China Glaze Avant Garden Collection for Spring 2013 Review, Photos & Swatches

The China Glaze Avant Garden Collection for Spring 2013 includes twelve China Glaze Nail Lacquers ($7 USD / $8 CAD) in a variety of bright, vibrants colors and soft, pale pastels- everyone can find something that is perfect for the upcoming Spring season! This limited edition collection will be available in March 2013.

When it comes to Spring nail polishes, I’m all about color. So the moment I saw the promo photos for this collection I just knew I was going to love it. China Glaze is usually fairly consistent with their nail lacquers… so I couldn’t wait to try them out for myself.  The polishes are in the same packaging as always, and the collection is essentially broken down into two different groups; six vibrant shades and six pastel shades, which is perfect because I love sporting both bold hues and soft shades in Spring.

China Glaze Nail Lacquers in (L-R) Budding Romance, Sunday Funday & Fancy Pants

China Glaze Nail Lacquers in (L-R) Snap My Dragon, Passion for Petals & Mimosas Before Manis

China Glaze Nail Lacquers in (L-R) Life Is Rosy, Pink-ie Promise & Tart-y For The Party

China Glaze Nail Lacquers in (L-R) Fade Into Hue, Keep Calm Paint On & Dandy Lyin’ Around

The shades include…

• Budding Romance: Moss green
• Sunday Funday: Bright blue
• Fancy Pants: Indigo with pink and purple shimmer
• Snap My Dragon: Bright red with pink shimmer
• Passion for Petals: Bright salmon-pink
• Mimosas Before Manis: Coral with a light wash of shimmer
• Life Is Rosy: Blushed mauve
• Pink-ie Promise: Iridescent baby pink
• Tart-y for the Party: Light lavender cream
• Fade Into Hue: Periwinkle creme
• Keep Calm, Paint On: Sea foam green
• Dandy Lyin’ Around: Shimmery vanilla icing

I’m absolutely head over heels with this collection. In general, it’s fairly consistent in terms of quality. All polishes are fine with two coats, but some look best with three (like the thin, shimmery ones like Fancy Pants and Dandy Lyin’ Around). I love both the bolds and the pastels… but I have to say I’m especially in love with Mimosas Before Manis, Tart-y For The Party & Keep Calm, Paint On! They are just so appropriate and feminine.

I have to say a special warning about Budding Romance… use a base coat! This shade stained my nails an awful yellow color (I don’t wear base coats when swatching)!  Overall, the formula was fairly consistent with China Glaze, a next texture and ease of application. The shades with a hint of shimmer were slightly more thin which I find is a little more difficult to apply- but I just recommend doing 3 very thin coats instead of two thick ones.

The wear time was typical- about 3-4 days without any chipping with a topcoat. I have a feeling Keep Calm, Paint On is going to sell out fast (I usually have a pretty good sixth sense for these things)- so make sure to grab it early on!

Now… can the snow please go away!? I want sandal season!

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Budding Romance

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Sunday Funday

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Fancy Pants

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Snap My Dragon

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Passion for Petals

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Mimosas Before Manis

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Life Is Rosy

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Pink-ie Promise

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Tart-y For The Party

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Fade Into Hue

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Keep Calm, Paint On

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Dandy Lyin’ Around