China Glaze - Harvest Moon

China Glaze - Harvest Moon - Bottle

Today I want to share with you one of my most favorite polishes ever from China Glaze: Harvest Moon. This polish is not getting the attention it should, it is so amazingly beautiful and sparkly. I love it so much I never use it out of fear of my bottle finishing.. I really want to get a spare bottle for this one. It's utterly gorgeous~

It was launched last year for The Hunger Games collection Autumn 2013. You couldn't wish for anything more autumn than this! This is the perfect copper, much more beautiful and unique than China Glaze Awe of Amber, which I believe is a core collection polish. It's also great for Christmas, it's like a sparkling ginger cookie or a delicious trifle pudding!

And speaking of ginger, that reminds me. If anyone is familiar with China Glaze - Ginger, launched with the 50 Glitters Limited Edition collection, this is the exact same shade of copper, just a different kind of finish (Ginger is a glitter, this is a shimmer). I am lucky to have both, and love them both very much, but Harvest Moon is the nicest!

Harvest Moon 80621 is a warm copper brownish shimmer/glassfleck. Yes, glassfleck! I am quite sure, it glows the same way my other glassflecks do. Ugh, love it.




Application is brilliant as well. My swatches are 2 perfect coats. It's really pigmented. I think could get away with 1 coat if you apply more generously. It dries up shiny by itself, but looks even better with a top coat to bring more depth to all that shimmer ans shine.

Well, let's go on to the pictures then. They quite speak for themselves, really. Please ignore the imperfection on my index, it can hardly be seen, but my camera likes to magnify anything that shouldn't be there.. Grrmpff~

There was no sun today, it's been raining all day! So no bright sunny shorts. So you can imagine, it's even more shiny under the sunlight! All pictures taken with one layer of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat.

I understand the pictures look different in color, but ALL are color accurate! The color looks a bit different depending on the light. For best color reference, these first two shots are best.

China Glaze - Harvest Moon  Natural light

China Glaze - Harvest Moon - Natural Light

And here are some shots under artificial light, you can see the shimmer/glassflecks better.

China Glaze - Harvest Moon - Artificial Light

China Glaze - Harvest Moon - Artificial Light

And to give you a better idea how it looks in everyday life when you wear it, some hand shots. Both shots are color accurate, just depends on the light you are in. The second picture is pretty much what it looks like indoors, a beautiful warm copper. Under natural light (cloudy sky..) it gets more ginger. I know it's confusing. Just trust me when I say that if you like copper, you NEED this.

China Glaze - Harvest Moon - Natural light - Full hand shot

China Glaze - Harvest Moon - Shade - Full hand shot

I keep thinking of this cute farming game I love to play, it goes by the same name: Harvest Moon. Hehee.. Great name, great color, great application. I honestly can't get enough of this. What do you think?

China Glaze - Exotic Encounters

This week I'm wearing a polish from last year's autumn collection by China Glaze. It's a collection I really like, it's called On Safari, and the colors do match this theme very well. This one is called Exotic Encounters. It's the only green in the collection, so of course, this one definitely had my name on it.























Exotic Encounters - It's a little dark for me so I don't wear it too often, but it sure is pretty. It's a very warm teal color that has a very dusty quality about it. It reminds me of pine forests, and also the mossy, mysterious shades under a really thick canopy of oak and beech trees. It's a beautiful warm color for autumn, but also makes a great color for Christmas. I love autumn colors, and I am totally in the mood for them right now!

Don't be deceived by the bottle color, it's totally off, I'm telling you! It's much darker/warmer/greener than it appears. Usually cremes dry up a tad or two darker, but this one really is a whole world of difference. It looks pretty light and very dusty in the bottle. But it is totally not, it's much darker and warmer once applied on the nail and dried properly.

China Glaze - Exotic Encounters - Under the sun 

The beautiful creme texture of this polish applies like a dream, it's just right. I could almost do with 1 coat, but I prefer to use 2 thinner coats for a more even finish. It's really pigmented and evens out beautifully, dries up shiny, though of course for me, I still prefer to add a top coat, it just looks prettier and lasts better. One important note to add though: removal is somehow pretty touch and messy and there is some mild staining involved. That was with 1 layer of base coat, maybe 2 layers of base coat will be a good idea for this one.

Overall, it's a wonderful color and the formula is fantastic. My pictures are made under the bright sunlight, and they are pretty color-accurate! It's really how it looks when you wear it. But the bottle shots at the top of this post are both made in the shade so you can use that as a reference to how dark it can looks on the nails when you are indoors.

China Glaze - Exotic Encounters - Sun

I love how forest-y and green it looks here *love*

Sorry about the wear-out on some nails. I could only take sunny shots outside in the park during my lunch break, so they endured a bit of scratches and chips already. It's really hard for me to find opportunity to get sunny shots! And it doesn't mean the polish wears badly, I didn't mean this mani to last really long so I left them a bit oily from treatment before applying my polish. And my nails are still very fragile and thin, so it chips easily. So no worries, it's just as durable as any other China Glaze polish.

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Exotic Encounters and Your Present Required - After a day of wearing this, I felt like trying my new glitter on Exotic Encounters. That's Your Present Required from this year's Christmas collection. For a full review on this glitter, you may click here.

I think the combination goes really well! It brings out the blue in Exotic Encounters more somehow, making it look more blue-toned than it really is, and even more dusty. What do you think? Here are the pictures, all made under artificial lighting.

China Glaze - Exotic Encounters and Your Present Required - No top coat

China Glaze - Exotic Encounters and Your Present Required - With top coat

China Glaze - Exotic Encounters and Your Present Required - With top coat

China Glaze - Exotic Encounters and Your Present Required - With top coat

Looks a little darker than the real thing in the full-hand shot, but at least you got an idea what it looks like when worn indoors. It's not that dark, really. ^_^

And.. it's weekend Hmm.. what shall I put on my nails this weekend? I guess you'll find out soon!

China Glaze - Towel Boy Toy - Pedicure

I'm wearing this older polish on my toes this weekend. It's called Towel Boy Toy, oh boy, I hate that name. But I like the color, it makes me so happy! It's from the summer 2010 Poolside collection, an all-neon collection. I have read many review on this collection and the most outstanding problem is that the polishes are all really sheer.


Towel Boy Toy 80950 - Well, this one definitely is sheer. It's the only one I own from the Poolside collection, I was not keen on them because of the formula but I loved this blue so much from other people's swatches, I gave it a shot. I used 3 thin layers for the below shots. Because I wear it on my toes, 3 layers is all right, but for the fingernails I think 4 would be better, as if you look closely there are still some small patches visible. No one is going to look at your toes so closely, so 3 layers is fine for me!

China Glaze - Towel Boy Toy

Formula is, well, not very good, but with a good top coat it looks very pretty, the color is just really nice and I don't mind the trouble. It's a shimmer, and the kind of blue is just so beautiful! If only the formula was better.

It's pretty watery, and you need to be cautious you don't flood your cuticles. Also, it dries very bumpy, so you definitely need a good top coat to make it look smooth and shiny. As it is a neon, it dries up matte, I don't recommend ever wearing this without a top coat! Here's a picture of it without any top coat, it just shows it's kinda awful. The color is a bit off in this shot as it was made under bad lighting. But just to give you the rough idea.

China Glaze - Towel Boy Toy - No top coat

Towel Boy Toy is a beautiful light blue, and it's bright! Not a true neon, but it's really georgeous and I like the shimmer. Below for you a comparison with other sky-blue colors, which shows you just how different it is from the usual sky-blue colors. Left to right: Splish Splash (cobalt blue shimmer), Towel Boy Toy (light blue shimmer), Sky-high Top (medium blue shimmer).

China Glaze - L-R: Splish Splash, Towel Boy Toy, Sky-high Top.

China Glaze - Towel Boy Toy - Sunlight - With top coat

Here are the end results, you see it looks pretty nice with a proper top coat! Can't see any of those rough bumps and lumps anymore! And the shimmer is coming out nicely. Below picture is really color-accurate! I used 1 layer of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat. It's amazing isn't it, that the above bumps are covered up perfectly with just 1 coat of top coat. I applied it when it was still a little wet, so the whole layer evens out a bit better.

Below picture shows you the shimmer inside. The color is a little darker in real life. Ugh, such a gigantic toe.. Excuse the bubbles, they're from the top coat, and they're not visible with the naked eye until you make a close-up picture!

China Glaze - Towel Boy Toy - Sunlight - With top coat

Here's one more picture of my foot..  This is made in the shade! I like this kind of colors for pedicure. And blue tends to discolor your nail, if it's your toes it's not so bad, not as bad as when it's your fingernails.

China Glaze - Towel Boy Toy - Shade

Do you like this color? Do you have any colors from the Poolside collection? How do you find the application?

China Glaze - Sunsational - Too Yacht to Handle

China Glaze - Too Yacht to Handle - Sunlight

This weekend I would like to share this pretty aqua green polish with you from the Sunsational collection.

Too Yacht To Handle - 81213 - The color is that of a beautiful aqua/light turquoise. It's not really a neon, but it is really bright. I'm glad it's not more neon, I like the shade just the way it is.

The application is pretty good, but it dries fast and you can't brushstroke the same area again, you got to wait until it dries a little and then add a new layer, or you'll drag the polish and bare patches will appear. I needed 3 coats for full coverage, some nails needed 4. But I must say I used quite thin coats so 3-4 is all right. As you can see from the pictures it's not thick or messy, it's a neat, thin and flat layer. With a top coat everything evens out just nice. If you use too generous coats you'll get a lot of dragging and it'll be messy. I think this is because it dries very fast. Maybe a bit tricky if you've just started painting your own nails, but I found it pretty all right to work with. It's a creme/neon formuls after all.

I really love this, I keep looking at my nails! I think the color is suitable for all seasons too! During winter you could do some Konad stamping with snow flakes, I bet that would look pretty cool.








I didn't make pictures of this polish without top coat, but if you're keen to see what the finish is like, please view Highlight of my Summer or That's Shore Bright. It's the same kind of finish.

China Glaze - Too Yacht to Handle - Sunlight

China Glaze - Too Yacht to Handle - Sunlight

My label is off-centre! *sobs* I think this color is comparable to colors like Aquadelic. Or maybe a brighter version of For Audrey. I don't own any of those so I can't do a comparison. This is my first true aqua! I've seen comparisons with For Audrey though and it looks really dusty next to Too Yacht to Handle! Which reminds me, if you see this bottle in the shop, don't be deceive by the bottle color, it is much more muted and dusty than it is once applied to your nails! It's so much more lively and bright once applied, trust me!

China Glaze - Too Yacht to Handle - Sunlight

I love this series so much. I am still really tempted to get Sun of a Peach too, Bottoms Up looks nice too. *musst.. control..*

If you are keen to see my other 2 colors from this series:
For a full review of Highlight of my summer here.
For a full review of That's Shore Bright here.

Have a great Sunday ahead!

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Christmas 2013

China Glaze's Christmas collection for 2013 is called Happy Holiglaze, a bit of a silly name, but somehow it suits China Glaze. The Christmas gift sets this year are also gorgeous! I am on a bit of a budget for nail polish right now. However I have allowed myself to get 1 color from the new China Glaze Christmas 2013 collection, (for now hah...)

Update: I have now gotten my second bottle from this collection. It's called Just Be-Claws, and you can find the review here.

I have seen some colors that have drawn my attention (All wrapped up, Bells will be Blinging), but I decided to get Your Present Required, which has caught my eye immediately ever since I saw the promo shots appear back in august. I am usually not that bothered about China Glaze glitters, especially many of the recent launches, but this one.. I just love the color combi, it's so spectacular and pretty! Totally after my liking. So I ordered this baby, and I was not disappointed! Less talk, on to the polish!

Your Present Required 81395 - This is a glitter explosion in a clear base formula. There is so much to see and find inside of this glitter! A little treasure box! This is going to be a long list, but here goes: I see large hexagonal glitters in bight blue, purple (can't call it fuchsia, it leans more purple than pink), copper, gold and white, and also some sparse really big white ones. I also see small hexagonal glitters in white, gold, green, pink, silver and copper. Then there is some teensy tiny glitter inside too in gold and white. I might have still missed out on something else hiding in there!

China Glaze - Your Present Required

China Glaze - Your Present Required

The application is pretty fantastic, glitters are picked up very easily, I applied 2 thin coats right on top of each other for below swatches (didn't wait to dry so I can move them around after my liking). They spread out very nicely and evenly, and with 1 top coat your nails feel reasonably smooth. Zero sticking-out-glitter (you know what I mean). Drying time pretty decent too, and it doesn't drag the base coat even though I applied it when my base coat was still quite wet.

Removal.. well.. it's still a glitter, so you can imagine yourself =P You'll have to soak it a bit and then scrub hard. And off course, glitter everywhere after removing it! On your clothes, your floor, your pet's fur, your husband's clothes.. you get the general idea.

I think if you wanted to, you could apply multiple layers and make an almost full coverage with just glitter, but I prefer to layer it over some nice colors. Easier to remove afterwards too! To show you how it looks over different colors, I have made a skittle mani! I used as much variety with colors I thought might be nice or interesting to see. I absolutely love this glitter, it goes well with so many colors! I'm very happy I got this over all the other nice colors available for Christmas this year.

Here are some shots of all colors together that I've tried it on, gives you a bit of an overview. I applied this polish in the evening, so no sun. These two pictures were made the next day, so there is some chipping around the cuticles. I am sorry about that, but they are so much more true to color under the sun!

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Skittle under the sun

China Glaze - Your Present Required  - Skittle under the sun

All below photos are made under artificial light without flash. All are finished with 1 layer of China Glaze Fast Dry Top Coat.

Your Present Required over Pink - I think this goes well together, but I would probably not wear it again. It doesn't make the purple and pink glitters stand out enough. A lighter pink might be better. Looks nice overall, but I just want to see more of the glitters.

I used China Glaze - Fuchsia Fanatic for this swatch. For a full review of this color, you may click here.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Pink

Present Required over Yellowgreen - I love this combination very much, the pink/purple looks so sweet on this soft mossy coat of green. Like a colorful pebble. Very fantasy/fairy tale-like! Truly love it.

I used Trendsetter for this swatch. I really love this color. I have done a full review on this color, you may view it here.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Trendsetter

Your Present Required over Green - I love love love this! Just as much as the previous one with Trendsetter. I know, I'm prejudiced because I love greens. But I think purple and pink go so well with green, and I really love this combi. Like sea jewels on a bed of weeds. All colors of the glitter come out really nicely too. I will definitely wear this again as a full mani.

Hmm.. what's with that stray blue glitter at the edge of my nail, what are you doing there?

I used China Glaze - AGRO for this swatch. I have not done a full review yet, but I want to! This is a beautiful dark green shimmer from the 2012 Hunger Games collection, released last year's autumn.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Green

Your Present Required over Yellow - Hmm, no this is not really my cup of tea. Doesn't really compliment the glitter well enough. Maybe a brighter yellow would've looked slightly better.

I used China Glaze - Lemon Fizz for this swatch. For a full review of this color, you may click here.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Yellow

Your Present Required over Orange - I am not very happy about this combi.. somehow the orange really makes the blue glitters stand out, and it takes away the overall 'soft' feel that the whole combination of glitters gives me. However I am sure some people will love this glitter on orange. I think it will have similar effect when worn on bright reds. For me, I like the pink/purple hue of this glitter, so I want to see more of that when I wear it.

I used China Glaze - Free Love for this swatch. This is a color from the Retro autumn collection some years ago. It's a metallic shimmer in a beautiful brown-leaning orange.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Orange

Your Present Required over Lilac - I think this is a really good combi, the light creme color ensures every little glitter jumps off your nail. It is a little too sweet for me, but I think it's quite pretty.Very nice for a winter manicure. I think it would look even better on a lightblue creme, like an ice queen! I'm sorry about the tiny bubbles, I didn't notice them until seeing the close-ups after transferring them.

This thumb always looks so messy too because of the uneven cuticle, no matter how much I trim it, it's really stubborn and magically crawls back in a couple of minutes. Grr!

I used China Glaze - Sweet Hook for this swatch, for a full review of this color, you may click here.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Lilac

Your Present Required over Purple - I quite like it on this medium purple, but it does make the beautiful purple glitters less obvious which is a bit of a shame. If using purple, maybe it is better to use a more different shade of purple to make the glitters stand out more. This one makes the whole thing a little dull somehow. I am sure it will look beautiful on true blues as well, but I had to choose! (only 10 fingers >.<)

I used China Glaze - Gothic Lolita for this swatch, for a full review of this color, you may click here.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Purple

Your Present Required over Light Blurple - I like this combi a lot, the harmony between the different glitter colors is maintained but it blends in with the background very nicely! I don't like it when one of the glitters stand out too much, it's the balance of the different colors that makes this glitter so lovely and I want to do everything to maintain that.

I used China Glaze - Fancy Pants for this swatch, for a full review of this color, you may click here.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Blurple

Your Present Required over Brown - The combi goes well, but like with the orange, I see too much blue. I want to see more pink and purple glitter, which is kind of camouflaged by this color. Something lighter would probably work better, I'm thinking maybe Harvest Moon. But this is actually quite nice, the longer I wear it the more I like it. Like a gem-filled rock.

I used China Glaze - Goin' my way for this swatch. I have not done a full review of this color. It's from the  Vintage Vixen 2008 Autumn collection, the same collection that brought us Ingrid! It's a brown metallic, I don't really wear this by itself but I use it for layering with similar colors.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - brown

Your Present Required over Black - This is a bit dark for me, but I still really like how this turns out. Looks a little like the galaxy!  Though I wouldn't really wear this so fast (I usually don't wear black much, too dark for me, and this one is really jet black!) I think it looks great!

I used China Glaze - Smoke and Ashes for this swatch. I have not done a full review on this color yet, though planning to. It's a really deep black shimmer with fine green glass flecks inside. It's from the 2012 Hunger Games collection.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Black

Your Present Required over Dark Blurple - I've done this separate swatch on Bizarre blurple a few days back to try out, since I was wearing this color as a mani. I think it's great! Where the black looks a bit too dark for me, wearing it over this dark purple gives the same 'galaxy-like' effect but a bit softer, not so stark black. I might even wear this again! Nice big photo, so you can admire all the sparkle =X

I used China Glaze - Bizarre Blurple for this swatch. You may find the full review of this color here.

China Glaze - Your Present Required - Dark Blurple

Your Present Required over Teal - I think it goes really well with teal, don't you think? Pretty Christmas-sy too! Even if it is a little dark, it complements the glitter really well.

I used China Glaze - Exotic Encounters for this swatch. I did this as a full manicure, you may find the full review here.

China Glaze - your Present Required - Teal

I must admit the glitter colors are not that Christmas-sy, but the shades are lovely for snowy and cold days, especially when worn on snowy colors like blue and purple!

This was kind of a try, I haven't really seen people swatch a glitter like this, but I hope this review was useful for you in deciding whether or not to get this beauty and to see the different looks you can create with this glitter.

My favorite combi's are: Trendsetter, AGRO, Bizarre blurple, Exotic Encounters, Fancy Pants, and though I may not wear them again, I think the brown, lilac and black are really nice too.

Not as nice: Bright pink and medium purple.

Failures: Orange and Yellow.. major failures!

Are you buying any shades from Happy Holiglaze for your friends as Christmas gifts? Or any going to be on your own Christmas wishlist?

China Glaze - Bizarre Blurple

I was a little disappointed with this year's China Glaze Halloween collection, didn't get any of them. But it made me dig up a color from last year's 2012 Halloween collection Wicked. It is called Bizarre Blurple! Even though this type of color is not that unusual, and I have several like this from other brands, this one is really nice and has a good formula. I usually wear this one on my toes because it is a little dark, but it is very nice on finger nails as well, especially shorter ones!

China Glaze - Bizarre Blurple - Flash

Bizarre Blurple 80784 - This is a beautiful blurple, it is a very deep, warm, magical shade. It's a shimmer packed with tiny fine microglitters in blue and red. Don't worry, that sounds more funky than it is, the shimmer blends in beautifully and gives the color more depth, especially in the sun!

It tends to look a little bit metallic to me as well, but it isn't truly. I applied 2 layers for these pictures. The second one a bit more generous than the first one. It dries quite fast, dries up shiny by itself, but I recommend a top coat to make the depth created by the shimmer come out better. It's pretty easy to apply, just tends to flood cuticles if you're not careful, as the formula tends to be a little runny, but nothing bad. Nice, well pigmented polish.

I was only able to get the color out my using flash, all those without flash look way too blue! But the flash makes it a bit more glittery than it really is. Actually, my most true-to-life shot is one of my toes.. That one shows the finish best too. Here you go, my toetsies in the grass:

China Glaze - Bizarre Blurple - Under the direct sunlight

I love to use this glitter from The Face Shop on Bizarre Blurple. It's called Face it - BL601, for a full review you may click here. You don't notice it much but it gives it a little extra. It shows very clear on pictures, but when worn, it blends in nicely with the purple base and gives the overall look a nice color-shift. I have added it on my big toes in above shot. And below I added it as a detail to my index finger.

China Glaze - Bizarre Blurple and Face Shop Face it BL601

Above bottle for Bizarre Blurple shows just how much it glows, and how the color shifts inside the polish from blue to purple. Taken with flash.

China Glaze - Bizarre Blurple 80784


















China Glaze - Bizarre Blurple - Without Flash

Here you can see just how blue it looks when I take pictures without using flash. When you wear it it looks purple! I promise! Please do NOT use this shot as a color reference, I have just added it here to show you the blue shift. 

China Glaze - Bizarre Blurple - Flash

You see? Here it looks purple again! I took about a hundred shots for this color. These are my best, and they're not great either. I'm really sorry about that. It is so hard to photograph this color.

As always, I want to show you my full-hand shot. it looks a little dark in the shade (no flash), but this'll give you a pretty good idea of how it would look in the shade, and how dark it can look. Looks much more purple under the sun right? It's lovely either way.

China Glaze - Bizarre Blurple - Shade

Do you have this color? Do you like it?