China Glaze Hologlam - When Stars Collide - Swatch and review

I couldn't resist trying one now that the China Glaze Hologlam collection is available in the UK! Even though holographic isn't my favourite finish, I loved the China Glaze OMG collection from a few years ago, so I couldn't resist ordering a shade from the new collection to try. We've seen recently how brands that released awesome holos a few years ago have been coming out with much less pronounced holos, so I was a little nervous how this one would stand up to comparison with the OMG collection.

I went for When Stars Collide, a plummy-maroon shade. I like my holos dark, and I don't have a colour quite like this in my collection so this seemed a perfect choice.

Here is When Stars Collide - three coats, no basecoat, no topcoat. This is how I normally wear the finer holograpic polishes such as China Glaze OMGs, Layla etc. In the past I've tried to wear holos with various basecoats but usually end up with dragging or bald spots; I just get on better without. Topcoats are notorious for dulling the holo effect too - so again I conclude better just go without!

China Glaze When Stars Collide

China Glaze When Stars Collide

Pictures were taken indoors, near a lamp but not in direct light. I couldn't wait for a sunny day to swatch these - this is February in the UK after all! As you can see the holo 'flame ' effect is very distinct. The polish is also a great colour. The only holo I can think of which might be similar in colour is Layla Misty Blush, which I don't own to compare. The Layla holos I do own however, are rather a different texture to this - I think I prefer the smooth, velvety holo of China Glaze.

Then I decided to compare When Stars Collide to the purple colours in the OMG collection - IDK and LOL. My first impression is that When Stars Collide is a thicker consistency than both IDK and LOL. It's possible that the older colours may have just thinned over time, but whatever, When Stars Collide was a bit easier to apply than my OMG colours, which tend to drip and dribble a bit if you're not careful.

LOL and IDK are both more holo than When Stars Collide - the flame is longer and brighter. However, this isn't a big difference and overall I really like When Stars Collide. These pictures are taken at different angles and with different lighting to try to show how the holo effects vary between the three colours.

Comparison - China Glaze When Stars Collide, IDK and LOL

I purchased China Glaze LOL from Faith Cosmetics on Amazon.co.uk. I've bought from this seller several times and been very happy every time. My order was shipped the day I ordered and postage was just £1. China Glaze LOL and IDK were limited edition polishes several years ago.

I also reviewed Infra Red from the China Glaze Collection recently.

Elevation Polish Pic de Subenuix

I like everything about Elevation Polish. An indie brand that's not just about glitter..........that's so refreshing! The colours are exactly what I like - browns, greens, purples, blues. And best of all, I love the inspiration behind the polishes - they're mostly based on mountains. Given my love of the outdoors in general and my specific love of running up hills and in wild places, this brand presses all my buttons. But the polishes themselves are great............

This is Elevation Polish Pic de Subenuix. It's sort of a jelly-ish violet purple with a strong green iridescent shimmer. First some pictures from slightly different angles to show off the shimmer....

Elevation Polish Pic de Subeniux

I used three coats here, with Seche Vite top coat. Application is easy, although the polish is quite thick it spreads nicely over the nail and cleans up easily. I've noticed this slight thickness with most of the Elevation polishes I've tried, and I have to say I rather like it.

I've seen mentioned before that Pic de Subenuix is reminiscent of Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie, so I couldn't resit doing a comparison. Here are the bottles together - you can see straight away that Pic de Subenuix has a violet base whilst Scrangie's is more magenta. The other difference is the shimmer itself - in Pic de Subenuix it's fine and dense, but in Scrangie it's sparser and blingier.

On the nail the differences are evident. I think to be honest Scrangie,although it looks great in the bottle, disappoints a bit on the nail, as the shimmer doesn't really stand out as much as the bottle leads one to expect.

Comparison - Elevation Polish Pic de Subeniux and Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie

Comparison - Elevation Polish Pic de Subeniux and Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie

I purchased Pic de Subenuix from Elevation Polish website here  http://elevationpolish.bigcartel.com/. The site includes swatches of all the colours and information about the places that inspired them. Lulu restocks her shop twice a month. She also has a blog http://lovebrownnailpolish.wordpress.com/ where she updates on new colours, restocks and other general news. She ships internationally and her shipping prices are very fair.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Scrangie was a limited edition polish that's now sold out. Here's the information about it on RBL's site http://www.rescuebeauty.com/nail-polish/83824700180.html.

OPI My Vampire Is Buff (with glitter layering)

This polish is from OPI's new Euro Centrale Collection. I love pale, creamy shades and this one really caught my eye. It didn't disappoint - the formula is great; I applied two coats, then one coat of SV to smooth things out a bit  before the final coat (a trick I often use with pale creams to avoid streaking).

If you've looked at my earlier posts, which were my manis from the last few days, you'll notice a change in nail shape. I'm quite fickle with shape, and often change..... my nails seem to have a seasonal cycle through short squares to long squares, which become just too awkward so I shape them into almonds. Then I let the almonds grow to stilettos and ultimately get bored and go back to little square nubbins. Yesterday's reshape was pre-empted by breaking off the corner of my thumb nail on the quickly retracting cable of my vaccum cleaner :(

OPI My Vampire Is Buff

Today I added some glitter to MViB - Lynnderella A Neutral Party. I don't want to go into all the saga about Lynnderella polishes - let's suffice to say she makes some nice glitters and if you are in the USA you can buy her products on e-bay. It used to be easier to get them outside of the USA, but now it's tricky.

OPI My Vampire Is Buff with Lynnderella A Neutral Party

This made me think a bit of a bird's egg; except the glitter was a bit too blingy...........so I toned it down by adding a coat of a sheer polish a similar colour to my base over the top. A sort of glitter sandwich!

OPI My Vampire Is Buff with Lynnderella A Neutral Party and  sheer cream

This is an old L'Oreal Resist & Shine (Shade 100) which I've had around ten years. If anybody tells you nail polish goes off, it's a lie. This one applies as good as new. I've many bottles that are older than this and are perfectly usable. Here's another shot from a different angle to show the massive hex glitter on my index finger - for those who like glitters, Lynnderella polishes really are the best if you can get them.

OPI My Vampire Is Buff with Lynnderella A Neutral Party and  sheer cream

And finally, to finish the bird's egg theme, I added a matte top coat. I use Mavala Color-Matt top coat - it dries nice and smooth and is easily available on line and in department stores in the UK.

OPI My Vampire Is Buff with Lynnderella A Neutral Party, sheer cream and matte topcoat

I purchased my OPI polish from a seller on Amazon Marketplace, Lynnderella A Neutral Party came from a swap last year and the L'Oreal I've had forever!