China Glaze Let It Snow Holiday 2011 – Greens & Golds Swatches & Review
Oh the weather outside is frightful, But the fire is so delightful,
And since we’ve no place to go, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
We’ve already had our first snowfall of the season here in the CLE and the last thing I want to do is encourage it to come trickling down. However, that didn’t stop China Glaze, who is based in sunny California, from putting that earworm in my head.
For Holiday 2011, China Glaze introduces Let It Snow, a collection of twelve festive shades based on the season of giving.
When I previewed Let It Snow during my trip to Cosmoprof, I noticed that the collection’s display broke down the colors into three harmonious groups of four; Greens & Golds, Blue & Silvers and Reds. I decided to follow their lead and am starting with the Greens and Golds; Holly-Day, Glittering Garland, Twinkle Lights and Champagne Bubbles.
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.
I am really impressed with the pigmentation in all four polishes. Even the glitter, with its clear base, is so dense that it wasn’t hard to get coverage. Of course I still needed three coats but the other three all flowed on easily with two coats. The China Glaze formula has a pretty signature squishy feel that I find aids in application. It makes the polish easier to control. Sometimes that can mean pigment is lacking but not in this case. All the polishes were a pleasure to deal with for the most part (see Champagne Bubbles).
China Glaze Glittering Garland is a wonderful mix of glitter, jelly and glass fleck. The blackened forest base has that squishy texture you would expect from a jelly yet it’s really pigmented. The combination of gold and green micro-glitter and glass fleck brighten up what could be a really dark polish. They play with the light showing a hint of sparkle no matter how low it is.
Of course the question is, how does it compare to my all-time favorite dazzling green, China Glaze Emerald Sparkle? For starters, GG has more yellow in its base, think evergreen vs forest, and the light green fleck in ES is replaced with gold giving an overall warmer appearance.
China Glaze Holly-Day looks like your average hunter green creme and, if you aren’t a green connoisseur like me, for all intents and purposes it is. Though if you are in the market for a chic, glossy green that falls somewhere between Astroturf and almost-black, Holly-Day will hit the spot. The pigmentation and application are so spot on, it is a pleasure to apply.
Amazingly enough I didn’t find a dupe for it in my stash though I came across two close calls. Holly-Day falls in line between Nubar Forest and RBL Recycle. A little darker than Forest, more yellow than Recycle. Considering the formula, price tag and accessibility of H-D, I would definitely opt for it over the other two.
China Glaze Champagne Bubbles is not quite the pale hue that comes to mind when I think of champagne. It’s a slightly burnished yellow gold frost/chrome peppered with silver flecks. The finish of the base can make avoiding brush strokes a bit more labor intensive but the silver particles help diffuse the situation. Application tip – apply the polish to the sides of the nail first (strokes 1 & 2) and finish with one clean stroke down the middle to blend.
My first thought upon seeing Champagne Bubbles was China Glaze Cowardly Lyin’. Not the updated 2009 version but the old school (pre-AII buyout) version. CB has the same frosty base as the original CL, maybe a touch more golden, though the glitz component makes the big difference. CB’s silver flecks are a far cry different than the everything-is-illuminated gold glitter in CL.
China Glaze Twinkle Lights really needs to be seen in incandescent light to be appreciated. It’s like the glitter comes alive as it takes on a foil-esque appearance. The clear base is packed with metallic red, green and gold glitter particles. As I stated above, I used three thin coats to get good coverage without sacrificing wear time. I find that thick layers of glitter are prone to chipping.
Off the top of my head I can’t think of a polish with this exact shape and color palate of glitter though I’m sure someone will come up with a dupe in the comments.
Bottom Line:While the colors aren’t exactly ground breaking, the formula, pigmentation and application of all four polishes make them stash-worthy. I’m considering Holly-Day a backup for Recycle and Glittering Garland is the hands down winner of this group. Being that I have both version of Cowardly Lyin’ I don’t see a point, personally, in hanging on to Champagne Bubbles. I also have 5 Golden Rings which I prefer over any of them in spite of its sheerness. Twinkle Lights is a perfect holiday themed glitter and makes an excellent top coat.
The China Glaze Let It Snow Holiday 2011 collection is available now at salons and beauty supply stores nationwide including Sally Beauty and ULTA. Online shoppers can head to Head2ToeBeauty.com, TransDesign.com and ULTA.com. China Glaze nail polishes retail for $3-6.50/ea, depending on the retailer, for a .5oz bottle. Twelve gift sets are also available that include adorable gift items with different combinations of colors from the collection.
Thoughts on this first part of the collection? Which colors do you plan to pick up? Do you opt for traditional holiday colors like green, red, gold, etc? What is your favorite China Glaze Holiday collection/polish?
Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for China Glaze. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
SQUEE! Those greens!
Although I like Twinkle Lights, I agree with you that Glittering Garland is hands down the winner in the ones you’ve swatched. I really loved wearing that green – gorgeous!
Thanks for swatching!
You’re right GG is more of a forest green. I happen to be wearing Emerald Sparkle on my toes right now and was able to compare it to your pictures. Both are really pretty greens.
Twinkle lights is pretty similar to nubar festival glitter but i think twinkle lights is nicer. the nubar is heavy on the gold. also perhaps the glitter is a bit smaller in the nubar?
Who can resist a good sparkly green! Glittering Garland for the win
Looking forward to hear hearing your thoughts on the other colours in this collection.
I didn’t pick up anything from this collection. I got a bit crazy with last year’s CG holiday polishes, and this collection has a lot of colors that seem different-but-not-different-enough for me. I almost bought Twinkle Lights, but how many Christmas-specific glitter topcoats does one person really need? It’s not like I’ve worn Party Hearty since last Christmas.
Your swatches are always amazing! I think you’re one of the few who can make any polish look good. ?
I’m loving Glittering Garland and Champagne Bubbles… thanks for the awesome swatches… now I need to own
I had actually picked all of them up fairly recently and am wearing Glittering Garland as I type. It was the one I was most attracted to of the entire set and am still entirely loving it. I didn’t have any yellows in my collection whatsoever, so I was also fairly happy to purchase Champagne Bubbles. I’m not the largest fan of glitters like Twinkle Lights, thinking I might gift it to my roommate who does favour that type of glitter, but when I pulled it out of the box, I realized I was somehow intrigued by it and am now refusing to give it up. I haven’t yet attempted to apply Champagne Bubbles, but with the others, I haven’t noticed any application troubles either.
Very nice gold and greens. I really love Champagne Bubbles and off course Glittering Garland. love it
You just added ULTA to my list of errands for the day. Must have the greens!!! Ummm, and maybe others, lol!!! Thanks as always!
I bought Twinkly Lights and was shocked at how much I like it… Stunning in the sunlight! I’ve never received so many compliments on a polish before.
I love the greens! The green glittery collection reminds me a lot of glitter toes.
I like all four of them, and the emerald one is my favorite!
Could you please compare Glittering Garland and Orly Meet Me Under the Mistletoe?
I think these are beautiful.
Wow nice post! I own Orly Meet me under the Mistletoe and the glittering garland looks so much like it~can you compare for me thanks.
You are making it very hard to stay out of Ulta, Michelle! I must have GG and TL. UGH! Thanks for the wonderful swatches as always!
Sadly, Glittering Garland is too yellow-toned for me to wear, but I can’t wait to compare Twinkle Lights to last year’s Party Hearty.
Thanks for the great swatches, Michelle!
I bought Glittering Garland & Twinkle Lights a few weeks ago. Although I haven’t tried them yet, i can’t wait to get them on my paws! Thanks for the swatches, now I know I made a good choice by purchasing them.
Twinkle Lights is going on my shopping list!
I like the first one Glittering Garland
I really wanted champagne bubbles to be more gold and less yellow.. but I think I’ll still buy it anyway… and I think I may or may not be obsessed with twinkle lights!!
The greens make this whole collection for me… Love them!
These are so gorgeous!!! Twinkle Lights and Glittering Garland are my favorites!
this is really pretty! one of my favorite collections this year!
I went to Ulta today and the 1 display they had had been wiped out! I did get the Champagne Bubbles. I am not a fan of gold or yellow, however, this polish is amazing. I love the way it looks on me. Esp., since most yellow makes me look sallow and sickly.
I also bought Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Burgundy Flirt. I haven’t tried it, but, it’s to replace another bottle that goes on horribly. I also bought Orly Shine On Crazy Diamond. It has just the right amt. of glitter and sparkle.
SN: Do anyone of you fabulous ladies have any experience with SH Maximum Growth? I am a nail bitter of 25+ years and recently decided to grow up and give it up. I am having a very difficult time getting my nails to thicken up. I did wear acrylic for 3+ years and have been growing my nails since July ’11. I do take a hair, nails, and skin vitamin & daily vitamin as well. I would like to know if this product will help or should I return it and get my money back. Thanks all! And thanks Michelle for all of your hard work and insights!!!
Prefer last year’s holiday collection.
I NEED Holly-Day! So gorgeous on you!
LOVE THIS COLORS !!
ooohhhhh! Glittering garland is oh-so prettttttyyy!!! I just love it! It def reminds me of Christmas!
i own holly-day and twinkle lights from these four. I haven’t tried them yet, but after seeing these swatches, i can’t wait! i really want champagne bubbles too. it’s a beautiful, unique color.
Glittering Garland is nice but I preferred last year’s multi-colored glitter Party Hearty over Twinkle Lights. Overall I haven’t been moved to buy this year.
I amazingly found some of this collection at a winners near me. I was so excited I almost bought all of them, China Glaze is not so easily found in Canada…or at least in my city, I’m currently wearing champagne bubbles and I love it, I don’t have cowardly lion though (again cause I can not find anywhere to buy china glaze here) so that could be why I’m so impressed with it.
I’ve ordered Holly Day, Poinsettia and Twinkle Lights, can’t wait to get them now
Ooh, Holly-Day is really special. I prefer Cowardly Lyin’s gold glitter to Champagne Bubbles’ silver, however. Btw, I’m a faithful follower of your great blog (the pictures are especially crisp and pretty!) and have been missing your posts lately! Hope you are all right … I love getting a daily polish review! xx
oops, I meant Glittering Garland is special. Whichever is the glass fleck green one! Although Holly-Day is nice as well. =)
I’ve ordered Holly Day, Poinsettia and Twinkle Lights. Can’t wait to get them! Also I’ve got that song stuck in my head now haha!
Glittering Garland is beautiful. It’s perfect for the festive season and a nice change from the usual red Xmas nails too.
I need Glittering Garland in my life! Went to Sally’s yesterday and they were sold out. Guess that was to be expected for such a gorgeous polish. At least I found Blue Year’s Eve!
I am wearing Glittering Garland right now and I love the forest green with a little sparkle. Very sophisticated!
not a big fan of greeen shade polishes, but China Glaze’s Glittering Garland you presented here is such a pretty shade! love it!
Why isn’t this blog current anymore?
Where are you? I mmmiiissssssssssss my favorite nail blogger!!!
Glittering Garland has been on my list for quite awhile – as a broke high school girl, I can’t really get around to buying these higher-priced nail polishes :/
also, not to be pushy or anything at all, why haven’t you been updating as much now? :O what happened to 365 of the untrieds LOL
i’m just guessing you’re busy
Great swatches! I’m wearing Twinkle Lights right now over a coat of kelly green (Sally Hansen’s “Going Green”) and like it even though I’m not usually a fan of greens on me. I got a ton of compliments on my mani last night at a basketball game, even from guys who don’t usually notice such things.
These colors are unbelievably ughly!
I’m currently wearing one coat of Twinkle Lights over Glittering Garland, and I love it! It’s like I have a Christmas tree on my nails!
Hey there! I have Orly’s Meet Me Under the Mistletoe and in pictures, it looks pretty close to Glittering Garland. How do they compare, in your opinion?
Christmas party Nail Polish!
Twinkle Lights is my favorite! =D
I just got champagne bubbles at my sally’s today and it was only $1.99!! I had wanted this color, but not bad enough to pay the $6.50 for it, so when i saw this deal, i knew i had to grab it!