China Glaze Hologlam Collection Swatches and Review

China Glaze is back in the holographic nail polish scene with their Hologlam Collection for Spring 2013. While fans will have reasons to get excited about these polishes, there are also a few drawbacks that should be mentioned. Read on for my photos and review!

Press Sample 

Each swatch shows two coats of the polish. The formula was basically the same on all of them so I will address that at the end. The first photo of each of the shades shows it in indirect light, and the second photo shows it in direct light for a good view of the holographic finish. Please feel free to click the photos to view them larger!

Astro-Hot is a baby pink holographic lacquer. This wasn't the most flattering shade on me but it did have a strong holographic effect.

Galactic Grey is a graphite-colored holographic polish. This is one of my favorites in the collection and seemed to have one of the strongest holographic rainbows.

Strap On Your Moonboots is a gorgeous shade of navy. I was surprised by how much I liked this polish in the shade. It still retained its gorgeous rich color!

Get Outta My Space is described as a powdered violet. This one would have to be my favorite out of the lighter, more silver-toned shades, though I do prefer the more vibrant colors overall. The purple of this polish seems very clean to me.

Infra-Red is heart-stoppingly gorgeous. I'd say it's my favorite in the collection! This bright warm pink is so pigmented and the holographic effect is really pretty.

Sci-Fly By is a light baby blue. It's a pretty shade but I found the other two blues in this collection more exciting, personally!

Not In This Galaxy is described as a warm coral. I'd say that's pretty accurate. I bet this one would look great on people with darker skin tones.

OMG a UFO is another winner in my eyes! This lime green holographic is punchy. A perfect "little green man" color!

Cosmic Dust is a dusty silver holographic. Maybe it was the light playing tricks on me but it also seemed to lean a bit green/blue at times.

Take a Trek is a lovely shade of denim blue. I am a big fan of this color, personally.

When Stars Collide is a gorgeous reddish purple shade. If Infra-Red didn't exist, this would probably get top billing as my favorite polish from this collection. Alas, it will have to live in second place because Infra-Red is unstoppable. You should probably just consider both.

Don't Be a Luna-Tic is a light turquoise-aqua shade. It's a bit too pale for my tastes. Like I said earlier, the darker, more pigmented shades are the ones that really made me swoon!

The formula on all of these polishes was a little finicky. I initially tried applying them over a bare nail. They went on fine, but I imagine that they would probably chip really quickly without a base. I did notice that the polishes settled into my ridges, so next I tried Essie Ridge Filling Base Coat. That was a nightmare, unfortunately. It made the polish go on streaky and clumpy, and it pulled at the cuticle. Eventually I found the best way to apply was over my Nfu Oh Aqua Base. It helped the polishes apply smoothly and without any dragging issues. I may experiment with layering Aqua Base over a ridgefiller and seeing if that solves all of the issues at once!

Be sure to give the polishes a good shake and a few minutes to settle before you apply. Doing this can help to distribute the holographic pigment better and optimize your results.

Overall, they aren't the strongest holos I've seen, but there are some good offerings in here that would be worth checking out. My official Chalkboard Nails recommendations are: Infra-Red, When Stars Collide, Strap On Your Moonboots, and Galactic Grey. I imagine Take a Trek and OMG a UFO will be popular with many of you, as well.

The China Glaze Hologlam collection will be available in fine salons and beauty supply stores this month with an SRP of $14, though you may also be able to find them on beauty retailers' websites.

Press Sample