[Purchased, affiliate links used]
Hey friends! Today I am sharing a collection that I was both looking forward to and dreading to swatch. China Glaze gave us quite a few.. erm interesting collections last year so I didn’t know what to expect for Spring 2023.
I was hoping for ANYTHING but pastel cremes and we got pastel cremes. I know I know, but on the positive side, these are pastels that have a drop of neon to the base so all of these are pastels with some extra oomph. Which I can get down with.
Promotion of these hasn’t started but the collection is starting to pop up for sale. If you want to pick these up at a discount and support my blog, check out Beyond Polish. While you’re there use my affiliate code NicoleLovesNails to save some coins!
I purchased this collection with my own money and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Live Swatch Video
My live swatch video is currently live for members of my YouTube channel. The video will go public Tuesday February 21st at 5PM Eastern time. If you would like to join the channel memberships, click here.
China Glaze is a US based mainstream brand. Their polishes are in 14ml bottles, 7 free and cruelty free.
Gimmie Suga
Description: a bleached neon pastel peach creme
Gimmie Suga had a beautiful formula. This is a super bright, neon, pastel peach. Application was very creamy, smooth and self leveled perfectly.
I LOVE how bright this color is. In my opinion, it a neon pastel peach shade. It has a bit more white than I usually prefer my neon peach shades but I can’t deny this is gorgeous.
I think this one will be a 2-3 coater depending on application and personal preference. I found I had a few light spots with 2 coats but if you aren’t as picky as me it’s passable in two coats.
My photos show Gimmie Suga in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Here For The Candy
Description: a pale pinky lavender pastel creme
Here For The Candy had a wonderful formula. There was of course some streakiness on the first coat but that is to be expected with a color that is this light. It had a very slight amount of chalkiness but overall applied wonderfully and self leveled great.
This polish has a little extra something that doesn’t feel like “just” a pastel pinky lavender creme. Which I am assuming is due to having some neon pigment in there. I didn’t expect to like this color nearly as much as I ended up liking it.
My photos show Here For The Candy in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. I do think this will likely be a 2-3 coater depending on nail length and application.
Holy Sugar!
Description: a bleached neon yellow creme
Holy Sugar! had a great formula, especially for a yellow creme. I went into swatching this polish expecting the worst and it exceeded my expectations! It was a little streaky on the first coat but overall felt very creamy and it self leveled great.
I love this shade of yellow. It’s bright yet a little pastel-y and it’s a really cute color. It kinda reminds me of Easter a little bit.
My photos show Holy Sugar! in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. This is another one that is going to be a 2-3 coater depending on your application. I had 2 nails that were actually fine in 2 coats but I did 3 coats for everything.
Kid In A Candy Store
Description: a bleached neon bubble pink creme
Kid In A Candy Store had a good but slightly chalky formula. I didn’t have any application issues with it.
I do want to note, my bottle is already starting have a case of ugly bottle syndrome. It isn’t affecting how the polish applies but it’s getting ugly.
Coverage was pretty good with this one but I do see people with very long nails potentially needing a third coat to fix light spots. I had one tiny one on my ring finger but I didn’t think it was going to pick up in photos (it didn’t, hooray!)
My photos show Kid In A Candy Store in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Sugar Junkie
Description: a bright AF fuchsia creme polish
Sugar Junkie had an AMAZING formula. It applied so creamy and smooth. It was honestly a dream to apply.
I was really surprised at how opaque this polish was. It’s not quite a 1 coater but it was really close. After a few uses, I can see this being a 1 coater easily!
This polish is a bright fuchsia. There is an underlying cool purple tone to it. Like the other polishes, there appears to be some neon pigment within the base as it does glow under black light.
My photos show Sugar Junkie in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Sweeta Than Suga
Description: a bleached neon peach creme
Sweeta Than Suga had a good formula. It felt just slightly chalky in application but it self leveled nicely and I didn’t have any real issues with it.
I am not the bigger lover of peachy neons but I did really love this color. I immediately thought this would look amazing on my toes!
Getting this polish color accurate was a task! I tweaked my studio lighting shots to better show what I was seeing in person. My natural light shot was not at all color accurate, but I wanted to show how the tone of the polish changed with the lightsource.
My photos show Sweeta Than Sugar in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. This is another polish where I could see someone needing a third coat depending on application.
Final Thoughts
After the numerous letdowns I had with China Glaze last year, I was both excited and terrified at what their first 2023 collection was going to be like. I was bummed when I saw for spring we had pastels but also not surprised because that’s kind of the norm when it comes to mainstream collections.
The fact that these pastels have a dash of neon goodness added made me very happy. The only thing that would have made me like this collection more was some specialty finishes mixed in. I feel like when you have a sugar collection, throwing in a textured polish is a must but maybe that’s just me?
All that said, the collection was great and I don’t have any real complaints! My top picks are without a doubt Sugar Junkie and Sweeta Than Suga.
China Glaze
14ml, 7 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
Website | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok
Sale Information
Promotion for the Hello Sugar collection has not yet started but it is starting to pop up for sale online.
If you would like to pick up this collection, or any other China Glaze polishes, and support my blog, please feel free to check out Beyond Polish where I have an affiliate link/code. If you use code, NicoleLovesNails you can save 10% off all of the individual polishes on the website.
I also have some affiliate links to Amazon, Sally Beauty and Ulta which are places where China Glaze is sold online.
