I can't help but be drawn to pastels. Though I almost won't touch touch them in the clothing or accessories department, they were huge in the late 80s and the 90s and that is when I did most of my growing up (sort of). It's part of the color nostalgia of my generation. That and mauve.

The last polish I have from the China Glaze Up and Away collection: Refresh-mint. I have four or five colors that are in or near this minty/pastel turquoise color family and I did a few comparison swatches. 

Pastels seem to have a fast dry time which can be helpful, but I don't think they are known for their ease of application. I find the fast dry can also equal add to challenging application because it leads to dragging, especially at the tips (evident on nail wheel swatches). I encountered this dry-time effect with Refresh-mint.

In pics I swatched it next to Mint Candy Apple (left), I think it looks close in the pictures, but also is a bit more toward being a light baby blue with green mixed in, slightly muted, where Refresh is more of a true pastel lime. I also added in Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver because I thought it would be similar. Obviously it is way off (in pics and real life) and more like a blue-leaning turquoise. 

Two more I might have added would be Milani Dressmaker which I couldn't find the YSL mint green from the Spring Duo no.7 which I didn't think to do. Oops O.o

 Refresh-Mint. Sunlight.

Refresh-Mint. Mint Candy Apple. My Life Saver. Refresh-Mint. Shade.

Mint Candy Apple. My Life Saver. Refresh-Mint. Artificial Light.

One of my first nail pictures. Refresh-Mint with Spoiled Don't Pet My Peacock and Trust Fund Baby topped with Don't Touch my Tutu.

Late to Spring cont'd

More from the China Glaze Up and Away collection, Lucky Clover is a beautiful, bright bold cream and for me this polish glided on so shiny and smoothly; it was a dream to apply. You might be able to get by with one coat, but I did two. 

I haven't seen a lot of colors like this, though with the recent influx of greens, I guess there have been some, I just don't own any. Maybe if Milani's Fresh Teal and Essie Pretty Edgy had a baby it could be Lucky Clover's cousin.

I think my pictures show Lucky a little more blue and definitely more muted than in real life. I found it to be greener and much brighter than my camera was able to capture. One unlucky thing was that it chipped in one day (all the CG polishes I've worn have), but I definitely feel lucky wearing it :)

Lucky Clover. Sun Light.

Lucky Clover. Artificial Light.

Lucky Clover. Shaded Indoors.

Way Late to Spring

Yes, I'm over a month late for Spring, and two years late for this collection but I wanted to show do some Spring colors from the China Glaze Up and Away collection. Pastels and brights like that have been a hit for the past couple Spring seasons and tend to move into some Summer brighters and neons, so that might be a good path to take :)

First up in this series I will post Lemon Fizz. While the color may be quite cute, I found the application to be quite messy both times I tried :/ 

The consistency was interesting. I found it possible to make coats thin, yet it required thick coats to get even coverage. I'd call it chalky, which seems common in pastels. 

Back in the day I seem to recall this brand of makeup called "Jane" (this brand can still be found sometimes, in some discount outlets) that had a color called Taxi. Lemon Fizz reminds of Jane's Taxi. It's not good on my yellowy skin, but as my Taxi shades and Lemon Fizz can attest to, I seem to love yellows, even if yellow pigments seem to make polish application a bee. 

Honestly, it's a good thing my pictures turned out a little blurry, cos my application is pretty uh-uh. Sadly, I couldn’t wear Lemon Fizz as a mani because it was so challenging to appy I couldn’t even apply it on my dominant hand! 

Lemon Fizz. Sun Light.

Lemon Fizz. Artificial Light.