China Glaze Hydrangea Dangea, 3 coats plus Seche Vite
Me and this polish got off on the wrong foot. I am the kind of person that likes to use thin coats, but not all polishes work like that. Polishes are like people; you need to get to know them first so you can see what makes them tick. When you’ve got such a gorgeous baby blue with a dash of periwinkle and a speckle of shimmer, I think there’s a lot of incentive there to make this relationship work. This is a blog post more about my own failure than about a bad polish; I wore it at three streaky coats and was surprised, after watching swatch videos where people were easily getting it perfect in two or three coats (their three coats look better than mine). This was going to be a lighthearted, typical Ashley post about a new spring polish, but instead is a story of how not to use China Glaze’s Hydrangea Dangea. Take warning from me, kids.
All the swatches you see today are over Deborah Lippmann Hard Rock.
China Glaze Hydrangea Dangea, 1 coat
When I painted the first coat of Hydrangea Dangea, I used the thinnest coat I could manage. The formula felt very nice and was accommodating; it is thin but not runny. It ended up looking very sheer and streaky. At this stage the shimmer was not apparent.
China Glaze Hydrangea Dangea, 2 coats
After two coats, I had some hope. Hydrangea Dangea is a bit more opaque here, but still streaky. I used another thin coat because that obviously worked so well the first time. You can see some of the shimmer start to make an appearance.
China Glaze Hydrangea Dangea, 3 coats
After two thin coats, I tried to float a third thicker coat on but the damage was already done. If I had tried gently floating on a decent coat during the previous two I would not have ended up here. You can still see plenty of streaks and it dried uneven. The shimmer is a little bit more apparent, which is nice. It is a soft shimmer, though, so do not expect a sparkly, flashy disco on your nails.
China Glaze Hydrangea Dangea, 3 coats plus Seche Vite under direct lighting
Top coat helped smooth things out and, despite my awful application, I still really enjoyed wearing this polish! The shimmer is not super apparent, but the color itself was soft and lovely with a little more oomph than you might expect once you get it on your nails. I am excited to try this polish out again; now that I know I love the color so much, I think I can put up with taking a little extra care in application.
Have you gotten on with this polish? What polishes have troubled you but have kept anyway for the color?
xx, Ashley
I purchased my bottle at Ulta, although I cannot find it anywhere on their website!
short nail swatcher 