November was a crazy month for me and in between all that crazy, I made an effort to keep my nails manicured... because otherwise, I'd bite them down to nubbins. Anyway, because of the crazy, I started choosing NOTD polishes that would likely dry quickly. Like metallics. So glad I ordered four of the six Khromes! All four of these were NOTDs at some point last month. Two coats, no topcoat, was surprisingly unchippy for not having a topcoat, and dried in no time at all. I usually treat my hands very gingerly for an hour or two following a manicure with a topcoat. When I applied these polishes, I pretty much resumed normal hand activities within the half hour without a topcoat!
A warning about the Khromes (which apply to all metallics): they will show every single flaw in your nails. Polish will pool in crevasses that you didn't know you had on your nails. I don't have very ridge-y nails at all but a ridge-filler was a must. I used NailTek Foundation II for my manis. Also, all of these were taken at the end of the second day of wear.
China Glaze 2030
Burnished light gold. Only the slightest bit rosy. This one applied the smoothest for me and was the least brushstroke-y.
China Glaze Sci Fi
Silver with a blue or purple or dusty pink cast, depending on the light you're in. Super, super gorgeous. Definitely my favorite of the bunch.
China Glaze Metallic Muse
Metallic teal/turquoise. Gorgeous color and even seafoam green in low lights but the most brush-stroke-y one that I tried and hardest to apply.
China Glaze Hi Tek
Burnished rose gold. I wish I had jewelry in this color! It's so beautiful in person. This one was pretty easy to apply too.
I don't think these are a huge improvement on the Romantiques (most of them weren't too streaky on me and I usually only used them for Konading anyway) but they are, on the whole, easier to apply than the Romantiques and have fewer obvious brushstrokes. Still, I'm glad I gave into these: I've never been so happy with metallics!
