
Hello guys! I intended for this post to go up yesterday, but you know, life.
Anyway, I'm excited to throw a couple posts up this weekend instead, and first I have the second part of the 2015 Spring China Glaze collection, Road Trip, to share with you! If you missed Part 1, it is here, and features four of the cool-toned polishes.
Let's get started! I'm kinda going to go in backwards order from the photo, because that ended up being the order in which I swatched them.
First here is the lightest pastel, China Glaze- Pack Lightly:

Pack Lightly is a borderline-neon, pastel peach-pink with maybe a hint of coral. It has the same subtle, golden microshimmer running through it that Wanderlust and Dashboard Dreamer do. This was the first polish that I knew I needed from the entire collection!
Artificial light, three coats:


Outside, shade:

Looks a lot cooler in the shade!
Formula: It has a medium viscosity, and the first coat will be sheer and streaky, but as long as you don't overwork it there are no issues with dragging or pulling. It dries to the touch quickly, and the second coat self-levels slightly better, but will still be streaky and not completely opaque.
I used three for swatches, and it's not perfect, but someone not taking photos or swatching would probably be entirely satisfied. These pastel peachy colors have notoriously difficult formulas, so I am really just happy that it didn't cuticle drag. That's a win in my book.
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Next, China Glaze- More To Explore:

More To Explore is a darker version of Pack Lightly, without the shimmer. It leans more pink than peach, but the two polishes are definitely in the same family.
This shade wasn't billed as a neon....but I really think that it is! It really confused my digital sensor, and I had to color-correct (for color and value) in post.
Artificial light, three coats:


Loved wearing this one, and it made my ghostly skin look...less ghostly.
Outside, shade:

This shade has a darker color value, but it somehow made my skin look tanner than Pack Lightly did. I love them both, but if I had to pick one, this would be it!
Formula: The viscosity is similar to Pack Lightly, but the texture is a bit more workable and self-leveling. The first coat is still streaky, but you have a little more play time in terms of positioning each stroke/ doing multiple passes. Also dries quickly, and the second coat is much more streak-free and opaque than Pack Lightly's was. I still needed three coats, but this one has a nicer formula.
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Here's the red of the collection, China Glaze- I Brake For Colour:

I Brake For Colour is a super bright, cooler-toned, pink-red creme. There is maybe a hint of coral in some light too!
Artificial light, two coats:


Outside, shade:

It does dry down slightly darker than bottle color, but it's still bright as hell. Love! (I mean I love any cool-toned, pinkish reds, so is this any big surprise?)
Formula: Hmm, strange. Medium-thick viscosity, and in order to get it to spread out on the nail, you have to load more polish than you would think on the brush. People that like to do thin coats might not like that. It's possible to overwork this polish and get cuticle drag, but it's almost like there is a learning curve with this particular texture. A couple of my nails had really poor application, and then a couple others looked really nice after the first coat, so...hmmm!
A second, thicker coat had this nearly opaque for me, and it wasn't streaky, so I chose to stick with two. Not bad, overall, if you can come to terms with thicker coats!
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Next, China Glaze- Pop The Trunk:

Pop The Trunk is a bright, red-leaning orange crelly.
Artificial light, two coats:


Outside, shade:

Formula: Nice! It has a jellyish texture, and I do think it's a true "crelly." It glides on the nail easily, and the first coat self-levels and is not streaky at all! The second coat feels really creamy as you apply it, and I left it at two so I could show you the squishiness of it!
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Here's the yellow, China Glaze- Sun's Up Top Down:

I know, I know: I'm swatching a yellow polish. What has gotten into me?!
Sun's Up Top Down is a mid-tone yellow shade with the same golden microshimmer as Pack Lightly, Wanderlust, and Dashboard Dreamer. This sort of yellow is somewhere between highlighter and mustard...maybe kind of a Crayola yellow? I don't swatch a ton of yellows, so I'm bad at conceptualizing the color!
Artificial light, three coats:


The shimmer is visible in strong light, but like the other shades that have it, it's not meant to be noticeable, I don't think. I think it helps the polish have a nice glowy-ness, though.
Outside, shade:

So, yea. This does give me slight lobster hands in some light. But, not always. I'm not sure I'll wear it much, but I might get some use out of it for nail art, maybe?
Formula: Yellows, in my experience, are a pain, but I found this to be workable and mostly self-leveling! (The first coat is not even streaky!) It is sheer, so I did need three coats to bring the VNL down to an acceptable level. The second coat doesn't level as well as the first, but doesn't drag either. The third coat is not quite opaque, but is decent. So, aside from sheerness, this is an acceptable, but not fantastic, formula.
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Finally, here is the green, China Glaze- Trip of a Lime Time:

The boyfriend thought the name on this one was hilarious...which I think is hilarious. Haha!
Trip of a Lime Time is a borderline-pastel chartreuse green creme. It definitely leans to the yellow side of things.
Artificial light, three coats:


Outside, shade:

This also brought out the redness in my skin like Sun's Up Top Down did, but nowhere near as badly. I like it more, but it's probably not my favorite chartreuse creme ever!
Formula: It has a medium viscosity, and is on the sheerer side. The first coat is workable, but streaky, and the second coat goes on smoothly but doesn't eliminate streaks. I used three for swatches, and am glad there were no pulling/ dragging issues, but wish it would have been a nice two-coater.
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That's all!
Overall: Yes, there were a few three-coaters in this group, but, formula-wise, none of these polishes struggled with dragging like pastels or brights can. So, I don't think I can complain about the formulas! I like the selection of colors, and while some may be a bit dupable, there are a couple great staples here. My favorite of these six was More to Explore!
What do you think?
This is a very cute palette for spring/summer, I love how China Glaze keeps trying to make fun things for us though I don't get the 'invisible shimmer' concept myself. I may skip these but they look gorgeous on you! :)
ReplyI love the shimmer in Pack Lightly! <3
Replybeautiful spring palette! Lime and yellow look amazing!
ReplyI really like I Brake For Color. There all very fun shades though.
Replygreat review! Honest and thorough! LOVE More To Explore and I Brake For Color the best too!
ReplyThanks! Yay, same favorites!
ReplyI agree! :)
ReplyThank you! I really want to see that yellow on someone with really deep skin...
ReplyIt's so subtle IRL, though!
ReplyCity Flourish or Off Shore? I only ended up trying one of the Off Shore polishes, the green, but liked it a lot! I remember liking City Flourish a lot though!
ReplyYea, especially after seeing some online swatches, the invisible shimmer can be a trick! Lol! And, thank you! <3
ReplyOff Shore. I picked up all but the red and dark blue from it. That collection was so very well done.
ReplyI only have the green from City Flourish, and it's pretty streaky. That seemed to be the commonality of that collection, so I'm glad I didn't pick up any other colors from it.
None of these are moving me to buy them, but you've shown them off beautifully!
Reply