My Picks from China Glaze Autumn Nights

I'm posting on a Sunday. Weird, right?  Scheduling issues.  You'll understand soon.  It's a now or November sort of thing, so here we are.  Anyway... China Glaze's Autumn Nights focuses mostly on metallic finishes.  Out of twelve shades, there are six frosty metallic shimmers, four foils, and just two creams.  I passed on all of the shimmers when I bought my picks at the nail supply store, but I'm regretting skipping Tongue & Chic.  I had it in my basket, but I put it back.  I probably have something else like it, but my friend Patrice posted gorgeous photos of it on the Nail Board and I instantly kicked myself.  I'm also kinda tempted by Queen B...so who knows, I might pick up a few more when I go back to check for Monsters Ball (among other things) and to see if they EVER got OPI San Francisco.  For now though, let's check out the ones I did get...


Charmed, I'm Sure is a dusty dark purple cream.

I'll admit, I have a cream problem.  I kinda want one in every slight variation of colors I like.  It means I have a lot that don't stand out.  This....isn't one of those.  The formula is WONDERFUL.  Two coats, but they glide on effortlessly and turn out completely perfect.  Beyond that, this color blows me away.  My photo doesn't get it quite right.  It's dustier than this and that sets it apart.  Love it!

Gossip Over Gimlets is a silver foil with gold flecks.

We've seen a few like this before, but somehow I got sucked in again.  They just look so pretty in the bottles, blended foils like this.  The formula's good, not too thin or too thick, and opaque in two coats.  Stamped perfectly in a quick test I did....and it's quite pretty...

...but let's face it, it's very familiar.  I threw together a comparison with OPI Designer, De Better and Fergie by Wet n Wild Going Platinum.  They're not exact dupes, but you definitely don't need all three.

OPI * ChG * Fergie * ChG

The differences are more obvious in person, but still minimal.  The OPI's flecks are pinky copper instead of gold and the Fergie version is brighter than the other two.  Normal people could do with just one, but even polish fiends should probably choose between the China Glaze and the Fergie.  If I had to pick, I'd stick with China Glaze.  The Fergie is shinier, but the formula on the China Glaze is a bit better.


Strike Up a Cosmo is a medium rosy pink foil with copper flecks.

I waffled HARD before buying this.  It's so....pink.  Once I had it on, I wasn't sure how I felt about it.  The formula was good, and about the same as Gossip Over Gimlets.  It's just so....pink.  Still not completely sure how to feel about it.  I like it more in lower light, when it looks a little less....pink.

But then...as pinks go...I mean....well...it is very sparkly....  I'm so confused!

Goldie But Goodie is a dark-ish gold foil with copper flecks.

No confusion here, at all.  Love.  Just love.  Dazzling and deep.  The formula's a bit better than the previous two, and it could be a one-coater if you're careful.  I used two.  Careful is decidedly not my middle name.  (It's Katherine.)

I don't know how China Glaze did it, but there's something about Goldie But Goodie that I can't describe exactly and couldn't catch in my normal bottle pose.  That something is....this...

Almost looks like an ombre.  It catches the light so interestingly and can look very deep at some angles.  Too cool!


Rendezvous With You is a dark purple with tons of light gold shimmer.

Ok, so I fudged something a bit.  Rendezvous With You isn't a foil.  It does a great impression of one, but it's not.  The purple is just pigment, not a purple foil fleck in sight.  All of the shimmer is light gold, but the base tints it purple.  The effect is just amazing.  The formula's thick and could be a bit troublesome.  It has one-coater potential, but also lump potential.  I wound up using two coats, because the first was a little patchy in spots.  If you do use two, watch for dragging.  The slight difficulties are absolutely worth it.  Look at it glow!

But then...look at it also not glow...

Completely different in indirect light, and outstanding either way!


Bottom line: I've seen this collection written off as "boring" too many times to count.  I don't think that's quite fair.  Sure, the metallic shimmers are a bit on the frosty side and are half of the collection...but the foils are spot-on and Charmed, I'm Sure is everything I want a cream to be.  Goldie But Goodie, Rendezvous With You, and Charmed, I'm Sure are absolute beauties.  I'd call them must-haves.  Strike Up A Cosmo might be too pink for me, but is really pretty.  Gossip Over Gimlets is dupey, but still worth getting if you don't have something similar.


Can you believe September is virtually over already?  How did that happen?  Time flies when you're swatching, I guess.  As giddy as I was over the start of fall, my absolute favorite time of year is just around the corner now and I can hardly contain my excitement.  There's something else I can hardly contain...so for now...I'm gonna just stop typing. :P