Friday, May 11, 2012

Five Favorite - China Glaze Nail Lacquer Shades

I haven't done a Five Favorite from a specific product in line in ages and I feel that I need to change that now!  I have been obsessed with China Glaze polishes for almost a year now and I have been amassing a decent sized collection of them and now I have enough for me to find my favorite shades and to recommend shades for you all to try.  Personally I have found that many of the best China Glaze shades come in seasonal collections, therefore they are slightly more difficult to find.  I have found the best place to find the full shade range is Sally Beauty Supply, any store that I have visited always has a full display of almost every single shade and the fixture is always clean and well organized.  At Ulta, the display is almost always more than half empty and the display is a mess.  Ulta has many great attributes but the China Glaze display is not one of them...

My favorites from this collection encompass a huge range of shades and finishes, this line is wonderfully diverse and unlike some other collections, contains great picks from every shade.  Some lines contains great pales, some great brights, and so on.  "China Glaze is a professional quality nail enamel that is resistant to chipping and color fading.  China Glaze is a professional level nail enamel made with a special balance of polymers and resins that combine to create a nail lacquer that is long lasting, chip-resistant and resistant to color and shine fading.  Will not thicken in the bottle, no thinners necessary."  This polish has a high shine finish and I rarely need to add shine with a separate top coat (but of course I have a top coat from this company too!).  With most shades from this collection, I get two to three days wear with minimal chipping and fading, however I usually change my polish shade every other day anyway.  This polish formula is thicker than many others so it does take some practice and concentration to apply, also the brush is larger than those in the O.P.I., Butter London, Chanel, and Deborah Lippmann polishes.  The brush allows me to apply the polish in two or three quick strokes and then give it about five to ten minutes to dry.

This is a favorite polish formula and line of mine!  And here are my favorites from this line!!

For Audrey - This is one of the classic China Glaze shades, it is the perfect Tiffany Blue shade with a cream finish and is the only one that is even close to the right color.  After I bought this shade, I held it right next to a Tiffany's box and the colors are identical.  This shade was created for the Holly Golightly character in the classic 1960s movie, Breakfast at Tiffanys (played by Audrey Hepburn of course!).  I get so many compliments on this polish hue almost every single time that I wear it and this might be one of my favorite polish shades of all time. 

Blue Iguana - When I made my frist China Glaze order, I debated between this shade and Sexy in the City.  On the website, both shades looked alike and I decided on Sexy in the City only for the name.  When I played with the polish, I saw that it was more aqua in real life and not the bright blue that it appeared to be on the website.  I still like Sexy and the City, but I instantly wished that I had ordered Blue Iguana, which was then sold out at Ulta the next two time that I went there.  I finally found this shade last March hidden in a Sale rack at the bottom of the nail polish display.  It was originally part of the Island Escape collection that was released for Summer of 2011.  This shade is a medium bright blue jelly finish with a subtle silver shimmer.  The shimmer is so subtle that the polish just appears to shine in the sun.  This is another shade that I have never seen anything else like it.

Ahoy! - This is one of my two favorites from the same collection, I guess that I can consider Anchors Away (from Spring 2011) my favorite seasonal collection from China Glaze.  Ahoy! is a magenta pink jelly with a gold shimmer.  I rarely like gold hues but this one is a great pink with a slight hint of shimmer.  This shade is much like the Blue Iguana shade that the shimmer isn't in your face but makes the polish glow in the sun.  This shade is one of the few that works equally well for a great manicure and pedicure, it works any shade of pink or gold clothing.

White Cap - White Cap is one of the first shades that I ever ordered from China Glaze and still remains one of my favorites, I have put this product in my Favorites list before and I still use this one on a regular basis.  White Cap is a sheer off white with a heavy gold shimmer, it appears gold in many lights and literally glows in the sunlight.  This shade is one of my go-tos, I can wear it in any circumstance and with any outfit.  In addition, this polish is one of the longest lasting out of any China Glaze and I can get a full four or five days from it without having to redo my manicure.  One coat is a subtle gold shimmer, two coats is a full golden glow.  This is another polish that is among my top favorites of all time.

Ruby Pumps - Ruby Pumps is another one of the classic China Glaze shades and was one of my first polish shades from this company.  Think of the red pumps that Dorothy wears in The Wizard of Oz and you have this shade exactly.  This is a red base with lots of red glitter suspended in it, I wear this all time around the holidays and that season is exactly what this shade makes me think of.  I wear this almost every single time that I get dressed up for a holiday party and I have had both friends and strangers come up to me and comment on it.  I have had to write down the name of this shade more than any others in my collection. 

I am confident that at least one of these shades will work well for everyone that is reading this, whether you like subtle or dramatic shades, China Glaze offers shades for everyone and every occasion.  These five are just the tip of the iceberg in the shade rnage of China Glaze, I strongly recommend that you all check out the shades on the China Glaze website and then go to your closest Sally Beauty Supply armed with a long list and a shopping basket!

photo courtesy of Sally Beauty Supply

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