On my last trip to San Antonio, my salon manicurist (who does great pedicures), told me about a nail supply store in the middle of nowhere, so I went to check it out. It was like I died and went to Heaven - I wish I had taken pictures. The small shop was stuffed full of nail polish - everything from OPI to China Glaze... and oh the China Glaze. They had so many bottles of old polish (dusties) but the newest items looked to be the Up & Away, and they didn't have many bottles of it. I grabbed this bottle because I'm a sucker for blue flashed whites but it wasn't until I got outside that I realized this was a sheer. China Glaze Tease is from the Blush collection and is not big 3 free, but I don't mind that. However, if you're looking for a big 3 free polish, I do believe this is a dead on dupe for their color Rainbow. I'll have to comparison sometime.
I used a base of Seche Natural, 3 coats of Tease and a top coat of Seche Vite. The color is very sheer but as you can see in the sun, you do get the blue flash. The formula on this was great - not runny or thick despite the original layer of dust on my bottle.
If you catch the light properly, you can see all the blue flash. However, if you angle your nails, you get this:
A whole lotta nothing. However, I bet this would look great over black, or really it's a nice understated color - might go well as a french manicure too.
In the shade, you also get that blue flash.
China Glaze Endurance is the last of the 3-piece "Fight Like A Woman" breast cancer awareness set launching in September. China Glaze says it's a raspberry shimmer but to me, it looks just like the 2009 Summer Days glass fleck collection. I was a little surprised by this color - it's not a traditional pink that you'd see for BCA, but at the same time, it's a nice unique color for both fall and just in general.
I found the formula on this one to be a little thick as well but I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the heat in my house. I'm going to have to check a few more bottles in my house to see.
I used a base of Seche Natural, 3 coats of Endurance and a top coat of Seche Vite.
You can see that glass fleck in the sun, and just a tiny bit of VNL although it's always hard to tell with nubbins.
In the shade it looks a bit more like a shimmer but overall I'm quite happy with this color. It's not as red as Cherry Pie but I do want to see how it stacks up with Raspberry Festival (both from the Summer Days collection). I'll let you know!
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
China Glaze Empowerment is the lone creme from the "Fight Like A Woman" breast cancer awareness collection, launching in September. It's listed as a cotton-candy creme which is pretty accurate. It also reminded me a little of Pepto-Bismol pink, which by the way, I love that stuff.
I did find my formula to be a little thick but a few drops of thinner will help that. I am not a nail tech or professional so take my advice how you want it, but I DO NOT advice using nail polish remover to "thin" a polish. Nail polish remover is meant to REMOVE polish... not to just thin in. I have both Zoya "renew polish rejuvenator" from the Color Lock system, and you can purchase a bottle of generic thinner from beauty supply stores like Sally's.
I used a base of Seche Natural, 2 coats of Empowerment and topped with Seche Vite. Like I said the formula seemed a little thick to me but in my sun picture, it looks like I may have a bald spot too? I'm about halfway through my Seche Natural but I may start using my new bottle and just mix it with the old.
After my nasty nail break the other week, I'm still trying to get my nubbins to grow out. They are getting there! I need to do some buffing too - I can see my ridges from a mile away (I'm probably the only one though). You can see in the sun that the pink is nicely reflected and the formula is smooth.
Shade picture - the color looks a bit blueish washed out to me, but it's not - it's just really sunny in the background. It was 106 degrees today when I went to take pictures. Blah!
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
I recently had two more posts over at Beauty Debutante - one on a tanning lotion and another you've seen here on Polish Galore... a neutral nail polish ^_^ Please feel free to read, comment, share, and most of all, enjoy!
A little over a month ago, I started using Dermelect Launchpad as my base coat. The product says it hydrates and strengthens nails, resists chipping and splitting, increases integrity and cohesion of the nail plate resulting in natural flexibility and increased moisture and actively removes harmful free radicals most commonly associated with nail damage. I also wanted to see if it would help my nails grow faster.
I've been under a lot of stress these past 30 days, including three very bad breaks to my nails that couldn't have been avoided. However, as a whole, my nails were definitely stronger than normal. I didn't have any problems with chipping or splitting but I can't say that they grew any faster - which wasn't a claim of the company anyway. Overall, I am happy with this product as far as a strengthener, but I don't feel that I would replace my base coat completely just yet.
Dermelect Cosmeceuticals products are available on their website [official website].
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
