude. The beautiful gold super fine glitter/flakies truly set this apart from any other nude I've ever seen. Application was a breeze, and just two coats left it perfectly opaque.
So, without question, I'd recommend it-heck, I'd recommend a back up bottle! I hope you enjoy...

China Glaze Liquid Crystal

China Glaze Liquid Crystal from the 2012 Spring Prismatic collection
After wear some of the lovely, but soft and tame, from the OPI NYC Ballet collection, it was time for something fun and colorful! I recently purchased some of the polishes from the Prismatic collection and I'm so happy to share one with you today.
Liquid Crystal is the blue glitter from the collection- the sky blue glitter base is so dense at just two coats, it almost looks like a foil, and it has a unique duochrome property, flashing purple in the right light. Within the fine blue glitter base there are slightly larger pieces of pink, green, silver, yellow, and orange glitter. For a glitter, application was exceptional with even distribution and a manageable formula.
Believe it or not, this polish lasted through a Joe's Crab Shack Lobster Daddy Feast without chipping!

China Glaze Instant Chemistry

China Glaze Instant Chemistry from the 2012 Magnetix collection

I finally decided to try my magnetic polishes! I've seen these all over the place by many different brands including China Glaze, Color Club, Nabi, Icing, and new ones seem to pop up every day. The concept seems like nail art for those who can't do nail art (like me!). The little iron particles in the polish are manipulated by the magnet producing a pattern like stripes, waves, chevrons, etc. My favorite pattern is the star, as the effect is reminiscent of a star sapphire.
Instant Chemistry is a dark purple leaning red. The application was just like any other polish, and despite my poor clean up (sorry, I didn't realize how rough it was until I looked at the pictures on the computer!) was a very normal application. I found no flaw with the magnet itself, though it must be said that the magnet is pretty easy to use, but challenging to master. The magnet has a nice little groove in it so it can sit right below your cuticle comfortably. I always got a decent image, but I did have a few times where I got the magnet too close to the nail and smudged the polish- the magnet does clean off with polish remove though. It also took several tries to figure how to get a centered image.
It was fun and I will use them again, though I don't know that it was really much easier than freehand art.