We’ve seen one take on desert chic nail color this season, and now China Glaze is putting their spin on it with the Desert Escape collection. Inspired by glistening sand dunes and vibrant sunset skies, this collection celebrates the vivid colors that make the desert landscape and its culture.



Formula & Application

China Glaze nail polish is 3-Free (Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP). The tapered cylindrical bottle has a similarly tapered cap made of textured plastic that is comfortable to hold though not easy to grip if your cap gets stuck. If that happens, grab a rubber band.

The thin, round brush is both medium in length and firmness with enough give to allow for ease of control. Given my love of thin brushes, it’s no wonder China Glaze is on my list of Top 10 Nail Polish Brushes.

Overall, the polishes in this collection are well pigmented and smooth, though the my application differed slightly by color so I’m going to address that below.

Swatches

China Glaze Don’t Desert Me is a bright fuchsia shimmer. The consistency and coverage are both excellent and it glides on the nail in an easy two coats. I originally thought it would be a dupe for Marc Jacobs Oui, but Don’t Desert Me is more purple. The difference isn’t extremely noticeable until I wore them both on my nails. Oui is less flattering on me.

China Glaze Don’t Mesa With My Heart is a bubblegum pink creme with a cool, violet undertone. It’s darker than Zoya Shelby and cooler/lighter than OPI Shorts Story and Zoya Rooney. I took a slightly different approach with this one. I applied one thin coat and then a second thicker coat, dabbing a lot of light, short strokes to avoid patchiness. I was worried this would cause bubbling, but no, just smooth, even perfection.

China Glaze Meet Me at the Mirage is a rosy/bronze foil metallic. The mix of silver and pinkish bronze metallic flecks makes for a very unique color. It’s not as cool as the rose gold toned Orly Rage and warmer than Sally Hansen Gilded Roses. This applies really well, like most foils, and barely needs two coats.

China Glaze Rain Dance the Night Away is a vivid turquoise creme that toes the line between cyan and turquoise. It’s brighter and less green than Essie In The Cab-ana and darker than Nubar Fan Club. I applied this one similarly to Don’t Mesa, in that I used a second thicker coat to avoid patchiness. By barely touching the brush to the nail, I was able to glide the lacquer across the nail. ps. you don’t have to worry about staining with this one.

China Glaze The Heat is On is a tomato red creme with a jelly base. It’s a little sheer because of that, so I needed three coats to get it opaque. It’s not quite as warm as butter LONDON Ladybird, and lighter than OPI I STOP for Red and Chanel Coquelicot.

China Glaze What’s She Dune? is a sandy beige creme with a cool undertone. It has a cafe au lait type quality in that it has a milky appearance, as compared to a pink or yellow cast. For example, Zoya Farah is yellow-based, while OPI Don’t Pretzel My Buttons is a pink-nude. It has great pigmentation and covered well in two coats, though my pinkie nail needed three because my ridge was showing. Stupid ridges!

Bottom Line: I was wearing Meet Me at the Mirage while out to dinner with a friend and we both realized it is much more suited to her olive-toned skin so it’s going to live with her. Though my favorite of the collection ended up being Don’t Desert Me. I’m have a major fuchsia moment, you guys. It even won my heart over Rain Dance, though I really like that one as well. I mean, I haven’t completely gone to the fuchsia side. I like it because it’s brighter than my other turquoise polishes in that range, which is perfect for summer. Also, for a neutral, What’s She Dune? is really nice.

China Glaze Desert Escape officially launches in June 2015. You can find China Glaze at beauty retailers, including SallyBeauty.com and ULTA.com. And I’ve found them available now on eBay.com. For more info, visit ChinaGlaze.com.

Thoughts on Desert Escape? Do you think these types of brights work well in a desert-themed collection? Which colors are you planning to try?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for China Glaze. Affiliate links may appear in this post. When you purchase through an affiliate link, you help support this site. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.