China Glaze - Hunger Games (Capital Colors) Smoke and Ashes

District 12 (Mining): Smoke & Ashes


I've had a rough couple of days with my pain so I'm going to make this a quick one. It's actually 3:00 a.m. and I'm up because I can't get comfortable enough to sleep. Might as well finish this collection right?

This polish must be seen in person. That's all there is to it. It doesn't look that great in pictures. It looks like a boring black glitter but it has a funky twist that just needs to be seen in person.

I'm serious. Gorgeous in person, boring in print.

Ok! Smoke and Ashes has a dark base that I think is either black or a very dark blue. Either way, it reads black in my world. =) It has black micro glitter and this amazing blue/green glitter mixed in.

This polish rocks outside but fizzles inside in my opinion. It looks gorgeous in the bottle and out in the sun. The blue/green glitter doesn't pop enough for me to declare this a "must have." I do really like this, I just wish it had more kick in regular indoor lighting.

I love the formula of all the polishes I have in this collection except for this one. It's a little thick and goopy. It was really hard for me not to get it all over my skin. Cleaning it up was hard because of the glitter and dark base. It stains a little but it does come off.

You can kind of see the blue/green sparkle in the bottle. So pretty in person. So sad in pictures.

Overall, I really like this collection. I've read a lot of reviews of people finding the colors blah. Personally, I think it's a fun collection and I'm glad I snagged them.

What do you think of this collection? What are your must haves and passes?

Feel free to leave a comment, they make my day!

Thanks for reading!

-Mira

China Glaze - Hunger Games (Capital Colors) Agro

District 11 (Agriculture): Agro

This is one of my favorite polishes from the collection. I love Harvest Moon more but Agro is right up there. Agro is an amazing olive green with tiny gold shimmer. That shimmer is really blended with the green (I think). My eye doesn't pick it out in normal light but when it's outside in the sun, it really shines. The other thing that makes Agro unique to my stash is it's metallic finish. I don't have any metallic greens so I immediately loved this one from the first promo pictures. 

Agro's formula was fabulous. It went on smoothly and I only needed two coats for full coverage. I didn't have any streaking or bald spots during application. It was quite lovely. The other thing I appreciate about Agro is that it doesn't stain your fingers when it's time to take it off! Pictures show two coats of Agro with Seche Vite as the top coat. 

In other news, I finally learned how to make a watermark (sort of). I know, it took me long enough!!! I don't have Photoshop so I downloaded Gimp which is like Photoshop (I've heard) but free! Man, I have no idea what I'm doing with it. It doesn't help that my laptop is a Mac and my husband doesn't "do Macs." He's a PC guy all the way. I found a Youtube video that helped me so I can finally protect my pictures! 

Does anyone use Gimp on a Mac? That's a funny sentence. What do you think of it? Are there any tutorials I should see? 

Ok, that's enough of non nail polish talk! Here are the pictures! By the way, Luxe & Lush is on my ring finger which is gorgeous in my opinion. 

 Electrify is on my thumb.

I think Agro is a must have from this collection. What do you think? 

Thanks for reading! 

-Mira

China Glaze - Hunger Games (Capitol Colors) Foie Gras

District 10 (Livestock): Foie Gras 

Foie Gras is a dark brownish/purple creme. My camera didn't pick up the purple tones. It's a pretty color, I've read that it's similar to Below Deck (China Glaze) but I don't have that to do a comparison for you. I really like the formula, it went on smoothly and was opaque in two thin coats. It dried nice and shiny but I did add Seche Vite for a top coat. On the ring finger, as usual for this series I have Luxe & Lush. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!!

-Mira

China Glaze - Hunger Games (Capital Colors) Dress Me Up

Ok, I redid the pictures for Dress Me Up and I'm much happier with what I got this time. I took them all outside without a flash to make it more color accurate. Hooray for sunny days! I'm going to put on my A Englands and attempt to catch their beauty for you. Alright, here is Dress Me Up!

District 8 (Textiles): Dress Me Up


I'm pretty sure I remember this polish was supposed to represent Primrose before the big name changes. I like pink but I don't like how most shades of pink look on me. I was on the fence about how I'd like this on my nails. I'm so glad I picked it up because I really love it! Dress Me Up is a beautiful smokey rose/mauve creme. I only needed two coats for full coverage. Actually, one coat would have been enough. It reminded me of a Zoya creme and I looooooove Zoya. The formula was great, it went on smoothly for me and dried nice and shiny. I did use Seche Vite for my top coat to give it more shine. As usual with this collection, I put Luxe and Lush on my ring finger.

I hoped you enjoyed todays post. Thanks for reading!!

-Mira 

China Glaze - Hunger Games (Capital Colors) Harvest Moon

Today I'm skipping up to District 9 to show you Harvest Moon. I didn't purchase Mahogany Magic and I want to redo my swatches of Dress Me Up. My camera really messed up Dress Me Up's color and I'm hoping to get it right on my next try. 

District 9 (Grain): Harvest Moon

Harvest Moon is my favorite of this collection. My pictures just don't do it justice and my description won't do it justice. You need to see it in person to really appreciate it. Harvest Moon is gorgeous burnt pumpkin foil. I don't know how to truly explain this, it's the perfect fall color. Just go get it, you'll see what I'm trying to say here! =p My pictures make it look a little more brown than it really is, I'd say it's more on the deep orange side. I put Luxe & Lush on my ring finger to show you how that looks together. 

Electrify on thumb:

 Thanks for reading!!

China Glaze - Hunger Games (Capital Colors) Electrify

I finally got the pictures of Electrify taken so I thought I'd get this post up today. I know, two posts in one day...who am I?!?! =)

District 5 (Power): Electrify
Electrify is a red and gold glitter. The glitter is small and round and seem to be the same size. There may be a little bit more gold than red but it looks pretty equal. I needed three coats to get even and complete coverage. The formula was great and applied without any problems. It would be just as pretty to use a base color under this. This is a very flashy, bright, and fun polish. I'm a little sad to take it off but I need to finish my swatches!

The sun finally came out today so I was able to get some pictures outside!

Inside:

Thanks for reading!

-Mira

China Glaze - Hunger Games (Capital Colors) Fast Track

Alright, I'm skipping around a little. I have Electrify (District 5) on my nails right now but haven't taken pictures yet. I did not purchase Hook & Line (District 4) so that means today I'm going to show you Fast Track which represents District 6!

District 6 (Transportation): Fast Track

I was expecting Fast Track to be one of my favorites but it didn't "wow" me on my nails as much as I hoped. It's a beautiful color, the shimmer is gorgeous, it just doesn't go well with my skin tone. I still like it but it's not my favorite.

Fast Track is a lovely nude/beige shade that has slight yellow undertones with a gorgeous gold shimmer. The shimmer particles are large so maybe it qualifies as micro glitter. I'm not sure! =) It's quite lovely, I just wish it didn't lean on the yellow side as mush as it does. The formula was very easy to work with, I only needed two coats, and it dried pretty quickly. I put Luxe & Lush on my ring finger. The shimmer is a lot stronger in real life, my camera washed it out a bit. =/ 

What do you think about Fast Track? 

As always, thanks for reading!!

-Mira <3 

China Glaze - Hunger Games (Capital Colors) Riveting

District 3 (Technology): Riveting

Riveting is one of my favorites from this collection. Bright colors (especially oranges) don't look good on me at all but with Riveting, I don't really care. It's that amazing. It's a bright orange jelly packed full of shimmer. It flashes a hint of gold at certain angles making it look like fire. I wonder if it was based off of the cape of fire Katniss wore before China Glaze changed the names to reflect each district. Riveting went on smoothly and only needed two coats. I could have gotten away with one but as always, I slapped on two for good measure. I couldn't stop looking at my nails when I put this on. It's amazing, want to see for yourself? Luxe & Lush (District 1) is on my ring finger. 

 Just for kicks, I put on Essie Shine of the times on my index finger, China Glaze Electrify (from this collection) on my middle finger, and Finger Paints Twisted on my pinky. Shine of the Times was visible and pretty but it overpowered the beauty of Riveting at times. It looked awesome in some angles but weird in others. I thought Electrify was nice but again you could barely see Riveting underneath. I could barely see Twisted at all, it seemed to drown on top of Riveting's bright shimmer.  I am just going to stick with Luxe and Lush, I think it looks amazing combined with Riveting. Again, it makes me think of Katniss' cape, I'm pretty sure this is what I'll wear to the movie (if I go). 

Hmm, I really like how Shine of the Times (index finger) looks with Riveting in the above picture. What do you think, what's your favorite combo? I can't wait to put this back on, it's amazing. 

Thanks for reading! 

China Glaze - Hunger Games (Capital Colors) Stone Cold

I have been so excited to see this collection in person. When I saw that my Sallys had them out early and on sale I was thrilled!! I felt like a little kid in a candy store. They only had a few colors out on display but they had a bunch in the back. I got them all except for Hook & Line and Mahogany Magic (I just didn't care for those colors). Hook & Line seems like it shows brush marks on the nail and Mahogany Magic just looked blah to me. As for the rest? So beautiful! 

The polishes are inspired by the 12 districts from the series. When the pictures and names first circulated, the names were different. I don't know why China Glaze decided to base the names off of the districts instead but it doesn't really matter to me! In case you haven't read The Hunger Games series, each district specializes in producing different goods for the Capital. Ok, ready for the pictures? I'm going to show you this collection in parts. Today, I'm showing Stone Cold!

District 1 (Luxury): Luxe & Lush

This is a gorgeous flakie, I layered it on my ring finger in the other swatches. I didn't swatch it alone since it's intended to be layered and looks much better that way, in my opinion. 

District 2 (Masonry): Stone Cold 

Stone Cold is a dark grey/almost black matte! I don't have very many mattes in my collection so this was a great addition to my stash. I love the silver shimmer in this polish, it makes it look like a smooth rock. Adding Luxe & Lush makes it look like pieces of gold imbedded in a rock. It's such a unique look, which makes it a must have for me. I had no problems with the formula. It went on very smoothly but it dries extremely fast. You have to be careful to apply this polish smoothly and quickly or you'll get weird ridges. If that happens, just go over it again to smooth it out. I have two coats of Stone Cold on in these pictures and of course, no top coat (in the first pictures). I put on Orly Bonder for my base coat and this came off very easily without any staining. 

With top coat (Seche Vite):

 What do you think of this one? Will you be adding it to your stash?

Thanks for reading!