China Glaze Retro Diva for Fall 2009
China Glaze will soon be releasing a 12 polish collection for fall 2009 called Retro Diva. This collection is supposed to be colors pulled from the 70′s decade. I was just a young punk kid in the 70′s, but I do remember the colors and look of those days. Some of these colors seemed right on target, some didn’t say 70′s at all to me and I definitely think they missed three very strong 70′s colors which are avocado green, dark burnt orange and chocolate brown. I would really have loved to have seen some type of green especially!
The finish on these are shimmery with a metallic edge. I only had a couple application issues and most of them were two coaters, which is always a huge plus. Check them out!
Cords
Cords is a really cool color that’s like a cross between taupe and platinum. This was one of my favorite ones from the collection because I feel it’s more original than a lot of them. This doesn’t say 70′s to me, but that’s ok. This was two coats.
Cruisin’
Cruisin’ is a vivid tangerine colored orange. This one definitely looks right in this collection, but not with my skin tone! This was two coats.
Drive In
Drive In is a nice cherry red with a warm edge to it. I like it, but don’t think it’s one of the best ones here. This was two coats.
Far Out
Far Out turned out to be a lot better than what I expected. It’s a really pretty toffee color. I don’t know why, but this is very 70′s to me. This was three coats for full opaqueness.
Let’s Groove
Let’s Groove is hands down the stunner of all of these. As soon as I saw it I knew I was a goner and have actually been wearing this color for 3 days now (with hardly any tip wear people, stop the presses!!). In fact, I was at the Gap today and the cashier kept going on and on about how much she loved it! Sadly she had never heard of China Glaze so I told her, you must go online and find them, they rock! This is a fabulous royal purple shimmer and I’m not sure how it fits into the 70′s, but I don’t care! I used three coats here for maximum impact.
Short & Sassy
Short & Sassy is a deep garnet colored polish that I can totally get behind! See the lit from within look it has when in the sun? Love it. This was two coats.
Free Love
Free Love is another appropriate 70′s polish and it’s bright! This is precisely the warm orange/yellow color I cannot wear with my skin tone, but it’s great nonetheless. This was two coats.
Skate Night
Skate Night is a deep cranberry red that I really like. It doesn’t SCREAM original to me, but I do like it a lot and can’t think of any dupes to it. This was two coats.
Stroll
Stroll was the only one that had a jelly like consistency and glitter in it. I loved it in the bottle, but no so much on me for some reason. The color is a ruby red with fine gold glitter. I used three coats here as this was slightly more sheer than the rest.
Street Racing
Street Racing is hard to describe. It’s an orange with maybe some copper or bronze in it? I don’t know, but I like it a lot! This was two coats.
Stella
Stella is a pretty wine colored shimmer that was also one of my favs. This definitely says 70′s to me more than Let’s Groove somehow and it’s much warmer. This was two coats.
Thunderbird
Thunderbird is another nice red, but this didn’t blow my socks off. It’s lighter than Short & Sassy and more of a “classic” red hue. This was two coats.
The Retro Diva collection should be available starting in July and can be found at e-tailers and Sally Beauty Supply. What do you think of this collection, which are hits or misses for you? Are there any colors you wish had been included?
Welcome! My name is Kelly and Vampy Varnish is a animal friendly beauty blog.
you are spot on. a dark burnt orange would have been perfect for this collection (plus its one of my fav house-decorating colors). think any other brands will sport this color in the fall?
Hi gansie,
I really don’t know, they might! It is a fall-ish color so we’ll see!
Wow. You know, this collection almost looks like the took a vibrant shade, and then a not so great version of it as well and stuffed them all into the same collection. Like Free Love vs. Crusin’, and Let’s Groove vs Stella.. then all the red berries seem like variations on each other. It’s a bit like they’re trying to dupe themselves in the same collection to me! Still, i want quite a few….
Sorry but this is so wack compared to the rodeo diva collection. I bought almost every color from that collection and from this one I only want let’s groove and possibly stroll. Beautiful swatches as always.
Hey Vamp, I think Stroll looks great on you!
Thanks for the swatches! I’d love to get Short and Sassy, reminds me a little of Ruby Pumps
Let’s Groove is AMAZING!
I hate to say it, but like with Zoya’s ‘Truth’ collection that you showed, there really isn’t a standout color that I’m absolutely lemming for. And to me, Skate Night looks like an exact dupe for Vertical Rush, which is a color I have. (At least in the picture it does) I’ll have to take a pass on this collection as well. (Although I may get Skate Night just to compare it to Vertical Rush)
Anyway, the birthday post I made–I forgot to with you a happy birthday that day. Sorry about that.
China Glaze has really disappointed me lately.
Stella is the only I think is unique looking.
Thanks for the swatches!
I see I’m in the minority here… but I absolutely love these colors! The oranges wouldn’t look good on me, but I love the rest!
Let’s Groove and Stroll are breathtaking! As usual, your swatches are perfect.
I’m actually planning on buying the entire collection — which I’ve never done before. While my favorite colors are baby blues, the deep, rich, jewel tones are the ones that look best on me. My credit card is at the ready.
this is a great collection! i want stella, free love, short and sassy,let’s groove, far out, cruisin’ and cords. i’ve never wanted so many colors from a collection. being the purple freak that i am i especially love the purples in this collection.
thanks for the swatches! Is Let’s Groove a dupe of Chanel Vendetta?