Review: China Glaze Flying Dragon

Tuesday, January 5

Whoa, crazy. Two posts in one day! I really hate being behind on posting my manicures, though. Actually, I might have had three posts today if my pictures of Essie Very Cranberry had turned out. And if my nails were cleaned up a bit more, haha. By the way, this post is going to be a bit long. Sorry about that!

ChG Flying Dragon is, in a word, spectacular. Beautiful true purple with blue and reddish purple microglitter. It's a neon, so it dries fairly matte. I didn't really like the finish, so I did two coats of Poshe (Which I'm actually loving a lot more than Seche Vite. We just get along much better.), and it became shiny and pretty. I did two coats of polish, though I really should have done three. I have major, major VNL. I let it slide, though, because the polish is just so gorgeous. I picked up this polish the other day (I talked about it in one of my haul posts) from one of the local Sally's, along with ChG Japanese Koi.


(Click the pics to enlarge and see the fabulous glitter.)
I've never been a huge fan of purple nail polish (Shocking, I know.). It's always too sheer or t0o thick or something. The formula is usually just weird in some way. This polish was practically perfect, though. Definitely one of my favorites.


So, I broke my no-buy. Again. I know, I know. This addiction is getting bad. But, hey. This isn't as bad a vice as I could have, right? Right! I posted the other day about my Sally's haul, so I don't think I need to repeat myself. Anyway, yesterday I went out shopping a bit with my mom, and we hit up some drugstores. We've got so many Walgreen's and CVSes in town, it's crazy. We only went to one Walgreen's and one CVS, though. At Walgreen's I picked up Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Grape Going! and Revlon Mad About Mango. MAM is one of Revlon's new scented polishes! It totally takes me back to my childhood. I had all these scented markers, and it smells exactly like one of them. I think I had some scented polish, too. I think that's why I've been seriously lemming the Revlon scented polishes. They remind me so much of the 90s, and it's awesome. I almost got Coconut Crush and Mon Cherry, as well, but backed out at the last minute. Afterward I was upset that I didn't get Mon Cherry, and my mom told me today she's pick it up for me! Hooray!

I also finally convinced my mom to buy colored polishes. She's been addicted to these barely there frosty pink colors for practically forever, and I got her to get Sally Hansen Plum's The Word and Milani Cherry Pie (which is actually from the CVS haul). These polishes look great on her. CVS is having a sale right now, by the way, where you can get Milani polishes and cosmetics for buy one, get one 50% off (I'm not getting anything for posting this. I just thought it was a great sale.) Because of this sale, I picked up Milani Garnet Gems, Milani Blackberry Baby, and Milani Key Lime Shine. Such pretty colors.

We also went to the mall, where I went in search of Claire's Dream Catcher. Sadly, my Claire's did not have it. I've been trying to find a dupe for Chanel Jade, and the closest I've come is L.A. Colors Green Satin, which is pretty close, but Dream Catcher seems almost identical. I did pick up Icing Marine Blue and Icing Blackout, though. I was so excited to find Blackout. It's so pretty! And it was the only one left!

I went to World Market, too, and picked up a bunch of random foreign/weird snack foods. I've been having serious cravings for crazy things lately. I picked up a box of milk coffee (??) flavored Pocky, a box of Chocolate Crunch (basically a stick of Pocky covered in chocolate cookies and then dipped in chocolate) flavored Pocky, Chili Lime dark chocolate (So, so good.), some crazy maple candy in the shape of a maple leaf (It tastes exactly like brown sugar. Heavenly.), and a box of lemon mint Turkish delight, which is amazing (I had to throw out my last box of Turkish delight, which was actually lemon and rose flavored, because my brother's dog got into the box. Both flavors are to die for, though.). I also got a really pretty wool cream and tan houndstooth scarf that I plan on wearing quite often in the next week, since our temperatures have dropped immensely. It was 19 degrees last night! In the South! This is madness.

Oh, and for Christmas I got a gift card for Bath & Body Works, which is probably one of my favorite stores. I love indulging in wonderful-smelling bath products. Well, B&BW has a huge sale going on right now, too. It's amazing. I was able to get one of their huge candles (in Fireside. This smells exactly like a fireplace. It's absolutely amazing.), two foaming body washes (in Black Amethyst and Japanese Cherry Blossom), and two bottles of their Aromatherapy Stress-Relief Eucalyptus and Spearmint Volumizing shampoo (which is great. I used it last night, and I felt so relaxed after using it. And this morning when I woke up, my hair had body and volume, which it desperately needs.) all for only 22 dollars. That candle alone would have been 20 dollars if it wasn't on sale. Oh, how I love after-Christmas/New Year sales.

My mom is also currently indulging my obsession and is polish shopping for me. I can't wait to see what she brings back! I know she's getting Revlon Vixen and Revlon Frankly Scarlet. I think she's getting OPI My Private Jet (!!!), too. (EDIT: My mom brought home Revlon Vixen, Revlon Frankly Scarlet, OPI My Private Jet (It seems to be the latest version that's sort of brown and duochromy. Not exactly a holo, but it has holo glitter. Hey, I'll take it! I'm still on the lookout for the elusive original, though), and OPI La Paz-itively Hot (They apparently didn't have the matte version. Oh, well. This version's super pretty! My search continues for the matte version, though. I want an 80s prom dress for my nails!). A lovely early birthday present indeed!)

Gah, why do I keep breaking my no-buy? It feels so good at first, but then afterward, I start regretting it. I know it's going to get better, though, now that I'm starting school again, because I'm not going to have any time to shop, haha. I justify it, though, by saying that nail polish is like an accessory. You can't just have one or two. You have to have a lot, to fit your mood and the season and whatnot.

Have you picked up any great polishes or products lately?