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This is a departure from the blues and greens I’ve been trying, but I think this is the last untried polish I have from this collection so I just wanted to get it done. China Glaze Glitter All The Way (Holiday Joy, Holiday 2012) is a mix of gold, green, purple and red glitter in a clear base:
Picture taken in weak sunlight. The formula was like any glitter in a clear base. I applied a first, patchy coat to give the additional coats something to grip, then applied a thick second coat to really build opacity, then a thin third coat to ensure complete, even coverage. I only used one coat of topcoat but two or more would be needed to get a glassy smooth finish. I labeled this a gold for categorization’s sake, but to me, this doesn’t really have a predominant color. All the colors contrast nicely and really stand apart from each other, but there’s an even amount of all four so there’s no main color. The glitter is hexagonal; the gold, purple and red glitter are tiny, while the green glitter is slightly larger, but still very small. As many have noted, this looks perfect for Mardi Gras! I paired this with OPI Dutch ‘Ya Just Love OPI? on my toes.
<3sarah
I’m jumping the gun by a few hours, but Happy Valentine’s Day! Last year I wore Love Marilyn and I really loved it, so this time I thought I’d wear what looks to be its gold counterpart. China Glaze Pure Joy (Holiday Joy, Holiday 2012) is a red and gold hexagonal glitter packed in a clear base:
Picture taken in sunlight. The glitter is dense enough to build to opacity on its own. It looked almost there in two coats, but I needed a third for full, even coverage. The surface stays pretty rough after only one coat of topcoat, but I just wanted to set the polish and I wasn’t really after a glassy-smooth finish. This pretty much looks like Love Marilyn but with gold hex glitter instead of silver. There’s a good amount of gold glitter, more than the silver in Love Marilyn, so it provides more than just sparse pops of a contrasting color. The gold breaks up the red nicely without overtaking it. The shade of red glitter appears warmer than in Love Marilyn. I’m not sure if it’s actually a different red, or if the gold glitter just gives a warmer overall cast to the color. I’m not complaining about the similarity, because I love this polish too! It’s very sparkly and absolutely gorgeous. I paired this with China Glaze Midnight Kiss on my toes.
<3sarah
I’m wearing this polish to complete trying the set, but it turned out to be the perfect festive mani for the championship weekend of the Australian Open. After watching Victoria Azarenka prevail and defend her title and World No. 1 ranking on Saturday, this morning I watched Novak Djokovic win his third Australian Open championship in a row, and fourth overall, for a total of six grand slams so far. 😀 Nails Inc. Soho Street (The After Party Set) definitely reflects my celebratory mood. It’s a multicolored, different-sized hex glitter in a clear base. I was already wearing Disco Lane, and after two days I had virtually no tipwear, so I saved myself some time and just layered the glitter over it:
Picture taken in sunlight. I added two coats of Soho Street to my full mani of Disco Lane. It’s definitely a rough, glittery surface but I still just used one coat of topcoat. Two or more would be needed to smooth it out. I haven’t yet tried all of the “party glitters” I own, but this is definitely already one of my favorites. It’s actually pretty dense, so after two coats I got a nice, even spread of glitter all over the nail. I think the coverage is pretty impressive, because I don’t see the type of small, regular glitter that would fill in the spaces, only two sizes of hex glitter. I love the true multicolored-ness of it all. When I look at it, even from a distance, I see all the bright pops of color (especially against the black background.) This one definitely doesn’t look silver overall. There’s pink, blue, red, and green glitter, with just a bit of silver and gold. No one color dominates, so I don’t even know what category to put it under. This is definitely another one I can’t help but stare at; it’s just so pretty! It makes me think of those Australia Day fireworks. 🙂 I paired this with OPI Festive Fuchsia on my toes.
<3sarah
I may have tried another red glitter just a couple of manis ago, but this is a different animal. My last glitterbomb of the year is a sure stunner. Nails Inc. Covent Garden Market (The After Party Set) is a bright ruby red glitter packed in a clear base:
Picture taken in sunlight. (I actually did this mani yesterday but it’d have been a shame to not photograph this without decent light.) There’s a sticker on the bottle cap that says this is a full coverage glitter, and that claim is definitely accurate! I got full coverage in two coats. While still wet, the glitter tends to get pushed to the nail tip with a normal brush stroke, so I filled in bald spots between coats with a dabbing motion instead. I also painted and did cleanup on each nail one by one, since wet glitter is much easier to manipulate. The formula was good, though it did thicken up as I continued to use it, as is typical of this kind of glitter. It does dry flat on its own, but even a single coat of topcoat will bring out its lovely depth. (More coats of topcoat would be needed to achieve a glassy smooth surface.) This is probably the best clear-based glitter I’ve ever tried! Not only does it achieve full coverage in only two coats, but both the color and finish are gorgeous! This shade of red is not just bright, but very vibrant. It has this glow that I don’t typically see in glitterbomb finishes. Obviously it sparkles beautifully under bright light, but it still looks so dimensional even in low light. It’s not obvious on the finished mani, but there are different sizes of glitter in there. It may only be small and smaller sizes, but this subtle difference goes a long way in making the overall finish more interesting. This polish looks so glamorous and sexy; it’s definitely distracting because I find myself staring at my nails too often. 🙂 I paired this with China Glaze Little Drummer Boy on my toes.
<3sarah
While I have mostly reds and greens on my list to try this month, I’ve picked out a couple of other different colors, one of which is Essie Beyond Cozy (Winter 2012), a fine, silver and champagne glitter packed in a clear base:
Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, pretty smoothly for a glitter, but it does tend to thicken up as you work with it, as is usually the case with clear-based glitters. Since the glitter is very fine and absolutely loaded into the base, I got full coverage in just two coats. It dries a little flat, so topcoat really brings out the depth of finish. I think one coat is enough to get a relatively smooth surface. The sunlight brings out the champagne color, but in low light it pretty much just looks silver. And of course, it sparkles like crazy! I catch myself staring at my nails because it glitters with every move. It truly does look like I’m wearing crushed-up diamonds! It’s very glitzy and glamorous. I paired this with China Glaze First Class Ticket on my toes.
<3sarah
For Thanksgiving tomorrow I picked a glitterbomb of a polish, knowing it would hold up well during all the cooking, dishwashing, etc. China Glaze Electrify (The Hunger Games Capitol Colors) is a gold glitter, small gold hex glitter, and larger red hex glitter in a clear base:
Picture taken in sunlight. As with glitter polishes with this type of formula, it’s sheer at first but thickens up as you work with it, making it easier to get a solid coat. I ended up doing three for full coverage. It’s definitely a topcoat eater, so apply more than one coat if you’re after that glassy smooth finish. This isn’t one of those glitters where you have one dominant color and just a sprinkling of the other; there’s quite a bit of red in there! I’d still call this mainly a gold polish, because there is slightly more gold glitter, and two types of it as well, but the red glitter still has a strong presence on the nail. The two colors play off each other nicely; the bright red looks lovely mixed in with the warm gold. Of course, all that glitter means it’s super sparkly. 🙂 I paired this with China Glaze Ruby Pumps on my toes.
Happy Thanksgiving!
<3sarah
I’m posting this a little late but this is my NOTD from a couple of days ago. I had originally planned to wear this last weekend, before I got sidetracked by this. China Glaze CG in the City (Metro, Fall 2011) is a mix of smoky purple, gunmetal and silver glitter in a clear base:
Picture taken in natural light. (There was absolutely no good sunlight that day, but this looks amazing in the sun.) The first coat goes on pretty sheer, but it definitely builds to opacity. The formula gets thicker as you continue to work with it. I used three coats with some minor touchups. Since the glitter is fine, one coat of topcoat leaves the surface very smooth. I love this interesting mix! It doesn’t look the same all the time; in low light it seems like more of a straight-up gunmetal grey, but in bright light the purple tones are very apparent. The silver adds a nice contrast to the darkness of the gunmetal-purple. I can definitely call this unique in my collection! I paired this with Milani Dot Com on my toes.
<3sarah
After a whole row of cremes I definitely wanted something glittery. This one surprised me in a very good way. Sephora by OPI Sparkling Personality (Betsey Johnson Collection) is a silver glitter peppered with fuchsia glitter:
Picture taken in sunlight. (The silver may look darker here than in real life, but I just had to pick a photo with the least amount of glare. And view this in full size!) The glitter is relatively fine for a glitterbomb, so the formula actually went on really smoothly. I was expecting to do three coats like usual but I was able to get away with just two, since the glitter is dense. I was both surprised and glad for that since I avoided having to do a really thick mani. Even though I don’t usually wear polishes for more than three days, I can imagine this would hold up well since it’s a relatively thin glitter mani. With a single coat of Poshe the surface doesn’t turn out completely glassy smooth, but far from rough or bumpy. This is predominantly silver and the fuchsia is just barely sprinkled in there, but even in such a small amount it really pops. It does wonders to break up what would be a plain silver finish. I may have been imagining things as I applied this but I thought I saw a little bit of turquoise glitter in there too. Despite the polish being all-glitter, the sparkle factor is delicate; it looks amazing in the sun. I paired this with Sephora by OPI Just a Little Dangerous on my toes.
<3sarah
I started my Olympic manis with a gold, and I’m also ending with a gold. After all the polishes with brushed metallic finishes, I wanted my last to be something more festive. 🙂 China Glaze Blonde Bombshell (Eye Candy, Winter 2011) is a mix of yellow gold glitter in a clear base:
Picture taken in sunlight. Like the rest from this collection, this is a glitterbomb that can build to opacity on its own. I used three coats, with the first going on pretty sheer, then becoming totally opaque by the third. It’s a thick-looking mani, but that’s to be expected. The formula gets thicker as you continue to work with it (at least if you’re using your bottle for the first time), so if you’re the type to complete a mani one hand a time, the first coat on your first hand will be considerably more sheer than the first coat on your second hand. After one coat of Poshe the finish feels a little rough, but its not a topcoat-eater. Suspended in the clear base is a mix of fine glitter and tiny hexagonal glitter. The hexagonal pieces are nowhere near the size of hexagonal sequins but they’re big enough to provide a noticeable contrast to the fine glitter, creating a more dimensional finish. While this isn’t my preferred shade of gold (it’s very, very yellow-toned), I love the sparkle factor and the jewel-encrusted look. I paired this with Sally Hansen Purple Pizzazz (Xtreme Wear) on my toes.
One thing I loved during these Olympics (aside from all the sports, of course) was seeing the female athletes show the love for their country on their nails! Whether it was simply using the colors of their flag or more elaborate designs, it was great to see nail polish used to display national pride. 😀
<3sarah
While the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee are going on, I thought it would be absolutely fitting to wear China Glaze Lorelei’s Tiara (Eye Candy, Winter 2011), a silver glitter with sky blue hexagonal glitter in a clear base:
Picture taken in sunlight. It’s been a couple of months since I’ve even worn a glitter like this, so I had to get reacquainted with this type of formula. I put down a relatively sheer first coat for the additional coats to hold on to, then I added two more coats. The formula can get thicker as you work with the polish, but it’s not difficult to work with. I don’t mind having it not completely glassy smooth, so I only used one coat of Poshe (this alone already makes for a very thick mani so I can’t imagine adding more layers of topcoat.) It’s probably because I haven’t worn a glitterbomb in a while, but I can’t stop looking at my nails! This polish is gorgeous and sparkly like diamonds. 🙂 I really can’t help making the association; it does look ornate and glamorous. I love the pops of blue glitter, it breaks up the plain silver, giving the finish a unique and more dimensional look. I paired this with China Glaze Dorothy Who? on my toes.
<3sarah
Haus of Polish 