China Glaze Up & Away Swatches, Review and Comparisons – Part 3
Here we go Fanatics. It’s time to round out the China Glaze Up & Away collection. This new lineup of pastels and brights for Spring 2010 includes a set of four pink/coral shades in a range of hues to satisfy the cool and warm toned Fanatics out there.
I think we all know by now that this range of colors isn’t necessarily my cup of tea. Give me something that will make people stop and stare and I’m all over it (hello Re-Fresh Mint!). However, I did end up shocking myself by becoming smitten with a couple of these beauties. Find out which ones curled my toes, after the jump! |
Something Sweet surprised me. This pale pink with its lilac undertone awakened a love of pinks I thought I had lost. Regular readers know this isn’t my type of shade but I was drawn to its fresh, girly feel. And it’s the lone pastel in the bunch that didn’t cause me problems. It’s still on the thick, slightly uneven side but I got away with two coats.
One of the first China Glaze polishes I ever bought was Go-Go Pink from the Patent Leather collection. I loved the high gloss shine and mod pink tone. Something Sweet is the cool toned version of that and I have nothing quite like it. All my pale pinks are either too sheer, too milky or too warm. CND Tutu comes close but no cigar.
Sugar High is just as the name sounds, a pink candy confection of color. It’s bright bubblegum-y goodness with that same jelly-ish texture of the other brights in this collection. It’s making me want to break out my hidden stash of Hubba Bubba (yes I stockpiled my all-time fave gum).
Even though I’m not all up on the pink train, I have a surprising number in my collection. Way more than I thought and none of them are quite a vibrant or middle of the road as Sugar High. The two China Glazes that came close are either too warm, Mom’s Chiffon, or too cool, Laced Up.
High Hopes is a very vivid coral that veers towards red but stops just before getting there. It’s much brighter in person, much more so than the bottle color suggested. Ah the deceiving power of glass!
Based on the bottle color, I thought High Hopes was somewhat muted and similar to OPI Paint My Moji-Toes Red but they couldn’t be more different. HH is bolder, lighter and less brick red looking.
Heli-Yum is a raspberry pink creme. It dries a bit deeper than how it looks on screen. The formula is hands down THE BEST in the collection. Like it was a true pleasure to apply. It glided on the nail like butter. It’s not even a shade I’m all that into but I want to wear it just to put it on. Heli-Yum will not disappoint.
Though Heli-Yum is the one color with a true kissing cousin. Zoya Dita is so close in color that even discerning Fanatics would have trouble telling them apart. So if you own Dita, feel free to skip Heli-Yum, otherwise pick it up!
The Up & Away collection is set to launch in January 2010 but if it’s ready earlier I’m sure it will start shipping out in December. Keep a watch on your local Sally Beauty and your fave e-tailers to scoop up these colors.
So now that you’ve seen the entire collection, which ones are your faves? I know some of you have commented that you’ll be getting the whole set. After seeing this set is that still the case?
***If you missed any of my Up & Away collection reviews, check out Part 1 and Part 2.***
Disclosure: A product sample was furnished to me by China Glaze. For further information view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
Love those Go Go Pinks. I’ve been trying to find the perfect color to match my favorite lipstick and that’s close!
Thanks for the lovely swatch comparisons. I was wondering, how would you compared Heli-Yum to OPI’s Miami Beet?
I wasn’t too keen on Heli-yum but i think now i will pick it for sure! It is quite pretty.
But i don’t think i would wear it until it gets closer to summer
Wow! You’re right about Heli- Yum! I can’t believe how great that looks on your tips. It looks like you perfected the color/ brushstrokes in Photoshop or something. I’m usually not too into pinks, either, but am really considering adding it and Something Sweet to my stash…
My faves are Re-freshmint, High Hopes and Heli-yum. I’m so eager to get these!
this whole collection isn’t really my thing….but i appreciate it for what it is. i’m more looking forward to the nubar prisms and zoya reverie collections also due out soon
So I was thinking – Something Sweet… OPI Mod About You…
Similar… different… your thoughts?
I can’t find my Mod About You, I may have given it away. So I’m not really sure but they could be twins. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that color.
Thank you so much for posting these!
I
Thanks Micha! Sunlight is so iffy here, I don’t like to rely on it for my photos. Plus, I find that it washes out the polish colors so you aren’t getting an accurate picture of the color. Of course, no polish image is going to be 100% accurate. I talked to a pro photographer about my swatches and he was like, you couldn’t have picked a more difficult subject to light and photograph. I’m a glutton for punishment I guess. Ha!
And the colors are vibrant but not really neon. They don’t glow in the dark or anything but some of them are pretty electrified. Which ones are you considering?
Hi again : )
I was thinking of Heli-yum and High Hopes. In other photos they look kind of muted. Rich in color, but not full on. But here they look electrified.(Great description.) They are sooo pretty, but way to bright for me to be comfortable. At least for wearing on my finger nails.
I think you
Hi Michelle:
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to All Lacquered Fans!
These polishes are so pretty in pink and red. Gorgeous Reds and pinks, love the shades, maybe not my particular style nevertheless, I would not hesitate to make a compliment on a beautiful woman (because all woman are beautiful just the way they are) about her nails.
I made a compliment on a young bank teller, she could not have been more than early 20′s. I am 51, totally innocent, I told her I loved her “ceramics style beaded bracelet” she was wearing and she was wearing this beautiful and amazing “green” nail polish. I asked if she had her nails them done in a salon? She said yes, but I think I made her happy just by telling her how great she looked. Would anyone else be cautious of a male stranger who made a compliment on your jewelry or your newly manicured nail varnish?
At least that’s what I believe.
(((((Love Michelle))))
Mc Huggs
Hi George! Every girl loves a compliment and that’s sweet of you to let your bank teller know you appreciate her nails. I would think that any girl who wears bold colors like green appreciate getting a compliment rather than an odd stare. As much as I love green polish, it still raises eyebrows from time to time.
I love this whole collection! I’m probably going to pick up the whole collection next month at Sally’s. I’m not a big pink fan on nails, but I wear a lot of pink, and I like all of these! Yay!
Yeah, I rarely wear pink on my nails but I’m digging these. The BF may be shocked if he sees me running around with Something Sweet on my tips.
I am a pink & red nail polish color girl & these China Glaza Up & Away-part 3 are gorgeous!! I can’t wait to start painting my toes in the hot pinks & showing them off when the weather gets warmer/it’s snowing outside right now in NY-lol!! Happy Holidays to all!!!
Yep, we got hit with snow last night too. Seems like summer is so so far away but considering how fast these past couple months have flown by, hopefully we won’t have long to wait.
I’m very excited about “Something Sweet”, because I don’t know if you remember, but I had a hard time working with the Go-Go Pink’s formula. My bottle was extreamly streaky. Hopefully this will do it for me:)
Thanks for all the comparisions:)
You’re so welcome. Go-Go Pink has gotten complaints in regards to formula and sheerness so hopefully you’ll like Something Sweet a lot more.
Lovely! Something sweet looks nice…I am SO cool toned it is ridiculous. Heli-Yum looks nice too. Is it similar to Dutch Tulips?
Oh I wish I knew. I don’t have Dutch Tulips to compare it to. Sorry
Thank you for including so many comparisons along with your Up & Away swatches! They’ve always been my favorite part of your blog, so I’m thrilled to see that you did a lot for these polishes.
I especially appreciate the comp for Heli-Yum… I was fully planning to get that one, but now I think I can skip it since I already have Dita!
So now it looks like I’m going to get High Hopes (my absolute fave) for sure, and I’m pretty into Flyin’ High, Four Leaf Clover, and Peachy Keen as well. I might like Sparitual Emerald City a bit more than FLC, but the ChG price point is much gentler… and I still have to figure out if PK will look okay on my skin tone!
Yeah, ChG is definitely more wallet friendly than SpaRitual though I do like their polishes. I really adore Peachy Keen. It will look great with a faux-tan next summer
Sugar High and Something Sweet is right down my alley. I will probably pick these up along with Flying High.
Excellent! I hope you love them
Thanks for the swatches! I’m really looking forward to this collection.
Of course! Which colors are you considering?
Oh my god thanks for these swatches I love all of these so much, I think I am going to get all of them!
You’re so so welcome. Glad they were helpful
My faves are Something Sweet & Light As Air. I adore pastel colors. But I think Something Sweet is Second-Hand Silk’s dupe. Am I right?
They aren’t dupes to my eye.
Thanks for taking the time to swatch these. Your pictures and comparisons have really helped me make my mind up. At first I thought I wanted to go for the pastels, but after looking at your swatches and reading your comments, I’m definitely going for the bright ones… and maybe lemon fizz… and refresh mint.
Thanks for all the swatches and comparisons! Thanks to you, my wish list has grown by several. = )
These are gorgeous! I am not usually a fan of pastel pinks, but somehow I think I’ll be getting Something Sweet!
I think the blues then the pinks are my favorites.
I will definitely be getting all the colors in this collection. Spring and summer shades are way more my type than the darker winter shades but I guess that has a lot to do with living in Florida. Basically the only season we have is summer.
Yeah, I can see how brights and lights would be favored where you live. Ah to have constant sandal season, that would be nice.
hi! do you think High hopes is a copy of ChG rose among thorns (ink collection)? i’ve got rose among thorns and they look the same on screen, i guess there should be some difference, but, you know better than me
i was wondering about getting another neon for summer, advices accepted
cheers!
Hi! I looked at Rose Among Thorns before posting and High Hopes is more coral and not as neon/bright.
Great swatches!
Now I know exactly what to get.. (or not, as the lemmings will start to creep up in my pantyhose and up my sweater.. eech!)
Hmm, Merry Christmas anyway
i want all of them !!!!
i love China Glaze !!!
lilynail
Since something sweet is a cool toned pink, i’m wondering if it looks similar to Essie’s Guchi Muchi Puchi.
I would love the whole set, they’re all so pretty. I just have no clue where to get them from!
They’ll be out soon Rebecca. I believe Sally’s is launching them later (March) but the online retailers like Head2ToeBeauty.com will have them in January.
I just wanted to say, Sally’s will launch them in March, instead of January like all the other retailers, but you already got it
On China Glazes twitter site they said this was Sally’s decision, not theirs.
I don’t really get it, this is such an awesome collection (apart from the two yellows and the peach I dig all of them!), Sally’s will be missing out. Especially if this collection is meant to hang around like the others.
Oh I can’t wait, I’m staring at your swatches at least twice a day … I might even go and put little pics of the bottles together to make a new desktop background for my computer
I even want “heli-yum”, though hot pink is really not my thing normally, but they look so cheery and bright and everyone is raving about the formula … did I mention I can’t wait? *grins*
I think this is the first collection that I want to buy all the colors. I love them all!!
just ordered all 12 on amazon.com . . . a little more expensive than my usual order from transdesign but i couldn’t wait!
including tax it came to 60 bucks. just in case anyone wanted to know cuz i sure couldn’t wait!
Thank you for the lovely swatches!
I just ordered several of these (and more) at Transdesign.
Yay Spring and happy bright colors!
is high hopes a dupe for opi cajun srimp or the tasmanian devil made me do it?
hi, I was thinking of getting something sweet but then I see Go Go pink. I do love their Hi Gloss colors but I dont collect that much polish that I want 2 colors that are so close. My pet peeve is sheer polish. Which one is better Go Go Pink or Something sweet? What is the difference? How is it more of a cool color?
I love Go Go Pink but, to me, it was a bit sheer. I would say based on coverage alone you’ll be happier with Something Sweet.
I just stumbled across your blog not too long ago. I loved all your swatches so much that it inspired me to try out China Glaze for the first time! I bought Sugar High, High Hopes, Lemon Fizz, Heli-Yum, and Flyin’ High.
I just tried out Sugar High, and I found it really difficult to apply an even coat of the thick polish. I managed to get good coverage after 4 coats, but I’m not sure the end result is worth the aggravation. Do you have any tips for working with China Glaze? Barring that, do you know of an OPI polish that’s similar?
Thanks!
What will be the perfect red orange nail polish that is not to brigth for my med. yellowish skin tone? Love ur site!
Sugar high looks like soul mate by sinfull colors to me it looks like a bright coraly, salmon pink. But idk may b wrong :/
One more ? Do u have no Spain no gain by opi? Does it swatch berry red? Cus if it does i’am so getting it…even thou a an old color..