OK kids, I know I’m totally jumping the gun here but I couldn’t help myself. Summer is a million miles away but when I saw the China Glaze Summer Days collection, I hollered (that’s right hollered), “SHUT IT DOWN!” There was shrieking, giddiness and all sorts of crazy celebration involved. In all seriousness, I’m calling it now… Summer Days is THE collection of 2009. I challenge any brand to top it.

Girls, you don’t even know how I pestered China Glaze to bring back the glass-flecked formula. When I heard that the tradition of Babes In Toeland glass-flecked collections had come to an end and that Summer 2008 wouldn’t include that formula, I straight up begged for a return. And even though I’ve known for over a year of its comeback, seeing is believing friends.

If you haven’t experienced the glass flecked phenomenon, you are truly missing out. We’re talking jelly-like polish filled with shimmer and micro-glitter that are suspended like an insect encased in amber. It all adds up to an amazing foil-like glassy effect that is truly astounding. Can you tell I’m just a wee bit enamored?

Summer Days certainly lives up to my expectations and does not disappoint. I’m beyond smitten with these fruity concoctions. Of course, the formula is perfect and the pigmentation is top notch. I really don’t have a single complaint. All swatches are shown with NO top coat and two layers of lacquer.

Grape Juice has got to be the most unique of the bunch. It falls somewhere between violet and amethyst depending on the light. It looks totally drinkable in the bottle. Yet again, I’m faced with a purple that has no ALU Stash twins. Always a good thing in my book!

Watermelon Rind is a blue-green/teal. More blue than Outta Bounds, more vibrant that CND Jaded, its hue is very similar to Zoya Akyra. The finish gives it a juiciness that keeps it from having a cool wintery feel.

Orange Marmalade has officially usurped Orange-Pacific’s reign as my favorite orange. Talk about peeling an orange and turning it into polish. So fab!
Here’s a little side by side with its predecessor, Orange-Pacific. Still beautiful but not as true an orange as Orange Marmalade.

Strawberry Fields is hard color to peg down. The gold shimmer and base color that falls somewhere between magenta and rose makes this one stand out in a sea of summer-friendly pinks.
None of my other glass flecked shades are anything like SF, the only polish I own that comes close is NYX Jillian but the shimmer is much finer and more dispersed.

Cherry Pie has this orange cast that causes me to consider it slightly coral, yet the hot pink shimmer draws it back to the cool toned side. It’s as if you dipped your fingers in maraschino cherry juice.
Next to Tequila Toes and Tarnished & Varnished, you can see that Cherry Pie is much more red and glassy, less foil-like.

Raspberry Festival is a vibrant berry toned red that really does resemble just picked raspberries. China Glaze was right on the money in naming this one.
Amongst all my glass-flecked babies, Raspberry Festival falls somewhere between Sass In A Glass and Wicked Step Sisters yet nothing truly compares.
The China Glaze Summer Days collection is scheduled to launch in March but as we’ve seen in the past, our fave e-tailers 8ty8beauty.com and Head2ToeBeauty.com tend to put them on sale a little early. You can also find China Glaze on shelves at Sally Beauty Supply and ULTA but the seasonal collections tend to sell-out fast so check back often.