I feel like I haven't shown a new release China Glaze in ages! Here is China Glaze- What A Pansy from the Spring 2014 City Flourish collection.

I read so many mixed reviews on polishes from this set that I was initially going to pass over the whole thing.  However, I kept seeing this color, and it really grew on me!  It's supposed to have one of the better formulas of the collection, so let's find out!



What A Pansy is a cool-toned lavender creme.  I guess it could also be described as a purple-leaning periwinkle, although I think in most light this looks more purple than blue.

Artificial light, two/three coats:




Window-filtered daylight:


Outside, shade:



Formula: It's on the thinner side, but thick enough to avoid running away into the cuticle. I think the texture is really nice! It flows over the nail and self-levels quite a bit. During the second coat, if you're not quick enough, you might get dragging at the cuticle, but it doesn't drag bald patches through the previous layer- just the new wet coat. So, on those nails I used three coats to fix the thinner areas. If you're more careful than me, two coats is pretty opaque!

It also didn't self-level as readily at the sides of my nails during the second coat.  All that said, this is a pretty decent formula, and I'm happy I picked this one up.



Quick Comparison Time!

left to right: Color Club- In The Limelight, Butter London- Giddy Kipper, China Glaze- Fancy Pants, China Glaze- What A Pansy, China Glaze- Tart-y For The Party, Essie- Using My Maiden Name

I have a few periwinkles and cool-toned lavenders.  Not all of these are straight cremes, but the ones that have shimmer might give you a frame of reference.





No dupes here for What A Pansy! It's considerably cooler than its lavender cousins, China Glaze- Tart-y For The Party and Essie- Using My Maiden Name.  The three polishes on the left I consider true periwinkles, and the three on the right I see as more purple- solidly in lavender territory.

I didn't realize how close Butter London- Giddy Kipper and China Glaze- Fancy Pants were until I took these photos. The shimmer in the two differs more than is apparent in the photos since there is no top coat; Fancy Pants' shimmer is slightly chunkier and more obviously pink.