Hello Nailphiles, and happy Sunday!

Sorry for my recent absence – a recent family health scare put my nail fun on hold. Now that it’s cleared up and only a week left on the late shift, I’ll hopefully be back to posting more. While I was gone, my nubs are finally starting to recover a bit, but are still a little lopsided. I also started working on my cuticles, so hopefully they will look better soon!

So today, I am FINALLY bringing you part 2 of my May nail mail – the China Glaze – Off Shore Collection! These have been on my desk for 3 weeks, and i’ve been super excited to play with them. This collection is full of fun, bright summer colors!

Like most of the China Glaze collections, the Off Shore collection consists of two sets of 6 polishes, Dune our Thing and Stoked to be Soaked.

So lets start with the swatches, be prepared of a TON of corny ocean puns!

Sea’s the Day – This is a great red, and a true creme polish, unlike the red from the OPI Brazil collection.

– This is a great red, and a true creme polish, unlike the red from the OPI Brazil collection. Stoked To Be Soaked – This is a bright orange creme that reminds me of Michigan’s state tree, the construction barrel! Jokes aside, this is a bright summery orange that really pops!

If in Doubt, Surf it Out – this is a softer, peachy orange in comparison to Stoked to be Soaked, and reminds me of Creamcicles

– this is a softer, peachy orange in comparison to Stoked to be Soaked, and reminds me of Creamcicles China Glaze Sun Upon My Skin – this is a lovely bright pastel yellow creme. this polish was a bit streaky and sheer with only one coat, but evens out after the second coat

Be More Pacific – this is a soft pastel green that reminds me of Granny Smith apples. Unfortunately this polish did not play well with my skin tone, and did not want to photograph well either

– this is a soft pastel green that reminds me of Granny Smith apples. Unfortunately this polish did not play well with my skin tone, and did not want to photograph well either Shore Enuff – this is a bright Highlighter green polish. Again, this polish did not play well with my complexion, but is still a great bright green

Wait N’ Sea – this is a nice blue creme with a hint of teal

– this is a nice blue creme with a hint of teal I Sea the Point – a fun, bright royal blue creme

X-Ta-Sea – a darker purple creme. I would have liked to see a lighter purple in the collection, but this was still a nice shade of purple without being too dark

– a darker purple creme. I would have liked to see a lighter purple in the collection, but this was still a nice shade of purple without being too dark Dune Our Thing – this is an awesome raspberry creme polish. Easily my favorite in the collection. the color is lighter in person than in the photo above

Float On and Feel The Breeze – these are both very similar light pink cremes. Float On leans more towards a bright, almost neon pink and is slightly more saturated, and Feel the Breeze is a more pastel pink.

Overall, this is a bright, playful collection of creme polishes great for summer. All of the polishes have a consistent, easy to work with formula. The lighter colors are a bit streaky with only one coat, but even out nicely after the second coat. I personally wouldn’t use any of these as a 1-coater, they all look much better with a second coat to even out any inconsistencies. I know many bloggers aren’t a fan of the China Glaze polishes, and i’ve had to use polish thinner to make some of their older polishes behave – but these polishes behaved greatly for me.

… And now for the Mani! Since the moment I opened my Nail Mail from HB Beauty Bar, I’ve been excited to use the Off-Shore collection for a gradient. Last week I used a red/orange/yellow combination from the OPI Brazil collection, so I decided to change it up and go with Blue, Green ad Yellow, and added a little sparkle.

For this gradient, I started with 2 coats of a Sally Hansen: White On, and topped that with one layer of topcoat – this gives a good base for an even gradient, and really helps the bright colors of the gradient pop.

Next, I loaded up a cosmetic sponge with China Glaze: Sun Upon My Skin, Shore Enuff, and I Sea the Point, and sponged onto all of my nails – there are approx. 3 layers of sponging on each nail.

Once the gradient dried, I decided to top it off with a coat of China Glaze: Fairy Dust – this one is really hard to see in photos, as it looks like light gray specs, but in the sun, this glitter sparkles like crazy! I then topped the mani off with my regular top coat routine, a Layer of INM: Out the Door and ORLY: Wont Chip.

Thanks for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed the Off Shore collection as I have, it’s definitely a great collection for summer, and can be picked up at HB Beauty Bar or Head2Toe Beauty for a good price!

For next week, i’ve got the Zoya: Tickled and Bubbly collections lined up for you, and I hope to also pick up some photo supplies so I can get my SLR back in the game, and some better quality photos for you.

See you all next week!