Yesterday I showed you the Blooming Brights, but today I'm happy to bring you the Pastel Petals set from the China Glaze Avant Garden collection for Spring 2013!
I'm actually a really big sucker for pastel shades, even though I don't wear them as often as I should. The only thing I don't like about pastels is that most of the time the formula will kind of suck or be streaky and annoying... I probably don't use them that often because when I don't have time to do my nails but need a polish change, I tend to just pull out my easy to apply favourites. There's nothing I hate more than trying to quickly do my nails with a polish that's crazy amounts of thick and goopy (and requires more than 3 coats!).
Anyway, I digress. Onto the polish, shall we? This collection is made up to 3 shimmers and 3 cremes. :D
Dandy Lyin' Around: This is a really pretty polish. The shimmer in this is a bit subtle because of the slightly off-white base, but I actually like it that way. It reminds me of the sun glinting off of snow (which we don't really see very often here unless we go up into the mountains). Very pretty. Unfortunately, this one is a bit sheer... I used 4 coats for the picture above. I'd definitely recommend waiting a few minutes in between each coat to avoid making bald patches. I'd definitely wear this one again, but I wouldn't whip this one out to wear if I had to do a really quick polish job.
Fade into Hue: I love this polish too. I'd describe this one as a dusty cornflower blue. I'm not sure how the colour would stand up against some of the dusty light blue Zoyas but they may be similar. Maybe. It's pretty though, and the formula was really good too. Two coats.
Keep Calm, Paint On: My second favourite from the entire collection. I have a weakness for all things mint-y and this one is no exception. I'd describe this one as a shimmery muted mint. The formula on this was good too, I used 2 coats for the picture above.
Life is Rosy: A muted mauve-y pink. This one has an antique vibe to it which I actually kinda like. Formula was good, 2 coats is shown in the photo above.
Tart-y for the Party: A pretty light purple. My photo makes it look a smidgen more blue than it is. I like purple too, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I also like this polish. One of my first polish purchases was for a colour like this (I can't remember the brand), but I remember the formula sucked. I haven't worn that polish for a while (actually, do I still even have it? Hmm...), but I know I'll be wearing this one more often. The formula is good - pictured above is two coats.
Pink-ie Promise: The third shimmer in this collection. There's super subtle pink shimmer in this polish, but my camera didn't manage to pick up any of it (that I can see). Bummer. It's still nice, although I'm not really a pink person. The formula was okay, I ended up using 3 coats for the photo above.
So, what do you think of this set? Do you prefer the brights or the pastels? I'm glad there's a bit of variety... I love pastel colours but I do have a tendency to reach for bright polishes more often. I usually don't have definite favourites in a collection (or at least have a few I can vaguely put at the top), but Fancy Pants is definitely my favourite out of the 12 polishes in this collection. I can't think of many dupes in my collection at the moment (my brain is a bit fried right now), but if you have any ideas on what might be similar feel free to ask in the comments! I'll try my best to do some comparisons between these and any other polishes that I have.
That's all for now, thank you for reading!
Marisa
these are super pretty. much better than the promo pic. keep calm is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteI agree! When I first saw the promo pic I was only really interested in Keep Calm, but when I saw them all the pastel polish hoarder in me had to have em!
DeleteThese are all so pretty.
ReplyDeleteAren't they?! I love me some pastels :D
DeleteYay Vancouver! I'd love to know where you're fav places to dusty hunt or shop are? I've recently discovered Secret Nail and I'm obsessed!
ReplyDeleteYay Vancouver! Actually, Secret Nail is my go to polish store! I'm pretty sure the girls working there recognize me as the crazy lady that goes in every few weeks to scope out new things! Maybe we'll run into each other sometime! :D
DeleteI'm actually not very good at dusty hunting (yet haha), but I do a lot of shopping online from Harlow & Co and Llarowe (good places to shop for indies and HTF international brands). I also get other polishes (Zoya, Orly, Essie etc) from Nail Polish Canada. They're pretty much full price (no amazing discounts like at Secret Nail... sigh) but the great thing is that they're based in Vancouver too and so I usually get my order within 1-2 business days! Plus they're really nice, I'm not sure if they do it all the time but last time I got a candy cane from them in my box :D
Whew, long response, but I'm super excited to meet another nail polish fan in Vancouver! I hope I run into you one day at Secret Nail! OH BY THE WAY, there's another place called BC Nail Supplies (something like that) a bit further down Kingsway towards Metrotown. I haven't really gone there, but I know they have OPI there as well for about the same price as Secret.
Thank you so much for your comment! It's a great feeling to get to know other people in the same city who love nail polish just as much!
Hmm, would Secret Nail be worth a trip from out in the valley? ;) Hello from Chilliwack!
DeleteWe recently got a Sally's, and I think the girls in there are getting to know me now. My China Glaze collection is growing...
Thanks for the swatches! I've been waiting for these. I am going to NEED all the pastels. :D
I'm so jealous! I don't have a Sally's near me so I can't shop there - otherwise I'm sure that I'd probably be there every week or two!
DeleteThe only downside to Secret Nail is that in order to take advantage of the cheap prices ($5.99ish OPI, $4-$4.50 China Glaze) is that you have to have to be a member. It's a $10 fee for a year of membership, and after it expires you can choose to renew it or not. It's definitely worth it if you buy often though. I've saved so much compared to if I had bought everything full price, so it has been definitely worth it for me. They also sell a lot of supply stuff, so I usually get gallon jugs of acetone and then decant into a smaller bottle for everyday use.
They mostly sell CG, Sparitual and OPI there, and they have some older Color Club collections but haven't gotten anything new (so I think they don't stock CC anymore).
I'm not sure if it's worth coming into vancouver from chilliwack (depends on your shopping list) but I'd definitely stop by if you're in town!
Also, if you have a list of polishes you're looking for specifically, you can send me an email (livelylacquer@gmail.com) and I can pop by the store to check if they have them when i have time (so you don't have to come all the way here only to find out they aren't in stock!). (Don't worry about incovieniences, I actually live pretty close to them!)
Thanks for your comment! I love meeting new people! :D
I ordered 4 polishes out of this collection....and they are all brights :) So I guess my preference lies there! I really like the pastels...I just never wear them.
ReplyDeleteSame here! My skin is a tanned olive, so really light pastels tend to look a bit weird on me IMO. I live the pastel look, just feel like sometimes I can't pull it off.
DeleteStill pretty though, I just reach for them less often than I should! :D
I just got my order from Nail Polish Canada and OMG Keep Calm, Paint On & Pinkie Promise are so thick and goopey! I hope some thinner will help these out! Love the colours tho. Great swatches.
ReplyDelete