China Glaze Summer Neons 2012 Swatches and Review

China Glaze Summer Neons 2012









China Glaze comes up with 12 new neon, retina-searing shades for Summer 2012.  These are bright shades that are perfect for lounging by the poolside, great with flipflops or sexy strappy heels, and just basically anything celebrating summer and warm weather.  Here are some swatches of China Glaze Summer Neons 2012 and my thoughts on them.




China Glaze Sun Kissed





Sun-Kissed is your hot highlighter yellow shade.  When I saw this shade, I really thought about my yellow highlighter as soon as I swatched it.  It's a pretty neon yellow with some sort of shimmery finish, although it dries matte like typical neons do.


China Glaze I'm With The Lifeguard





I'm With the Lifeguard is an amazing glimmering lime green neon.  This is also a nice shade if you are not into the typical pinks and corals.  This also has a slight shimmery but matte finish.


China Glaze Orange You Hot?





Orange You Hot? is a bright orange with gold shimmer.  The shimmer is really quite pretty and is a must if you like oranges.  I am usually not into straight oranges because they somehow make my hand look dirty.  This however does not.


China Glaze Flirty Tankini





Flirty Tankini is one of my top favorites from this collection.  It is a strawberry smoothie pink.  It also has the shimmer finish that I adore.  The unusual color made me fall in love with this.


China Glaze Pink Plumeria







China Glaze Pink Plumeria with Cover Band's Sticks and Stones glitter lacquer on top

Pink Plumeria is also a favorite next to Flirty Tankini.  It is a bit similar to the latter, but it is lighter and has gold shimmer.  This is quite feminine albeit the neon finish and would make a great mani or pedi color.


China Glaze Surfin' for the Boys







Surfin For The Boys is a glistening bright coral.  If you are into corals, this is the perfect shade for you.  I like corals because they have a touch of red to balance the orange hue.


China Glaze Love's a Beach






China Glaze Love's a Beach topped with All That Glitters' Spottie Dottie Silvie glitter top coat

Love's a Beach is for hot pink lovers.  So pretty and perfect for summer, and would look amazing with sexy strappy heels or flops as a pedicure color.


China Glaze Hang Ten Toes






China Glaze Hang Ten Toes topped with All That Glitters' Spottie Dottie Goldie glitter top coat

Hang Ten Toes is a tad lighter than Love's A Beach and is your perfect bubblegum pink neon.  This is also blue-based to my eyes because it has iridescent purple shimmer that is gorgeous.


China Glaze Beach Cruiser







Beach Cruise-r is a glimmering fuchsia grape that looks like an orchid pink neon to me.  This is actually in my top favorites along with Flirty Tankini.  This shade looks amazing because it is quite pigmented and yet neon at the same time.


China Glaze Under The Boardwalk





Under the Boardwalk is described as a flourescent raspberry, a neon berry.  I like it but I like Beach Cruise-r better which is a tad lighter than Under the Boardwalk.


China Glaze Splish Splash






China Glaze Splish Splash topped with All That Glitters' The Jean Genie glitter polish

Splish Splash is also one of my top faves.  It is a beautiful neon blue shimmer that is just amazing in its brightness.  Enough said.



China Glaze Ride the Waves





Ride The Waves is the sheerest out of all the 12 shades and has the most jelly-like, squishy finish.  It is a neon dark ocean blue.

Most of these neons have a glistening but matte finish that is kinda hard to describe.  It has shimmer but it is not shiny but a bit flat.  You would have to add a topcoat for it to have a really shiny finish.  Also, the formula has a bit of a learning curve.  It is not as easy to apply as cremes but it is easier to apply and less finicky than let's say some holographic polishes.  However, it is not hard to apply these as long as you let each coat completely dry first before applying the next.  In my experience, these shades are fully opaque in 2-3 coats.

All in all, I really like these neons.  They don't have the flat, matte finish of neon polishes in the past.  These have a slight glimmer to them that is fascinating.  I like Sun-Kissed, Flirty Tankini, Splish Splash and Under the Boardwalk the best.

The Shades Of U Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Check out my Video Review with Swatches of the China Glaze 2012 Summer Neons Collection.

Note: Media sample was provided by a representative of the brand for consideration.  All opinions are completely mine.