Topcoat Comparisons (featuring China Glaze Luxe and Lush)

After I posted pictures of China Glaze Luxe and Lush yesterday, Maria asked if Luxe and Lush might be similar to another China Glaze glitter called Snow Globe. Today I have comparisons between China Glaze Luxe and Lush and China Glaze Snow Globe, as well as several other flakey and glitter topcoats.

The first comparison will feature Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Mint Sprint" as a base lacquer. While described as a mint, I would rather call Mint Sprint a "faded jade green". To me it doesn't really fit as a mint green- it's too dark and leans more towards teal. The topcoats featured are Orly Winter Wonderland, China Glaze Snow Globe, China Glaze Luxe and Lush, and OPI Crown Me Already (not a flakey glitter at all, just an awesome one that I wanted to include anyways!).

Here is a bottle comparison of China Glaze Snow Globe (left), and China Glaze Luxe and Lush (right):

A close-up bottle shot of Snow Globe, made up of reflective, multi-coloured, round sequin-like glitter:

And a close-up bottle shot of Luxe and Lush, which is made up of jagged, irregular flakes:

Here they are on the nail (one coat over Mint Sprint):

Left to right: Orly Winter Wonderland, CG Snow Globe, CG Luxe and Lush, OPI Crown Me Already

In the last picture it's possible to see how the particles in the two China Glaze lacquers are different shapes, but somewhat similar in colour/reflective qualities. Snow Globe also applies more uniformly, whereas Luxe and Lush is more tricky to get even. 

For the next set of comparisons, I wanted to use the holographic topcoats I own. I used American Apparel African Violet, a bright and saturated purple creme, for a base. It's so beautiful I want to post a few pictures of it alone before getting to the sparklies:

Isn't African Violet gorgeous? So incredibly shiny and pigmented. I love it- it's the perfect purple creme!

The holographic-glitter topcoats I chose to layer over it are (left to right in the swatches below): China Glaze Nova, OPI Servin' Up Sparkle, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Strobe Light, and China Glaze Fairy Dust. I totally neglected to take a bottle pic for this one, so please forgive me for that!

CG Nova is most similar to OPI Servin' up Sparkle, but the latter has large silver/holographic hexagon glitter that Nova lacks. Sally Hansen Strobe Light is slightly pinkish (more evident in person), and has more uneven, jagged holographic particles, while CG Fairy Dust is simply made up of tiny holographic specks. I won't even call it glitter, as the effect is far more subtle. 

My favourite topcoats from the first set are Luxe and Lush and Crown Me Already (which could be worn by itself, as it is quite dense and builds well). From the last set, I love OPI Servin' Up Sparkle (I'm a sucker for hex glitter), and Fairy Dust, which is so understated and pretty. 

Which of these do you like best? Do you own some of these? And more importantly, isn't American Apparel African Violet one of the best purples ever?

China Glaze Fast Track (with comparisons!)

Today I managed to get my nails on four of the new China Glaze Hunger Games polishes; check it out!

Left to Right: Harvest Moon, Luxe and Lush, Fast Track, Smoke and Ashes

I had also wanted to get Riveting, but the Sally's I went to (the only one in my city and a solid 20-25 minute drive away) was all sold out. The hilarious thing is, the woman in front of me in the line up for checkout had the last bottle. :P Isn't that always the way it goes? Anyways, we ended up having a good chat about the Hunger Games trilogy (love it!), and the lacquers from this collection, similar colours, etc... I find I'm kicking myself a little bit, because I should have passed along my contact info/blog address. It's rare when you run into someone (in person, at least) who is as crazy about lacquer as you are! We could have bonded over our mutual love of lacquer and our unreasonably large collection of polish. I suppose I still find it hard to blurt out that I write a blog about nail polish; does anyone else feel a bit of "lacquer shame" when it comes to sharing your obsession? The funny thing is, I'm totally certain this woman would have "gotten" it. Ah, missed opportunities... Anyways, let's move onto the lacquer, shall we?

I decided to try Fast Track first, which is a lovely neutral taupe with very strong yellow-gold shimmer. Application was easy, and this was two coats:

It tends to look slightly more yellow toned in ambient light (first photo), and more grey-leaning in (what remained of) the sunlight (second photo). 

I was pretty sure this would be close to a couple other polishes I have kicking around, and certainly, in some aspects it is. I swatched Fast Track next to Orly Nite Owl, China Glaze Knotty, and Sevilla Desierto Seco. 

Left to Right: Orly Nite Owl, China Glaze Knotty, Sevilla Desierto Seco

The Sevilla polish isn't similar in tone at all to Fast Track, but I threw it in anyways because it seemed to have the same strong yellow-gold shimmer in it that Fast Track has. 

Here they are on the nail: 

Left to Right: China Glaze Knotty, China Glaze Fast Track, Orly Nite Owl, Sevilla Desierto Seco

A closer look of the three most similar lacquers: 

Left to Right: China Glaze Knotty, China Glaze Fast Track, Orly Nite Owl

Knotty's base colour is definitely lighter and more yellow than the other two, although it is similar in colour to the shimmer in Fast Track. On the other hand, Nite Owl has a more similar base colour to Fast Track, but the shimmer in Nite Owl is silver whereas Fast Track has yellow-gold shimmer. 

Basically, if China Glaze Knotty and Orly Nite Owl had a baby, it would be Fast Track. ;)

I really hope this comparison was helpful! Have you picked up any of the Hunger Games lacquers? Do you think Fast Track will be among them?

Orly Nite Owl

Orly Nite Owl (Fall 2011 Birds of a Feather collection) is a polish that I spent a lot of time wavering on from the time I first saw swatches of the collection; months later I finally tracked it down, and I have it for you today.

Oops, let's try that again, shall we? 

Nite Owl is a fairly unique polish, a tan/brown-leaning taupe with strong silver shimmer (almost speckled looking). This was two coats, and the formula was perfection. Very easy to control and apply, dense and pigmented. This is a really nice neutral to have, and I'm glad I finally sprung for it. I also have Sea Gurl, Peachy Parrot, and Fowl Play from the same collection. I like them all, with Fowl Play being the most exceptional and unique one from the bunch. Certainly a collection worth taking a look at!

I'll leave you with a photo I took from my window yesterday morning; I love it when the trees have such a thick layer of frost! It is one of the few things I really look forward to during the winter months.