NOTD: China Glaze Blue Year's Eve

For a long time, I thought a sort of glittery, deep, navy blue was not for me. I had one by Sinful Colors really early on into when I started using nail polish, and I simply did not like it. I asked myself frequently - why the hell did I buy this? It's terrible, I will never wear it. However, after being gifted a navy, glittery, metallic CRACKLE polish, and getting really excited (before realizing it was a crackle) about owning the color, I decided it was time for me to set out and find one. I hated crackle so I quickly traded that in but now there was this gaping hole I had to fill in my collection.

Around this same time, the lovely ladies on Random Acts of Polish mentioned the fact China Glaze gift sets were on sale. I can't resist a deal (I really, really can't resist it) so when I saw I could buy a set of 4 polishes for around $14 (that's like...about half price!) it was hard to say no, especially when that collection included a glitter I have long wanted and an amazing blue to fill the gap in my collection.

To be honest, when it arrived I had a hard time being excited by Blue Years Eve. I mean..it was just this kinda glittery kinda metallic dark blue...what IS there to be excited about? I don't know if I would have ever gotten around to using it if I hadn't been stuck for a nail color the other day and decided it was about time for me to try out this color.

3 coats, outside. This picture captures the color best. You can see my fingers are still an absolute mess.

I was REALLY pleasantly surprised by how much I love this polish. The color has a duochrome-y-ness to it that doesn't really pick up in the bottle but is GORGEOUS on the nails. The glitter gives the color a nice depth and it's definitely glittery without being overwhelming. A friend described my nails as "looking like the outside of a car" and I would say that's a pretty good description! And it's not just blue - there's a purple twinge to it that every so often flashes through when you look at it just right. I love it - the color is so vibrant and exciting and fun to look at.

This color also looks to me like it could be a dupe for Orly Lunar Eclipse from the hard to find and extremely lovely Orly Cosmic FX collection. I've wanted that color for a long time, so it makes me happy that I potentially stumbled across a dupe! I don't own Lunar Eclipse, so I can't do a comparison, but I would definitely like to see it!

Overall, I love this blue. It made me love a color on my nails I didn't think I ever would really love and I am so glad I got it. I would definitely recommend it to others, especially if they want something glittery without it being a glitter bomb.

NOTD: China Glaze Dress Me Up

Anyone who knows me knows that I love neutrals. And by love I mean hopelessly and completely love them. I have a lot of neutrals in my collection. Two of my favorite polishes of all time are neutrals. In case you haven't guessed: I REALLY love them! Now, this isn't to say I don't love bright colors (I really do love those as well...) but nothing quite tempts me like a gorgeous neutral creme.

The other thing that I have a hard time resisting is polishes based off fandoms I love. Having recently finished the second book in the series, my appreciation for the Hunger Games and, by extension, the China Glaze Hunger Games collection is absolutely immense. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that I own about half of the collection. Hell, the first salon brand polishes I ever bought were from the Hunger Games collection! That was back when I only owned about 5 polishes too!

When Cherry Culture was having the aforementioned sale, I found myself being tempted yet again by the Hunger Games collection. And after seeing swatches of Dress Me Up, I couldn't help but love it. It's a gorgeous creme neutral, somewhere between pink and mauve and a light brown. I decided it was a must needed addition to my collection and immediately added it to my cart.

2 coats, natural light. Excuse the messy-ness/chippy-ness, I didn't get a chance to take pictures until after doing a lot of dishes...And you know, wouldn't be a post if I didn't apologize for the state of my nails

Well, I was a little disappointed by this polish. Yeah, it's a good neutral but it's not nearly as exciting as some of the others in my collection. My friend commented that it looks like something a grandmother would wear, and I can't help but agree with it. The formula is great as expected, but the color is kinda meh. I have a hard time seeing myself reaching for this polish over and over again. It's just not nearly as gorgeous as I would hope to be. I do see it as a great color for work/professional life though. Unfortunately, I'm a college kid who doesn't have to worry about those things.

NOTD: China Glaze Man Hunt

We all know what it feels like to be completely lusting after a polish for months. For me, that polish was (for the longest time) China Glaze Man Hunt. I had been looking for a blue exactly that color forEVER so when I finally saw it, it was true love. When Cherry Culture had a sale on China Glaze nail polishes, and this polish was on the site, I knew now was the time to buy it.

2 coats, with top coat and base coat, natural light. Excuse the length/state of my nails, as always. And how shittily I painted them.

This is the single best blue I have ever seen. It exceeded my expectations. It's totally vibrant and saturated but still a dark color, which isn't something you see very often. The color is GORGEOUS. As it's China Glaze, formula was lovely as always and it was perfectly opaque in two coats. I absolutely love it.

It's not often that I get compliments on nail color, but this color yielded MANY, many from people who weren't into nail polish at all. This included my boyfriend, who occasionally will note my nail color when it's one he really likes. So, if it passed the boyfriend test, it must be a great color!

I highly recommend this color. I think everyone should own it. The picture really doesn't do it justice fully. Go buy it! Right now! It's the GREATEST.