It’s like the every-other-decade theory, you know? The ’50s were boring, the ’60s rocked, and the ’70s– Oh, my god, they obviously suck. Come on. Maybe the ’80s will be radical. You know? I figure we’ll be in our 20s and, hey, it can’t get any worse. – Cynthia in Dazed & Confused. Now I love me some Dazed & Confused but I can NOT get behind Cynthia’s claim that the 70s suck. Granted I can barely remember the decade and yes, the clothing wasn’t the best but, it wasn’t all bad. Apparently China Glaze agrees since their fall collection, Retro Diva, is a 70s themed throwback. Check out the first half of the collection, after the jump!

As I lined up all the bottles, my first impression of the colors was that they’re pretty but not jump and down outrageous. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by collections like Bahama Blues and Summer Days but I always hope for WOW when it’s China Glaze. Though I am in summer mode and this palette is definitely fall so it’s hard to tell how I’ll feel once the leaves start to change. I will say that as I started testing them, there was a bit of WOW factor to some of shades which goes to show how deceptive bottles can be.

All the polishes in the Retro Diva collection are shimmers and I’d categorize them as metallic shimmers. They have a bit of a brush stroke thing going on. They’re all well pigmented requiring only two coats but a few got a little draggy on me and needed a third to cover bare patches.

Cords was not at all what I expected. I wasn’t sure what “rustic gray shimmer” meant but now I know that translates to taupe with shimmer that gives it a metallic look. It’s definitely unique and I’m always on board for something unexpected.
Because the finish reminded me of the spring Romantique shades I pitted it against Awaken to see how much they differ. Awaken is clearly charcoal gray compared to Cords.
The second I put on Stroll I was stunned. Gold glitter floating in a a berry red jelly… SIGN ME UP! This is the one polish that got me excited even in the bottle. I could just feel it’s deliciousness coming and I was right. A must have!
Though as soon as I put Stroll on my brain started turning, thinking that I’d seen something similar before. Something that was LE and beloved. That’s when it hit me… Finger Paints Festive Claret! This LE holiday shade was a nail board fave when it released and while Stroll is a bit more berry, this would make any girl that curses never finding F.C. very, very happy.
Stella is a deep magenta, shimmer. You could call it berry it just has a blackened magenta feel to me because of the hint of pink the light picks up.

Skate Night is a deep crimson. It’s got a sultry feel to it due to the depth the shimmer adds. Though the name doesn’t quite fit for me. Skate Night brings back memories of school parties at this horribly small and dingy rink that had no element of sexy to it.

Short & Sassy is a slightly browned, deep garnet hue. Though in the bottle it looked so much lighter. In fact, next to Skate Night I didn’t see the difference. So just to prove to myself that they’re not one in the same, I swatched them side by side for us.
Um yeah, obviously different. But it never hurts to compare. In fact Skate Night even looks a little berryish next to Short & Sassy even though on its own it’s obviously not.

When I saw Let’s Groove I was all set to see another “almost black” like Midnight Ride from Rodeo Diva but I really should stop putting expectations on polish before applying it because HELLO GORGEOUS! It’s rich, warm and luscious but not so warm that it ventures into red grape territory. It’s just perfect. In fact it may be an Essie Viva La Vespa dupe but if not it has no twins in my collection. Love it!
The Retro Diva collection will hit shelves in July and can be found at Sally Beauty Supply and online at 8ty8beauty.com, Head2ToeBeauty.com and TransDesign.com.

I’ll have the rest of the collection to show you soon so stay tuned! What do we think so far?