China Glaze Stone Cold

Hello lovely readers! TGIF! And this time I do mean it! This week has been crazy for me. I had my house and especially my room upside down for repairs and stuff. I got new windows but the process lasted 3 days. And on the first day the saddest thing happened. I had a huge break on my right index finger! Those following me on Instagram know that I've been sporting super nubs since Monday. I still have 2 more posts with long nails for you and then you'll see them. I'm so nervous because nubs are harder to polish, harder to photograph and my hands are generally a mess. It took me a few days to get used to them and it still makes me sad. Oh well, on to the polish! 

China Glaze Stone Cold indoors, artificial light

This is not a polish I would normally wear or post this time of the year, but I had it on a few weeks ago and needed to post it because it still has my beautiful long nails in it. After all, it is from a collection that came out in the spring, although it totally screamed fall to me. I got two polishes from the Hunger Games collection: Stone Cold because it's a gorgeous matte and Smoke and Ashes because it has amazing flecks in it. You know I love mattes. So how could I have passed this beauty. It's a little darker than stone in my opinion, but still has the stone-like feel to it thanks to the silver shimmer and the matte finish. 

The application of this polish has a story of its own. When I first got it I swatched it on a nail wheel and was pleased to see how opaque it was with one coat, but at the same time it seemed quite thick. I went for a full mani and I had trouble applying it like with no other polish. It was so thick that it dragged awfully if I went over a spot for the second time. And I couldn't even follow my cuticle line properly with the brush. The result was terrible. I just wiped it all off and picked up some other polish. A few weeks later I picked it back up and decided to add thinner, although I was worried about how it would react. After several (maybe 5-6) drops of Seche Restore I was able to use it properly. I ended up doing 2 thin coats and the drying time was very short because mattes always dry quickly. I wore it like this for one or two days with minimal tip wear. I then decided to add some top coat to see how it looks. 

China Glaze Stone Cold with top coat, indoors, artificial light

The top coat definitely makes it look darker and if you are not a fan of mattes, this is still a gorgeous charcoal with silver shimmer. I love it both ways but I still like the alone version better because it's more original. I don't know what happened to my skin tone in these photos. It looks like my skin is made of paper. I only noticed this now as I was editing them and there was nothing I could do (I'm no Photoshop genius), so you'll have to forgive me.

China Glaze Stone Cold with top coat in artificial direct light

Sorry for this long post. I hope my ramblings didn't make you run away. If you made it this far kudos! You are a hero! Thanks for stopping by and I will talk to you soon!