My Picks from CoverGirl Capitol Collection Glosstinis

I've had today's polishes for months.  Months!  Nichole posted her review of Rogue Red back in early December and I had meant to get them onto the blog before xmas, but somehow that just didn't happen.  I was gearing up to post them with an apology and "I hope you can still find these" sentiments when a suspicion I've had for longer than I've had these polishes turned out to be correct.  I spotted them in a CoverGirl wall display at CVS this past weekend.  I've had a hunch that they'd be replacing the Tropical Glosstinis since I first saw the new batch announced.  There were nine shades in the original bunch and there are nine of these.  Add that to the Tropicals clearly being labeled "Limited Edition" but being out for months and remaining in the displays even after the Capitol Collection and my hunch just kept growing.  If your local drugstore hasn't updated their display to add them yet, I've also seen them in a new-ish shelf display along with some Smoochies Sizzle Gloss shades I don't remember seeing in previous displays.  (Swatches of a few will be up next week.)  I like that while the Glosstinis are LE, they're a sort of 'long term' LE that I haven't really seen from another brand.  The closest I can think of is when Sally Hansen introduces a line that they discontinue after a year or so.  It means less turnover and fewer new colors, but a better chance of snagging what you want before it's gone.  I actually just bought two more of the Tropical shades last week when I found them on clearance at Wegmans.  So if you're fretting over missing or never finding these, don't worry.  Though they will be worth fretting over when they're gone someday.  I bought six of the nine shades, skipping the yellow Sulfur Blaze, Rogue Red, and the orange Flamed Out.


Inferno has a red-orange base packed with gold flecks.

Oh wow!  I knew Inferno was densely flecked, but I didn't expect it to be this glowy.  It's fiery and intense and if you only buy one of these shades it should be Inferno.  It's got good coverage too.  This is two coats.

It's alive with shimmer that fades down to embers, but never hides.

I mattified Inferno and was blown away all over again.

Absolutely gorgeous!

Pyro Pink is a medium rosy pink densely flecked with silver and light purple.

A bit sheerer than Inferno, I needed three coats to make Pyro Pink opaque.  I was surprised by how it looks on the nail.  It's much pinker than I expected it to be.  It reminds me of an '80s prom dress.  The shimmer isn't as bold as it is in Inferno, giving it more of a metallic sheen than a fiery glow.

Mattified it reminds me of the finish of OPI's Suedes.

The color of the flecks is more apparent this way.

Violet Flicker has a red-grape base with red and blue flecks.

Because Violet Flicker has a "squishy" jelly base that gives it more depth than some of the other shades.  The trade-off is that even at three coats, it's still a bit sheer at some angles.

Its depth means it looks even more complex when mattified.

Mattifying makes the sheerness more obvious though, so I'd advise four coats instead of three, especially if you're mattifying it.

Scalding Emerald has gold, blue, and copper-to-green flecks in a light taupe base.

From sheer to sheerer, this is three coats of Scalding Emerald and you can still see my nail line easily.  Imagine a softer cousin of OPI The World Is Not Enough and you've got the right idea.  The formula is thick, so I didn't add a fourth coat.  I had a little bit of bubbling, but nothing you can really notice.  It's got a bit of a green shift to it, but my camera decided to ignore that part.

I feel like it loses something when it's mattified.

Seared Bronze has a sheer brown base filled with gold and copper-to-green flecks.

Another three-coater, Seared Bronze is reminiscent of several OPI shades, but not a dupe for any I could think of.  It's got the same green shift to some flecks as in Scalded Emerald, but again my camera just doesn't care.

Like Scalding Emerald again, it also loses something when mattified.

There's something incredibly familiar here.  I feel like there's a dead-on dupe and I'm just not thinking of it.  The closest I could come up with in my stash was Sally Hansen Chop Chop Copper....but that's lacking the green shifting flecks and is a little brighter.

Sally Hansen Chop Chop Copper on ring

Black Heat has a black jelly base with tons of gold flecks and a scattering of green too.

Flecked polishes this dark tend to be a little underwhelming on the nail, but Black Heat sparkles way more than I expected.  This is two coats.  It reminds me of Maybelline Twilight Rays, but I think the flecks are smaller, more diverse, and denser.

I'm seriously impressed by the shimmer!

Even mattified it keeps going strong.

Bottom line: In general these shades are on the sheer side, but the shimmer payoff for all of them is really impressive.  My top picks are Inferno and Black Heat.  Honorable mention goes to Violet Flare, while I'm at it.  I feel like Scalding Emerald and Seared Bronze are a bit dupey, though I couldn't think of any close dupes.  I didn't find Pyro Pink flattering and it'll be making its way to Nichole's house soon.


Did you get any of these?  I'm considering going back for Rogue Red, though I may wait now that I know they'll be around for a while.