China Glaze Holiday 2010 – Blue & Greens Swatches, Review & Comparisons
China Glaze has definitely been Naughty AND Nice this year. Nice for releasing so many cute holiday gift sets and a fun range of colors but Naughty for overwhelming us with so many options.
Unlike the past few years where they’ve released just a few holiday shades, for Holiday 2010 the ‘Tis The Season to be naugty and nice collection consists of 16 nail polishes. That’s right, SIXTEEN! To make it easier to take in, I’ve broken down the collection into its three main color families; Blue & Green, White, Silver & Gold and Red & Vampy. We’ll start with my obvious favorite the lone blue (Little Drummer Boy), three greens (Jolly Holly, Mistletoe Kisses, Peace On Earth) and the multi-colored glitter bomb (Party Hearty). |
Formula & Application: China Glaze is a 3-Free brand with a round brush that is both medium in length and firmness with enough give to allow for ease of control. The cap is slightly tapered and made of smooth plastic that is comfortable to hold. For the Holiday collection China Glaze brought back the brushed silver caps that were used on the Platinum/Urban Chic & Kaleidoscope collection bottles. It adds a little something special to look.
In this first portion of the collection the polishes are well pigmented for the most part but they apply a bit goopy. Even though the brush went where I guided it, the polish didn’t want to listen. Between that and the metallic shimmer in a few of the polishes, the finish was less than perfect. The first three colors all applied in two thin coats but the last two require more to become opaque.
Peace On Earth is a golden green with metallic shimmer. I wouldn’t categorize it as a metallic, more like a pearl. The color has an ivy feel to it though with the golden shimmer it looks like a leaf in the midst of changing colors. It reminds me a bit of the discontinued China Glaze Cat’s Eye though it’s nowhere near as yellow.
I know a lot of people were hoping Peace On Earth would be a Moonpool dupe but I knew, when I laid eyes on it at Cosmoprof, that wouldn’t be the case. I mean, why wouldn’t they just re-release Moonpool? I doubt they’d recycle it as another color given its cult status. Anyway, in doing comparisons I pulled few golden greens like Zoya Irene and Barielle Polished Princess but wound up finding no twins. Quirius Cresskill Eve was the closest I could come though it has way too much blue in it to be a match.
Jolly Holly is ideally named as I think it would be perfect for a little holly berry nail art. It’s kind of amazing in that it’s vivid without being too light or bright yet it’s not so dark you can’t tell it’s green. It’s like an electrified evergreen tree.
In looking for twinsies I came across an old favorite, Barielle Date Night, and my Christmas mani choice from last year, Fingerpaints Evergreen Dream. I would say that Date Night doesn’t look as lush as Jolly Holly and ED is more blue but if you own Date Night I wouldn’t rush out to get Jolly Holly.
Little Drummer Boy is a rich, shimmery midnight blue. It has the same finish as Peace On Earth and Jolly Holly only the shimmer seems to be a bit lighter than the base color so it really pops in the light. The color itself is hard to describe as it’s not quite a true navy, it’s more of a dark wash denim.
While I own nothing that dupes Little Drummer Boy, I thought NYC Glossies in Midnight might be a good comparison partner. Turns out I should have showed it next to CND Blue Blood. The discontinued cult fave is actually a pretty decent color match minus the glitter. The base colors are very close so if you missed out on Blue Blood, LDB is a good, if not perfect, substitute.
Party Hearty is clear, sparkly top coat packed with silver, green and red glitter. There is silver micro-glitter and chunkier rounds, green medium size rounds and big, red hexagonal sequins like the ones we’ve been seeing in Deborah Lippmann’s glitters of late. I’m showing Party Hearty layered over Snow (also in the collection) with one coat on my pinkie, two coats on my ring finger and three coats on my middle finger. It would take a LOT of coats to go opaque so if you buy it, intend to wear it over another color or be prepared to have bare nail showing through.
Mistletoe Kisses is definitely my favorite color in this part of the collection. It’s fresh like a piece of wintergreen gum. The finish is China Glaze’s famous glass-fleck formula though that means it’s not overly pigmented. What surprised me was how dark it becomes with three coats on a bare nail. The swatch I showed you on the white nail art wheel made it appear so much lighter so I put two coats over Snow on my middle finger to replicate that look. I love it both ways but prefer it over white.
Bottom Line: Mistletoe Kisses is my hands down winner of the blue & greens and a “must-have” for any green lover. If you love to layer or just want to add some holiday-themed bling to your nails, Party Hearty gets the thumbs up from me. Also, with its clear base, it would be great for frankening. The shimmers are nice but not overly special so I would only recommend them if they fill holes in your collection.
The China Glaze Holiday 2010 collection is available now and a limited release so scoop it up while you can. Retail prices vary by store but online pricing is around $3/ea and store pricing is around $6/ea for a .5oz bottle. You can find China Glaze polish online at Head2ToeBeauty.com and TransDesign.com and on shelves at Sally Beauty and ULTA.
You can also find Little Drummer Boy and Peace On Earth in the Celebrate With Style gift set and Mistletoe Kisses appears in the Rejoice! set and Dreaming of a Green Christmas set alongside Jolly Holly.
Thoughts on this part of the Holiday collection? If you’ve already snagged some of these up, which ones are your favorites? What would you layer Party Hearty over?
Disclosure: Product samples were provided by China Glaze. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
Thank you for the great swatches
Wow, I am still hoping that i get my hands ont he dupes of NYC midnight and Jolly holly!!
I need Jolly Holly, Little Drummer Boy, and Party Hearty badly.
Love that you’re breaking this down as you are. Peace on Earth & Mistletow Kisses are my faves from this post. I don’t really care for Party Hearty; I’ve got enough piece-y glitter from OPI
Burlesque to last for years. Thanks for the swatches!
I also thought for sure that Peace on Earth would be a dupe for Barielle’s Polished Princess. I guess there’s more reason to get it now
I picked up Party Hearty and was initially disappointed at how sparse the glitter was (actually, kind of still am), but I tried layering it over Swing Baby and it works very well. Definitely going to be my Christmas mani this year!
Ugh. Party Hearty is already sold out on Head2ToeBeauty and it’s not even listed on the other site. I want it so badly!
Hi Kim, There are some listed on Ebay today.
hey
they have partyhearty at Sallys beauty supply stores, you can buy it online there or go to the store. if your a card member (5$ a year) you can get free stuff and 10% off.
i kno i should work for them but you realize, im obsessed
I’m sure transdesign will have it up soon. plus I bet h2t will get more stock like they did with the Halloween collection.
Peace on Earth kinda reminds me of Nars Mash but lighter.
Thank you for the swatches
agree with you about miseltoe, I love creative glitters. reminds me of holiday cookies over the white, def. going to copy that look once december rolls around.
I saw a comparison of Peace on Earth to OPI At Your Quebec and Call (which I’ve got) and they looked similar enough for me to not buy the former. But when I saw it at the store I had to get it. I’m a sucker for olive greens. I think I want that little set with the candle and Mistletoe Kisses and Mrs. Claus. I saw it at Sally’s. I love cheesy marketing tactics. And I need me a new candle.
I think they all look amazing. I always wanted to try China Glaze!
I love the shimmers and glitters in this collection. I’m such a sucker for collections like this. I have a feeling I’m going to end up owning most of the whole set.
When I walked into my Sally’s on November 1, they saw me and said, “We just put out the new China Glaze colors… they’re right over here.” They know me so well. I’m not sure how I feel about that!
But I got Mistletoe Kisses, Phat Santa, and Party Hearty on that trip. Since then, I’ve also bought the gift set with Naughty & Nice (or something like that) and Mrs. Claus, but only because I wanted the peppermint cuticle oil. It smells so yummy! 
I picked Party Hearty, Peace on Earth, Jolly Holly, and the gold from the collection on a trip State-side recently. Upon hearing I was from Canada a very nice woman at Ulta let me buy them two days early since I can’t find them here.
Part Hearty looks AWESOME over the gold, but I cannot say enough about how hard it was to get off. Hardest glitter ever. So pretty that it’s worth it though.
i almost bought ‘peace on earth’ today and put it down again, for the second time in 2 weeks. not sure if it would be flattering on my skin tone, (fair, cool). its weird because i was just staring at it for a whole 3 minutes, and im thinking ‘its sooo pretty….buuuut….kind of in a odd pea-ish (i almost want to say ugly, but its not) weird color for me’. i dont know…maybe next week ill just get it and see what it looks like. but i did buy ‘LDB’, and got ‘party hearty’ & ‘jolly holly’ in a set with ‘phat santa’. (only $5.99!!!! i love my sally pro card, lol)
FYI – Party Hearty is still in stock at 8ty8beauty.com
Thanks for all the pictures! I love Mistletoe Kisses and Im on the fence with Little Drummer Boy. But they all look like great colors.
I layered Party Hearty over OPI’s Here Today…Aragon Tomorrow Suede the other day and it looked amazing. I’m thinking it would look just as nice over Jolly Holly. I’m also planning to try it over Naughty and Nice, which I just put on tonight.
I hadn’t even thought of putting Party Hearty over HTAT in the suede formula, but that may be my next mani! Thanks for the suggestion
BEAUTIFUL – especially Peace on Earth and Little Drummer Boy. They’re such original shades! LOVELOVELOVE it.
I love all the shades…
The last one is so gorgeous !
I really like this collection. I love Party Hearty the best though.I think it would look absolutely awesome layered over all the colors in the collection, including the ones that already have a glitter to them. Thanks for the swatches. I can’t wait to see the rest of them:)
Lovely swatches, but none of the colors are shouting out “buy me!” to me.
I actually gasps when I scrolled down and saw Holly Jolly. A must have!
They get a pass from me, but if I celebrated christmas I’d be all over Party Hearty!
I love how you give us the 1 coat, 2 coat, 3 coat swatches! Thanks for doing that!
Thank you for the great swatches but there is no must have for me…
Thanks for the swatches and comparisons! Holding the bottles up together at Sally’s, Peace on Earth looked to me like it could be similar to Nina Ultra Pro Mossy Britches – similar enough to me that I didn’t want to buy both, anyway. Also, I’ve found in my stash at home since buying Little Drummer Boy that it’s a dupe to Brucci TJ’s Blue Suede Shoes. Hope that helps somewhat
nice presentation & I am sad because I bought peace, jelly but no drummer boy !! when see it on you, i tell me what a pity
have a good day
Great post, I love your comparisons!
Peace on Earth reminds me of Zoya “Irene”
I love Peace on Earth, it’s so pretty!
I got the Party Hearty set, which comes with Jolly Holly and Phat Santa (a red). I love that Party Hearty has multi-shaped Lippmann like glitter… It’s so festive!! I think it looks better over JH than PS, but I also plan on layering it over my Zoya Snow White to replicate your PH & Snow swatch. Maybe I’ll even try it over black! Ooooh!
Can’t believe I still don’t have this collection… I NEED Party Hearty!
I bought Party Hearty! It’s a holiday in a bottle. Very nice.
Wow these are some of the most attractive green shades I think I have ever seen!
what beautiful shades of green.
If you like mistletoe kisses-try laying it over a mint green. i have it on my toes over Essie’s Turquoise and caicos. it’s GORGEOUS! pretty minty green goodness. Also, I love peace on earth and little drummer boy. party hearty looks beautiful over a super deep green or black. overall i think these are awesome. the whites and metallics don’t thrill me at all. I *kinda* wish CG had come out with a few more unique colors instead of some of these. maybe more glitters like PH? now i’m just getting greedy
These are all pretty! I was really surprised that China Glaze decided to make their holiday collection so large, but I think the colors are all nice.
Loving Party Hearty on top of Snow :>
I already picked up Party Hearty and Mistletoe Kisses from this part of the collection, and I like them very much. Now I just have to wait until December to rock the Party Hearty. I think I’m going to wear it over a gold polish.
I’m a new convert to the world of caring deeply about manicures. (Is this a hobby or an obsession?) When you posted the China Glaze Holiday 2010 preview a couple of months ago, I immediately honed in on Party Hearty. Then I forgot about it. I’ve just spent the last two days trying to find Party Hearty; my sister finally found it — in Las Vegas. Dang! I will wait until it gets here in the good ol’ mail, but I am so enjoying your reviews and swatches. Thanks to your show-and-tell, now I want even more colors from this limited edition collection. Midnight Kiss, Naughty and Nice, and Little Drummer Boy are on my wish list now. Can’t type; must re-do my nails!
Thanks SO much for these! Picked up Party Hearty, Mistletoe Kisses, Mrs Claus, and Sugar Plums at 8ty8y
I think Peace on Earth looks a lot like OPI At Your Quebec and Call. I’m tempted to buy it to see the comparison
Chine Glaze – my favorite! Best colors and best coverage.
I want Party Hardy and Snow!!! I will definitely be wearing this for the holidays. LOVES!
I love party hearty out the whole colection!
I need snow, party hearty, mistletoe kisses.
oh crap. I need most of these. the first 2 greens rock my world and that little drummer boy is awesome. I might have the NYC color though.
Your blog is amazing… you are my nailpolish hero. I also appreciate the pics. Thanks for such a great resource! WOW
I bought, and LOVE the Party Hearty set that comes with Jolly Holly and Phat Santa, then when I was paying I saw the Merry Mint collection with Naughty and Nice and Mrs. Clause (and ahhhh the peppermint cuticle oil)
I really wanted the peppermint oil, but it only came in the set. I decided I deserved a present…so I bought it. I LOVE love love the look of Mrs Clause layered over Naughty and Nice!
It is also alot of fun when people ask “what polish are you wearing”
I also like the look of Phat Santa with Party Hearty just on the tips. Happy Holidays!
Wow! I like almost all of these!