Friday 4 January 2013

China Glaze Glitz Bitz 'n Pieces Collection for Spring 2013

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year! I certainly am! Of course I'm dreading going back to school (and job hunting), but I've been having a blast polish wise! I was stalking my local beauty supply for the OPI Mariah Carey collection and I had the best luck yesterday. Not only did they just get the Mariah Carey collection, but they also got this new China Glaze collection! Needless to say, the hoarder in me jumped out and I had to get all 6 polishes in this collection. In my defense it's glitter, which makes it much more reasonable, right?

Anyhow, there are a LOT of photos in this post, so I'll be putting it under a cut... here's some eye candy to hopefully tempt you into taking the plunge!




Some initial thoughts before we proceed... I'm pretty sure these are meant to be layered over another polish (which is how I've swatched them), but I think these would look good if you decide to wear the 3 or 4 (I haven't experimented yet) coats it takes for opacity. I'm curious to see how they turn out on their own, so you can look forward to a future post were I try that out!

The 'theme' of the polishes in this set is black glitter in various sizes and shapes (including large hexes, 'normal' sized hexs, small glitter, and bars) with glitter in another colour in different sizes ('normal' hexes, and smaller glitter). I'll discuss more about what I think of this theme after all of the swatches, so stay tuned for that.

Each of the swatches below are one medium-thick coat of the polish over OPI's My Boyfriend Scales Walls (this is an awesome off white by the way!). I'll note it down for each picture, but I've experimented a bit with each polish so some are with topcoat and some are with a DIY cornstarch matte/satin finish top coat. Sometimes the difference in pictures is very slight (still working on perfecting the CS topcoat!)



Glitz 'n Pieces

This is the only one I was on the fence about getting, but ending up purchasing to complete the set. I was a little bit apprehensive about buying this one mostly because I didn't think it was really that special - it's silver and black glitter, and silver glitter to me is kind of meh. It isn't bad though, Out of all of the colours available silver is probably the most versatile (read: can use over many different base colours), so I might actually be reaching for this polish a lot more often than I think. Only time will tell! :P

Glitz 'n Pieces with topcoat
Glitz 'n Pieces with matte/satin topcoat


Razzle Me Dazzle Me

Out of all of the glitter colours, I feel like this one is the one that is the most unusual/unique to an extent. Razzle Me Dazzle Me features a very light silvery pink glitter alongside the black glitter.

Razzle Me Dazzle Me with topcoat
Razzle Me Dazzle Me with topcoat
Razzle Me Dazzle Me with matte/satin topcoat


Bling It On

This is one of my favourite polishes in this set. I really love this colour purple - it's really the colour I think of when I think of jewel toned purple. I'm thinking this polish would look gorgeous worn to opacity, and I'm definitely going to try it out sometime soon!

Bling It On with topcoat
Bling It On with matte/satin topcoat
Bling It On with matte/satin topcoat


Scattered & Tattered

Another great jewel toned colour. I'm not sure if the glitter in this is just plain red or not, but I'm kind of leaning towards a red with a tinge of orange in it. I'll let you decide for yourselves since I'm pretty horrible with describing colours. 

Scattered & Tattered with topcoat
Scattered & Tattered with matte/satin topcoat
Scattered & Tatteered with matte/satin topcoat
Scattered & Tattered with matte/satin topcoat


Mosaic Madness

Another one of my favourites from this collection. This polish features sapphire blue glitter. I'm definitely going to try to wear this one on it's own in the future as well as Bling It On. Some of the glitter in my photos managed to look a bit teal, but that's mostly just the light of my lamp reflecting off the glitter (I must admit that two toned glitter in this would have been awesome as well).

Mosaic Madness with topcoat
Mosaic Madness with matte/satin topcoat
Mosaic Madness with matte/satin topcoat


Graffiti Glitter

Along with Bling It On and Mosaic Madness, Graffiti Glitter is one of my favourites from this collection. I'm not sure if it's me or not, but I find the glitter in this to be green with a tiny bit of blue to give it a more emerald hue. Isn't that totally fitting since emerald is the colour of the year according to Pantone? Anyhow, you know me... I like all things green (AND blue and purple), so it shouldn't be much of a suprise that I love this glitter.

Graffiti Glitter with topcoat
Graffiti Glitter with topcoat
Graffiti Glitter with matte/satin topcoat
Graffiti Glitter with matte/satin topcoat


WHEW. That's all of them! Now for some comments... I found the formula on these to be very similar, so I'll summarize my final comments on these polishes all together.

Comments:
- a good variety of colours to choose from - I enjoyed the jewel tones of the glitter used
- formula was good, I didn't find that I needed to go over many patches again so the distribution of glitter on the nail was alright. I have had problems with some glitters where the glitter will accumulate at the end of the nail when you apply it (I like to call it 'sweeping' issues), but I found that very minimal with these polishes.
- I tend to dislike glitter that is larger than the 'normal' hex size. These polishes include large black glitter, but I found that those are a bit harder to come by. For me, this is a huge plus since I don't mind it as much, but if you really like the large glitter look, you're probably going to have to go fishing in the bottle and dab them on (which will probably be very annoying).
- I usually don't like bar glitter, but I didn't mind it in these.

And now for my biggest comment about these polishes... I don't really mind it since I like the colours, but I can see this collection being a bit boring for some people. Why? well... the only variation between each polish is the alternate colour of glitter in it. It's always going to be a mix of black glitters and some other colour. For me, I like the colours and so I'm glad to be able to choose between them, but I can see some people questioning if they really need all 6 variations of the same idea.

Basically, I'm thinking that some people will be a bit miffed at this collection as it may not be the most creative one ever. I kind of wish that maybe there were some with two toned glitters (jewel-y purple and a lighter lavender colour, etc) or something else that would be fun, but then again, I'm pretty happy with the collection as it is anyway.


So, what do y'all think? Are you content with the options they've given us, or were you still hungry for me amazing stuff? Feel free to leave a comment with how you feel, since I'm thoroughly on the fence about it!

I'll be back in the near future with a few on these polishes worn on their own, and I'll be hanging around to answer comments and such!

Thank y'all for reading and I hope you have a fantabulous Friday!

Marisa





29 comments:

  1. I think that they are all really pretty, but will probably just be getting the silver and pink ones. You are right, since they are all the same despite the glitter shade differences, I don't feel I need them all. And, I think I can achieve the same effect with a combo of glitter polish that I already have at home. It's a nice collection, though.

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    1. Thank you for your comment! I'm happy that they're trying to do a bit more with glitter, but it's going to be hard for them to catch up with all of the great indies that are around now!

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  2. I really love the blue and green ones, but that's about it.

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    1. I love the blue and green ones too! If I could only get one of the polishes from this collection it would definitely be one of those two!

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  3. This is the first blog that I have seen swatches of these, so yay! I was really curious when I saw the press release, but like you, I also have mixed feelings. If anything, I like Glitz 'n' Pieces because of the versatility. I guess since indies have been creating amazing glitter combos, this seems not exciting really, except for the ease of availability. Thanks for the swatches! They are lovely.

    Also, I have not heard of a DIY cornstarch topcoat (very interesting) so I'm off to google it! :)

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    1. I think China Glaze has a bit of a ways to go before they get up to where indies have gotten, if they decide to go that route. I definitely appreciate it though, since I tend to find indies a bit overpriced considering shipping to where I live tends to be pretty pricey too.

      The cornstarch topcoat worked pretty well, but looking at the bottle now it has settled a bit. It isn't mixing very well at the moment since I didn't put any mixing balls in it, but I reckon it'll be better when I get around to adding them in.

      I'm definitely going to experiment with it a bit more, and if I can get it to work well enough I'll post about it :D

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  4. I'd probably one get a couple of these at most, but they are pretty.

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    1. Yeah, I can see a lot of people doing the same. If I weren't a crazy hoarder I'd have probably only purchased a few of them (blue, green aad purple probably). My wallet would have been happier too :P

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  5. I LOVE these and kinda want them all!!!

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    1. Yay! I keep switching my opinion on whether I should have bought them all... sometimes I don't regret it one bit, and sometimes I think that I should have only gotten a few... I think getting them all probably was the best idea since I don't have to lem any of the ones I might not have gotten! ;)

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  6. Great swatches, thanks! I agree that they seem a bit repetitive within the collection, but I do love that blue!

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    1. I'm not going to lie, I totally fangirled when I saw this comment! I looooove your blog, whenever I see new swatches it makes me want to buy the polish then and there!

      Thanks so much for your comment! :D

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  7. Thanks for the post! They all seem so similar. :(

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    1. Thanks for your comment! I kind of wish there was a bit more variation between each polish, but I think they're pretty if you don't consider the collection on a whole. I'm still hoping that the next glitter collection they decide to do has a bit more variety though! :D

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  8. I love them!! Going on my wish list! I see lots of jelly sandwiches with these in the future :D

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    1. Oh, wow! I never even thought of that! I'm definitely going to try that one of these days. Thanks for the idea! :D

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  9. Well I'm a get the whole collection type of person unless they don't have them all when I go. I don't search fr stuff. Again seeing them all on white makes me think that is the best color to see them on and I look awful in white. Do you think they will look good on other colors?

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    1. I definitely think that they'll look good on other colours. For sure.

      I didn't really have time to pick out colours to layer these over, so I just did the white. Next time I'll definitely have some fun layering these!

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  10. I'll get the purple, green and blue but that's it..i do wish there was a bit of variation but still a cool collex.

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    1. I agree with you! If I had to go back in time and restrain myself from getting all of them, I think I definitely would have gotten the purple, green and blue. :D

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  11. I like Mosaic Madness, I'll probable get that one....but de collection as a whole is a bit boring. Very nice swatching though! :-)

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    1. Thank you so much! As standalone polishes I think that there are some nice ones in here, but as a collection on a whole it is kind of boring. I'm crossing my fingers for some awesome variations in the future. :D

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  12. The collector in me wants them all, but since they're so similar, I know I only need a few. I think I'll only get the silver and blue, and probably the purple. I do agree that more than one color of glitter would've made these even better, but I'm happy that they even came up with these. They're pretty interesting compared to other commercial glitters. With these and the Cirque glitters, clearly China Glaze has been doing their research on the indie scene.

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    1. I agree! I feel like they've recognized the popularity of indies with this collection and are trying to make an effort to compete. Compared to some indies out there this collection is pretty tame (reminiscent of some indie polishes already out there), but I'm glad they're making an effort. It's definitely a bit harder for me to purchase indies where I am since it can get a bit pricey with shipping and all, so I definitely do appreciate indie-like polishes that are easier to find.

      I certainly hope that they have some amazing glitter bombs (that aren't as repetitive) up their sleeves in the future! :D

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  13. Really nice.. I probably don't need to get all of them but the glitter freak/collection junkie in me thinks that my life won't be complete if I don't get all of them... This is gonna be a tough choice.... I've already spent wayyyyy too much money on polish in the last 3 months. (I just started collecting in October) I'll most likely get the green, blue, purple and silver ones. I already have a lot of pink and red glitter polish.

    I'm really looking forward to seeing ChG's Hologlam Holographics collection due out in March... maybe those will be more interesting then this one.

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  14. Hmm... like others I'm a little disappointed in the repetitiveness of this collection. I also didn't expect the bar glitter which I've never been a big fan of. However, I think I need the blue and purple one. I'm still on the fence about the silver and pink one since I already have a lot of those glitters.

    Thanks for the swatches!

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  15. These remind me of a blanket from the 80's a teenager would have, maybe its because of the white though.

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