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Wednesday, November 5, 2014

China Glaze Twinkle Collection: Winter/Holiday 2014 - Swatches and Review

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*These products are Cruelty Free 



Hi guys! With Halloween over, you had to know the winter collections would be starting. And you were right! Today I have swatches of the China Glaze Twinkle Collection for Winter/Holiday 2014 for you.



China Glaze Twinkle Collection 

Winter/Holiday 2014




There are 12 new shades for winter, including cremes, shimmers, metallics and glitters. Definitely something for everyone!

Continued after the jump...




There are a lot of photos so let's dive right in.

Metallics and Shimmers first?

I'd Melt for You is a silver "liquid metal" chrome polish and it's the polish that surprised me the most of all 12. I've tried other ones like this and they are streaky, difficult to apply and show every little imperfection in my nails. This one is NOT like that! It's not brush-stroky, it goes on like buttah and I can't see any of the little flaws in my nails. Perfect. Two light coats and one coat of top coat.





I used No Peeking below for a quick, cute dotticure...



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No Peeking is a metallic grey-based plum shimmer. There were a few brush strokes in this one but not so many that I was distracted by it. Nice shimmer. Formula was creamy and easy to apply. Two coats with one coat of top coat.






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December to Remember is another that surprised me. I expect to find color-shifting micro-flakes in some of the really great indie polishes but not mainstream brands. This is a medium teal-leaning blue with color-shifting shimmer and micro-flakes. Shifts are violet to silver to green! It's not particularly my cup of tea in the light as the micro-flakes get a bit lost but check it out in the shade! Two coats with no top coat for this one.








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Define Good... is a rich, glowy cranberry shimmer. Formula was creamy and smooth. No issues at all to report. You will need a top coat to bring out the shimmer and glow. Two coats with one coat of top coat.





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The Cremes

Tip Your Hat is a nicely saturated cool-toned straight up true red creme. Perfect formula and application. It's a must-have staple if you like red cremes. Two coats and one coat of top coat.





Out Like a Light is a medium-to-dark grey creme. This is my favorite shade of grey because it has blue undertones rather than green undertones. That's a deal-breaker for greys with me and my cool-toned pale skin. Perfect formula. Two coats and one coat of top coat.




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The Glitters

Chillin' With My Snow-mies is a clear-based glitter polish with matte white hex glitters in various sizes. Glitters are nicely suspended in the base and lie flat on the nail. As with all larger glitters I did have to manipulate the placement a bit, but they didn't clump together and I didn't have to fish for them. Two coats over Tip Your Hat. One coat of top coat.




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De-Light is a clear-based glitter polish packed full of gold glitters and holographic short glitter bars. I think you could build this up enough to wear alone, but the base would build up with it so I've layered it over I'd Melt for You. Two coats with one coat of top coat. I think if I wear it again, I'll layer it over a darker shade with only one coat.






Shade
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Feeling Twinkly is a clear-based glitter polish packed full of sparkly blue micro-glitter. This can be worn alone as well but I've layered it (one coat) over a plain black creme with one coat of top coat. The last photo shows it alone with 4 coats and no top coat. No issues to report.





Shade

4 coats alone - no top coat to show the semi-matte finish
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Pine-ing for Glitter is clear-based glitter with green glitters and shimmers. The green is a bit muted and leans a little toward the blue/teal side of the spectrum. This one can be worn alone as well, but it takes about 4 coats and ends up on the thick side. I've layered 2 light coats over a plain black creme with one coat of top coat. The last photo shows it alone with 4 coats on the ring finger.



Shade

ring finger shows 3 coats alone
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Meet Me Under the Stars is a sheer black-tinted base with black and silver glitters. This was one of the 3 I picked as a guess on my favorites when I first saw them. This is the polish I liked the least of all 12. And it's probably because I didn't choose to layer this one over another color. I used it alone since it was opaque in 2 coats. One coat of top coat. I will reserve judgment until I can use it as a topper, but worn alone, I was not a fan. It's a bit messy and gloopy this way. I'm calling user error for now though.






It's really pretty as a glitter gradient over Out Like a Light though...




Below I've added a few white hexes from Chillin' with My Snow-mies and a few dots of Tip Your Hat for a "Winterberry" mani.


"Winterberry Nail Art"

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Dancing and Prancing is a clear-based glitter polish with multi-colored metallic glitters in various sizes. Nicely suspended in the base. No issues to report. I've layered 2 light coats over No Peeking and one coat of top coat.





Shade


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Sometimes I like to put the glitters on a makeup sponge so I can see how thick the base is, what sort of glitters are in the polish, how dense they are, whether the base is tinted, etc. As you can see, I didn't include Meet Me Under the Stars in this and I should have so I would have known to layer it.



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Well, that's all 12 - what do you think? Favorites? Stand-outs? Surprises?

For me, December to Remember and I'd Melt for You were the biggest surprises. The color-shifting micro-flakes in December to Remember is something I only expect to see in great indie brands, not mainstream brands but they did it! And it's stunning. I'd Melt for You surprised me in that I actually love it and can wear it without tons of brush-strokiness or showing all the little flaws in my nails. But my favorites, of course, were the 2 cremes. Perfect formulas and perfect shades. Yes, I have loads of red and grey cremes. But this is the perfect cool-toned true red. And as for the grey, yes I do have a couple of the exact same shade. Both are Nails Inc. Both are hard to find in the US now. Only Ulta and Sephora carry the brand here (that I know of) and they never have those shades. Plus the China Glaze formula and price points are both better.

China Glaze® is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.

China Glaze® nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, please visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook (@ChinaGlazeOfficial), Twitter (@ChinaGlazeOfficial) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/chinaglaze).

Don't forget, specialty gift sets and nail art kits are also available...

The China Glaze® Twinkle collection also features seasonally-inspired gift sets including:
  • Glow in the Snow: De-Light, Out Like a Light, and Meet Me Under the Stars with a mini LED flashlight (MSRP $22.50)
  • Bringing in the Season: Define Good…, Dancing & Prancing, and No Peeking! with a bright purple pouch (MSRP $22.50)
  • Reflect on the Season: Chillin’ with My Snow-mies, Out Like a Light, and Tip Your Hat with a compact mirror in a bright red sleeve (MSRP $22.50)
  • ‘Tis the Season: Mini bottles of Define Good…, De-Light, Pine-ing For Glitter, and Feeling Twinkly (MSRP $20.00)
  • Time to be Freezin’: Mini bottles of Tip Your Hat, No Peeking!, I’d Melt for You, and Chillin’ with My Snow-mies (MSRP $20.00)
There is no better time of the year for nail art than the holidays and this season, China Glaze® makes creating the most festive designs a cinch with five Twinkle Nail Art Kits including:
  • Lights in a Tangle: Create holiday lights using De-Light, Define Good…, Pine-ing for Glitter, and Snow (core shade) with nail design thread (MSRP $30.00)
  • Trim the Tree: Decorate your nails with Christmas trees using Define Good…, December to Remember, and Paper Chasing (core shade) with nail design striping tape (MSRP $22.50)
  • Clause for Celebration: Accent your manicure with Santa’s hat using Tip Your Hat, Meet Me Under the Stars, and Chillin’ with My Snow-mies with nail design gems (MSRP $22.50)
  • Candy Can Can-Can: I’d Melt For You, Tip Your Hat, and Snow (core shade) with nail design striping tape (MSRP $22.50)
  • Sprinkle Some Twinkle: Half-moons and French tips glisten using Dancing & Prancing and No Peeking! with nail design guides (MSRP $15.00)





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6 comments :

  1. Wow, great post and pics! I love the cremes and I'd Melt for You the most but I also like Meet Me Under the Stars. Although the name Chillin' With My Snow-mies almost makes me want that one just for the name!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not a Xmas collections fanatic but this one has a couple of gems I'd love to have in my stash! No Peeking is gorgeous, and Feeling Twinkly is just stunning. Thank you for your great swatches!

    ReplyDelete
  3. damn these are pretty... i wasn't gonna buy anymore holiday polishes after buying 2 from the gwen stefani opi collection!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thankfully only 2 reds this round!
    And some great non-typical-for-the-holidays colors as well.
    Also, "nail design thread" is what exactly?

    ReplyDelete
  5. It looks like the I'd melt for you would work great for nail stamping, it's looks pretty opaque, am I correct in assuming so??

    ReplyDelete

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