China Glaze Surprise swatch: Glitter Up

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I wanted to pick up "Glitter Up" from the latest China Glaze polish collection, "Surprise".  There are six chunky glitter toppers in the entire collection, and while all are very unique combinations of colors, there was only one that I was interested in adding to my collection.

"Glitter Up" is a combination of mini and large hexagonal navy blue, sky blue, and coral glitters suspended in a clear base.  Basketball season may be over, but I couldn't stay away from a Florida Gators-esque color themed glitter topper.

Today is the LAST day for Sally Hansen Beauty Supply Store BOGO Free special: all nail polishes are Buy One, Get One Free (excluding OPI brand), so if you're eyeing this fun topper, you can also nab another polish as well!

I applied one layer of "Glitter Up" over two coats of Essie "Find Me an Oasis" from the Resort Fling collection.

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

China Glaze "Glitter Up"

The suspension base is nice and smooth, which allows for easy application of the glitters, but because some pieces are so big, I resorted to fishing for the larger pieces and spreading the glitters around to disperse them evenly.

Dry time is average, and I added China Glaze Fast Forward top coat for an extra seal.  I can't wait to revisit this topper during football season!

Comparison Post: b&w toppers

 An easy way to spruce up any solid nail color is to add a glitter topper.  But not all glitter toppers are created equal.

I had to compare Hard Candy's "Black Tie Optional" (#651, retail $4)  from the Crystal Confetti line of their nail polishes to Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear nail color in "Strobe Flash" (#510, limited edition).

I purchased "Black Tie Optional" a while ago when Hard Candy revamped their polish line.  I had a wonderful experience with this topper, but it's been several months since I've used it, and the clear goop that suspends the glitter has evaporated down, which makes me sad.  This polish is not good for storing long-term.

After Christmas, I managed to find the entire limited edition Fall 2013 Xtreme Wear glitter toppers on sale at Target for $1.05 each and picked up the whole line because I am a polish hoarder.  Despite the clearance find, I was not impressed with the Sally Hansen topper.

The Hard Candy topper adorns my thumb, pointer, and ring finger.  The glitter application is dense after 2 coats, and includes more micro-glitter and bar-glitter.

The Sally Hansen topper is on my middle and pinky finger, 2 coats.  There is much less micro-glitters and application is sparse.  I dabbed the brush on a paper towel before applying and had to fish for the larger pieces of glitter.  I really was not impressed.

Kind of a cookies-n-creme color scheme.  Delicious!