How frickin’ awesome are these bright shades from the new China Glaze Kicks Collection?
I had a blast swatching these first six shimmery shades from the vibrant 12-piece spring collection ($3 a bottle; more swatches to follow).
The collection’s bold blues, greens, oranges and pinks were inspired by colorful tennis shoes — the young’ns call ’em kicks — but they remind me of Skittles.
Custom Kicks is my favorite of the ones shown here. It’s the shimmery blueish teal at the top.
This one takes me back, all the way back to my very first shoe crush…
It was 1985; I was an awkward fifth grader, having 1) a bowl haircut, 2) clothes that never matched (seriously, we desperately needed a GAP Kids or Limited Too back then) and 3) crippling shyness.
My mission in life was to blend in to the scenery, and I avoided anything that would make me stand out.
It was a ROUGH YEAR.
But there were high points. I won second place in a poster contest (I drew a cat reading a book with the caption, “Shove boredom away, and pick up a book!”) and managed to avoid any bully beat downs.
But the absolute highlight of that year was my pair of teal blue Reebok tennis shoes, and I wore them every day.
I spent half my time with my head down (to avoid making eye contact with my classmates), but at least I had something cute on my feet. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Denisa says
April 21st, 2009 at 6:59 amOooohh I love these colors!!! My 2 favs. are skyhigh top and custom kicks! That is so cool that you had some cool sneaks to rock, at least your shoes weren’t a shy color! =)
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 7:22 amHi Denisa,
I love them too — the next batch has some orange shades that are equally drool worthy. 🙂
Hope you’re having a nice Tuesday!
Michelle G says
April 21st, 2009 at 8:50 amI love Entourage!! The perfect green for the summer. I actually have it on right now lol
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 4:02 pmHi Michelle G.,
Cute! I want to wear that shade on my toes. 🙂
Mikele says
April 21st, 2009 at 9:15 amI just bought a color that looks exactly like Custom Kicks from Walgreen’s on Friday!! I have it on and I love it! 🙂
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 4:02 pmHi Mikele,
Nice! What brand is it?
Isn’t Walgreens the best? I used to work right around the corner from three of ’em and I was always there on my breaks.
cloudburst says
April 21st, 2009 at 9:36 amI really like Custom Kicks & Sky Hightop.
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 4:01 pmHi Cloudburst,
Yup — both are fab!
Stephie says
April 21st, 2009 at 9:39 amIt’s Poppin IS poppin 😛 I hope my Sally’s has these babys in stock soon.
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 4:01 pmHi Stephie,
RIGHT? I hope they do, too.
Gosh, I love Sally’s. Whenever I go in there El Hub has to drag me out…
LayLa says
April 21st, 2009 at 9:58 amthose colors @_@ !!!
there so great !!!!
for a long time i’ve
been waiting some
nice blue polishes
maybe i’ll look for
some of these…
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 4:00 pmHi LayLa,
🙂 YES! I hope you try Custom Kicks. It’s a lovely teal for summer time!
Maggie says
April 21st, 2009 at 10:01 amwow, the colors look addicting!
you’re right; JUST like skittles! 🙂
Maggie´s last blog post..Something New, Photography, and Sephoraaaa<3
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:59 pmHi Maggie,
They totally do, right? I wanted to nibble my fingers right off. 🙂
Wenvers says
April 21st, 2009 at 11:10 amI have received Custom Kicks last week, lovely color. I was a little bit affright that the texture was like the laquers of the Summer collection but these are much better. Cool!
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:59 pmHi Wenvers,
Sweet. Are you wearing it on your toes or fingers?
Milan says
April 21st, 2009 at 11:37 amI ordered Paper Chasin’, Fly and Sky High-Top last week. I should have them this week. Can’t wait to rock these!
Milan´s last blog post..Prescriptives Motor-Eyes Instant Action Mascara
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:59 pmHi Milan,
Yay! Can’t wait to hear what you think of ’em!
Didi says
April 21st, 2009 at 11:45 amfly and custom kicks are talking to me! great colors!
Didi´s last blog post..Jouer Cosmetics Yummy Eye Candy
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:58 pmHi Didi,
Yes! Fly spoke to me, too. I think it would look so pretty on toes. 🙂
Liliana says
April 21st, 2009 at 12:08 pmohhh I just ordered Custom Kicks! i love teal colors!
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:54 pmHi Liliana,
Yay! You won’t be disappointed. 🙂
gio says
April 21st, 2009 at 12:34 pmwow, the colors are gorgeous! I really like It’s Poppin and Custom Kicks.
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:54 pmHi Gio,
Both shades seem to be a crowd favorite. 🙂
Kalyn says
April 21st, 2009 at 1:18 pmThose are get colors for the summer. You have to let us know if the paint chips. For $3 a bottle I’m curious as to how long the color will last.
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:54 pmHi Kalyn,
I’ve worn China Glaze in the past and it stays on crazy good! 🙂
Amanda says
April 21st, 2009 at 1:53 pmLovin’ these! All of them, but custom kicks is my favorite I think.
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:54 pmHi Amanda,
Me, too.
It’s hard to believe that a few years ago nail polish wasn’t so bright and sassy. I’m loving all the blues and greens.
Luv J says
April 21st, 2009 at 2:11 pmCustom Kicks and It’s Poppin’ are mine!
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:53 pmHi Luv J,
Both are fab choices!
Gotta love the brights for summer, summer, summer time!
Stacie says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:36 pmOoh, Paper Chasing is pretty! So is Custom Kicks. LOL, Karen! My mission in life when I was in school was also to blend into the scenery! My goal was to never be noticed; that way, I wouldn’t be bullied or embarrassed in any way. (I am annoyed with my younger self!) And I succeeded with the blending, too. I lived in a small town, and had about 90 students in my graduating class. On the first day of senior year, one of my classmates I’d gone to school with for forever asked if I was new in town! ROTFL!! (But maybe it was a good thing he’d never noticed me before–after that, he spent the entire year hitting on me!)
Karen says
April 21st, 2009 at 3:52 pmHi Stacie,
I tried to blend in for the same reasons — I didn’t want to be bullied or embarrassed. I had just started a new, bigger school, plus I didn’t really have a close friends so all I wanted to do was not stand out. Sigh.
Did you ever end up going out with that boy who asked you if you were new?
Catherine says
April 21st, 2009 at 4:23 pmEntourage and Sky-High top are gorgeous! How’s the consistency on these? I’m trying to decide between ChG and Zoya, because Tallulah and Midori look fab too.
Catherine´s last blog post..Makeup Bag Contents
Karen says
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:47 amHi Catherine,
They’re a little thick, but totally workable. 🙂
Briana says
April 21st, 2009 at 5:04 pmOOOh, I love Paper Chasin! I would definitely rock that on my toes for the summer!
Briana´s last blog post..Greyhounds!
Karen says
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:48 amHi Briana,
It’s cute, yah? I want to wear it with my bright yellow heels. 🙂
Stacie says
April 21st, 2009 at 8:14 pmHa, no I never went out with him! Believe me when I say he wasn’t my type. Besides, at that point I had my eye on the guy who became my hubby! 🙂
Karen says
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:52 amHi Stacie,
Awww, cute! Did you know that your hub had something special about him when you first met him? Or were you guys friends first?
I didn’t think El Hub and I would end up together when we first met, LOL!
Wenvers says
April 21st, 2009 at 10:07 pm@ karen: Both! However I think I will use it most for the toes! 🙂
How about the Zoya laquers? I just ordered Pippa from de La-di-da collection, do you already have colors of this collection?
Karen says
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:52 amHi Wenvers,
Would ya believe I haven’t gotten around to trying Zoya? I know lots of people like the polishes, though.
Sarah says
April 21st, 2009 at 11:00 pmOh my… i love all these colors. im sucha nail polish whore. its ridiculously fun. i was rockin the yellow IMBEAUTY OPI Sephora last week… im LOVING the nontraditional colors.
Karen says
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:53 amHi Sarah,
I saw that one at the store the other day! It’s really pretty. I’m loving the rise of wacky colors, too. Orange, yellow, green… sign me up!
Stacie says
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:05 pmWell, we ended up working at the same grocery store the summer before my senior year–I was a checker and he was a sacker. That’s how we got to know each other. He was a year behind me in school, and before I got to know him I thought he was a huge troublemaker (’cause he was!) I was the goody goody, so everybody thought we were a strange couple! But we were both too shy to ask the other out, so we were friends for months before we finally went on a date. Now, nearly seven years later, we’re still together!
Stef says
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:56 pmSpring is the perfect time for these wacky doodle colors, love ’em. They look like different color drink umbrellas!
Zoya is ah-mazing. Karen, go get a bottle, you’ll love it.
I think my favorite brand though is Spa Ritual, anyone a fan?
Last Tango is the most perfect bright coral pink known to womankind!
Stef´s last blog post..Davines and ION Studio, Earth-friendly hair
Karen says
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:37 pmHi Stef,
I love Spa Ritual! The colors are fab, plus they’ve got that super handy rubber top.