Over Christmas, my make-up inevitably turns to bling. Oh, who am I kidding, it turns to bling nearly all the time! And, of course, where else to start with the sparkles than the nails?!
My manicure over Christmas fell into the silvery sparkly hands of China Glaze’s Lorelei’s Tiara, part of their Eye Candy 3D Glitters Collection. You know you’re onto something special once China Glaze busts out those silver caps – as seen on their Kaleidoscope and OMG collections of holographic polishes, need I say more!
Those of you who know me personally will know that for as long as I can remember, Marilyn Monroe has been my idol. Of all the old Hollywood stars (and I am interested in nearly every one of them), she has fascinated, enthralled and enchanted me the most and the longest, for all time. No one else has ever come close… and I doubt they ever will. I will save the Marilyn essay for another day, but the reason I brought up the goddess in the first place is she is the namesake for the entire Eye Candy collection. So, as if my magpie-like attraction to pretty sparkly things wasn’t enough, there was the Marilyn connection too. Result: China Glaze is laughing all the way to the bank.
Lorelei is the character played by Marilyn in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, one of her finest hours, and the diamond brilliance of this polish goes hand in hand with the film’s signature song and all-time anthem to bling, Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend. It’s packed hot and heavy with super-sparkly super-silver micro-glitter, with the odd glittering jewel of larger pale blue glitter whirled into the mix. It is, in short, gorgeous.
It was also perfect for winter. That frosty-fabulous combination of bright light silver and searing pale blue is absolutely the stuff that winter is made of – a more classy Christmas style, of which I thoroughly approve. The typical red and green holiday combo makes me retch and I would never be seen dead in it, let alone sport it on my nails, so Lorelei’s Tiara is a delightful alternative.
For a polish this packed with glitter, it was actually surprisingly easy to apply. I’ve always enjoyed reasonable success with China Glaze’s brushes, whilst the formula on this was pleasantly runny and non-clumpy. It didn’t dry gritty, rough, bumpy or dull – a bit of a coup for glitter polishes in my book! Instead, it was have-your-eye-out shiny, even without top coat, and with a nice flat even finish to boot.
My only wish for Lorelei’s Tiara was that it would have had a few more of the blue jewels thrown in there; from far away, it looked like a straight-up silver, though admittedly a very sparkly one. (By the way, the reason some bits are looking black in the pictures is simply because they are THAT shiny and were reflecting light any which way!) A little more blue would have truly turned this beautiful polish into an outright stunner.
That aside, Lorelei’s Tiara is all manners of wintry wonderful that my photos don’t really do justice to. It’s a dazzling bejewelled beauty that, in truth, will look spectacular on your nails at any time of year. Get that ice or else no dice!
Looks good with: Grown-up glamour, not wanting to look like Santa
Drying time: 3-5 mins
Coats required: 2-3
Chips: 5 days
China Glaze Lorelei’s Tiara, Winter 2011 Eye Candy 3D Glitters Collection, $70, Cher2
Through The Looking Glass 