Monday, April 13, 2009

China Glaze Summer 2009 Kicks Collection

Like past China Glaze collections, Kicks is broken up into two parts. Usually it's a warm and a cool palette, but this time I don't understand the distinction between set 1 and set 2. Colors and nearly-identical pinks and oranges? Meh, who knows.




B-Girlz. Pink shimmer.




Breakin'. Light orange shimmer.




Custom Kicks. Teal with gold shimmer. WARNING: This picture is not accurate. In my picture it looks like an electric blue, but in real life it is a darker, less neon-looking teal with rich gold shimmer. I tried my best, but my camera wouldn't pick it up.




Entourage. Light green shimmer.





Fly. Purple shimmer.




It's Poppin'. Pink shimmer.





Laced-Up. Pink creme.




Oh How Street It Is. Red-orange creme.




Paper Chasing. Sheer green shimmer.




Sky High Top. Blue shimmer.



Sneaker Head. Light reddish creme.



Style Wars. Jelly-ish orange creme.



This is a collection of shades that are bright without being neon. They're not terribly bright, actually... They're more colorful and vibrant than bright. These are fun shades but they're not notice-me-from-a-mile-away shades.

I'm really happy to see some oranges! The thought never crosses my mind until I see an orange polish, but we really don't see a whole lot of orange polish being released. I love orange, and these are really great oranges.

I'm also extremely happy to see two greens and two blues in this collection, but I am a bit disappointed that the greens aren't very unique. Entourage is pretty similar to Tree Hugger (they're not exact matches) and Paper Chasing is almost identical to Piggy Polish Lily's Pad. Lily's Pad seems slightly lighter, Paper Chasing a little deeper.

My favorites are Breakin', Entourage, Style Wars, Custom Kicks and Sky High Top. I would have put Paper Chasing in my top five if it hadn't been so sheer! It's a fantastic color, but China Glaze formula and multiple coats don't mix- it would take days to dry!

The formula on these is all over the place. Some are very sheer, like Paper Chasing (five coats in that picture) and Style Wars, and some are very opaque (Custom Kicks, Sky High Top). Some are thick, some are thin, a little bit unpredictable. The best formula was on the creme oranges and the blues. The worst was the pinks, especially Laced-Up- thick and stringy but runny at the same time. Drying time seemed better on these shades than on previous collections.

Overall, not a bad collection but not terribly unique. You can't go wrong with brights, especially for summer, but I would have liked to see more variation in the shades. The pinks and oranges are only a couple shades off from each other. The greens were nice, but I also would have liked Paper Chasing more if it was less sheer.

One thing's for sure- China Glaze is not afraid of color! When was the last time you saw China Glaze release a collection of boring sheers and nudes? A long time ago. They've been blessing us with amazing colors for years and I hope that doesn't change!

While this collection may not rank up there with the awesomeness of collections like Ink, Rodeo Diva, Bahama Blues, OMG, Kaleidoscope or Ski, it's still colorful, un-intimidating, fun and totally wearable.

21 comments:

  1. Entourage looks awesome, there are a couple I'd definitely like. Great swatches/enabling. :)

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  2. Thanks for sharing all of those. That is a nice collection, some great colors in there.

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  3. I like Breakin' and It's Poppin'. I'm thinking Breakin' would look pretty layered on top of CG's Japanese Koi. Paper chasing is pretty but I couldn't do 5 coats. That would drive me up the wall.

    As always I love your swatches and thank you so much for doing them. It really helps me when I'm trying to decide if I need a color (like with color club!)

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  4. I was wondering if anyone else saw the similarity between Lily Pad and Paper Chasing. As soon as I starting applying Paper Chasing I thought it reminded me of a piggy polish I have. I was too lazy to go find it since it was in my 'don't wear' box, due to the crazy sheerness.

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  5. Ooh, me likey Breakin'!! I never really expected myself to like oranges, but WOW. I love everything except for the pinks.

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  6. How Street It Is...looks like ChG Aztec Orange!

    I think my faves are: Breakin', Sky High Top and Entourage...

    TYFP! :D

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  7. I am pretty sure I need Entourage, and maybe Sky High Top. The pinks all look similar to me, but maybe my eyes are just going.

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  8. I think I might need Sky High Top and maybe Entourage.

    Hey, has anyone used the Zoya color lock system (Anchor and Armor) with China Glaze or Misa? Lately I am having horrible shrinkage using Seche Vite with ChG and Misa even if I wrap the tips. Any suggestions on an alternate quick dry topcoat that won't shrink?

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  9. Paper chasing attracts me, but I feel like I've already seen the other, actually. =/ By the way, great pictures of the polishes, Scrangie!

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  10. thank you for the swatches, scrangie!
    I have a question, is Custom Kicks similar to Shower Together? I was going to order them both but if they are similar, I'd eliminate one. Thanks!

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  11. Trincess - ST and Custom Kicks are not similar at all IMO - if I remember correct, ST is a bit darker, bluer and lacking golden shimmer.

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  12. thank you grace waste, sometimes I just can't tell from the swatches =)

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  13. I really like all the colors!! This is the first collection where I want to get all

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  14. lovely pictures!
    Are there two different versions of Fly? The other pics i've seen of it have been like a deep raspberry pink and not purpley at all. Maybe it just has to do with the cameras.

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  15. Beautiful pictures as usual Scrangie :) I'm really looking forward to getting paper chasing as I was drooling over your pictures of lily pad ;)

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  16. Beautiful pictures! I order B-girlz, It´s poppin` and Fly <3

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  17. They all look so beautiful on you. I love the greens the best. I really like the oranges. Very tempted to buy all. I'll have to refer back to your photos!

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  18. heya scrange!
    i was just wondering, are u still wearing a coupe of false nails after your blog about 2 of your nails breaking rather far down a while ago? im currently feeling that pain-ive had to cut ALL my nails and just admit defeat to all the nicks ive been getting right at the root of what had been my beautiful long natural nails. *sigh*, its tough letting go lol, now my fingers look all stubby its amazing how slender nice nails make a gal's hands look. Now i'm gonna have to start my growth process ALL over again with Nails inc treatments and of course solar oil which i used reccomended by you. it took me about 5months to get my nails as lovely as they were....visiting ur blog keeps me optimistic though lol, i'll always luv ur swatches &ur nails are 2die for!! xx

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  19. How similar is fly to OPI overexposed in south beach?

    Amazing swatches as always! No wonder i'm always broke!

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  20. Orange was the last color of polish I thought I'd buy until I saw Breakin'. Now I'm totall reformed, I gotta have it!

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  21. Clockwork, thank you :) Entourage is pretty awesome.

    Mary, you're welcome!

    Phyrra, thank you :) I was so happy to see Breakin' when I opened the box.... I need more orange!

    Anonymous, one coat of Lily's Pad over one coat of black is perfect :)

    Anonymous, haha me too! :D

    Vbie3714, ohh, I don't know if I have that one! I should get it, I love orange!

    Dee, it's not your eyes, they really are all similar. lol :)

    Firepail, oooh, I haven't used Color Lock with anything but Zoya, but I can give it a try. I have been testing some new topcoats, Jessica Brilliance is quick dry and hasn't shrunk yet, but lots of people love Nubar Diamont.

    Alexlyndra, thank you! I feel the same way... A little bored actually!

    Trincess, your icon is making me hungry :) They're not really similar, Shower Together is rich blue creme, Custom Kicks is medium teal with gold shimmer.

    Grace Waste, exactly, thank you :)

    Miss Yaya, Awesome!!

    Anonymous, it's probably the cameras/lighting. Mine is definitely purple.

    Laure, thank you :)

    Charming Nails, awesome, can't wait to see how they look on your pretty nails!

    Lucy, awe, thank you :)

    That_girl_RayRay, nope, the fake nails came off a couple days after I took the picture :) Keep taking care of and treating your nails and you'll never need to have fake ones! :)

    Alison, not too similar. Fly is a lot lighter and Overexposed is richer and more red.

    Stefi, embrace the orange, orange is awesome!

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