Monday 17 October 2011

A date with China Glaze

You might think I believe America doesn't have nail varnishes [or lacquer as they call it] with the amounts I'm buying and emigrating with. Nail varnish has become a bit of an addiction lately, after going months without wearing any I now can't go without wearing it, but I will admit to being a bit behind the crowd when it comes to brands and having the top fashionable shades. Going to London was always the perfect excuse to top up, last time it was in buying three Models Own this time I thought I'd expand into China Glaze after working out where Sally's was along Shaftsbury Avenue. From the swatches I did in my hotel room into my note book you can see the three colours [avalanche, fifth avenue and black diamond] which are all China Glaze and the [mushroom] Model's Own. With both these brands I love the huge size bottle your getting [14ml] and the application for both is easy and buys well and fairly quick.

First I've tried China Glaze's Avalanche varnish which is a highly metallic purple silver shade. At Sally's they had China Glaze on 3 for 2 so it was the perfect excuse to test out a range of their products, additionally it comes in huge 14ml bottles so your getting a lot for your money. It applies easily and thickly [I was thinking it was like liquid gold when I was painting my nails] although a second coat finishes it off nicely the thick handle for the brush helps a lot due to it fitting nicely into the hand. Additionally I was nicely surprised how well and quickly it dried, you can see the brush strokes a little - perhaps because of the metallic edge but that might be done to my application rather then the product [who knows?!]. Nevertheless it's really shiny even before applying the top coat. I'm already eyeing up the fifth avenue colour as a potential colour for the wedding day - I think it matches some of the flowers on the dress!

I did really want to buy some OPI varnishes but I couldn't justify one at their price on top of having these four sadly.
 
What varnishes are you currently craving and adoring? What are peoples experiences with magnetic varnishes - really want to have a go with them but i've heard mixed reviews.

17 comments:

  1. These colours look great, only wish my nails were in a condition that i could paint them *hides hands in shame*. Scarlett x

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  2. Ah mine get so clipped and brittle at work scarlett its really bad x

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  3. Wow that's proper metallicy, I love it! the mushroom one is nice too. I totally agree with you on the price of OPI it's pretty extortionate, I can't help but fall in love with them though, despite the price! I hear OPI is a lot cheaper in the U.S though?

    http://thewoollenmitten.blogspot.com/

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  4. oooooh, I love China Glaze, but can't find them retail where I live. It sucks because I like looking at actual stuff before I buy them. I also LOVE butter polish, and when I was in Seattle, they had them in the airport!!! My fave brand, tho, so far is Essie and I can get it anywhere!
    ♥ laura
    the blog of worldly delights
    enter my Shabby Apple giveaway

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  5. Sara - Yeah it was like nearly £11 which I know is like the same price ish as Nails Inc but I donno, just seems a lot for nail varnish. I can imagine it might be cheaper in America, China Glaze definitely is from what i've been poking and luckily there's a Sally's right by Joe's flat so i'll be having a poke for sure!

    I'll have to look out for Essie, i've seen it around on a few blog posts before so i'll have to give it ago!

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  6. You've got beautiful nails. Is that your handwriting? I love seeing how people write.
    I'm Barry M through and through, I've been using it since the 1980s and nothing ever seems to last as well. x

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  7. That is my handwriting Vix, it's my "bestest" handwriting too - apparently it's very illegible at times I blame it on four years of lecture hall writing, but i've often renamed it spider sprawl!

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  8. I love metallic varnishes, they look great x

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  9. These colors are really beautiful. I love metallics. I have recently been painting my nails and covering one finger in glitter. The sparkle always makes me happy.

    I am going to email you a site that I hope helps you with converting American recipes.

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  10. Ah thank you sunny&star that will be really helpful!

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  11. I love wearing nail varnish, but I hate the fact that after 2 days I have to take it off and redo because it has chipped or my nails have started to grow, which make it look weird. The problem is that I always buy cheap stuff, so maybe I should try something else.

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  12. I hate that too Jade, my nails get through some hell at work at lot of the time so they start clipping within a day. Luckily i'm up to day three on the China Glaze and it's pretty much going strong.

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  13. lovely colors, and im jealous of your nails. i have a bad biting habit :( haha so i always go to the salon to get them done. but i told myself i wouldnt do that anymore so well see how it goes. dont worry, america has plenty of nailpolish :)

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  14. ooo i like that color! haven't tried china glaze polishes yet--but im going to look for some now:)

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  15. I love those nail varnish colours :) You hand writting is so neat, mine looks like 5 year olds haha Xx

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  16. Hehe that i'm glad Nadin! i'll be trying out all the American brands for sure!

    cheers Claire, I often think my writing is really bad, loads of people have problems reading it because it kind of just all links together!

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  17. Don't worry, I always take too much nail polish, too :)

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