Having seeing aerosol nail polish online and on Instagram for a couple months now I picked up a can of China Glaze Coloured Nail Spray on a recent trip to Ulta. It seems entirely too good to be true…so I wanted to show you, dear reader. Priced at roughly $10 normally but on sale as low as $5.99, China Glaze Coloured Nail Spray comes in four colours:
Platinum Silver which I bought
- Magenta Shimmer
- Purple Shimmer
- Bright Blue
The usage instructions call for using China Glaze’s Strong Adhesion Base Coat, two coats of the spray letting each dry, then seal with a top coat. After that’s dry, go wash your hands.
I instead used ORLY Bonder base coat because it’s not only what I had, but also because it really does a great job helping non-gel polish adhere. I applied one coat of that and let it dry.
Then, not knowing what to expect output and odor wise, I went outside to apply. My house is small and not well-ventilated, so I didn’t want to cause discomfort for my husband, cats, or myself. China Glaze Coloured Nail Spray applies very much so like spray paint – I worked in short bursts to cover all my nails. Don’t try to avoid getting it on your skin; it won’t happen. (If you’re concerned, you can tape off your skin so a smaller margin of product ends up on your skin.
I immediately noticed:
- The product is thin, which makes sense.
- If you apply too much on a nail and do not keep your nail perfectly level, it will result in a line as though the product is not level. Try to keep your hand on a flat surface and keep your nails level until they dry. This may mean doing your thumbs separately, which I recommend.
- It dries fast!
- It does NOT smell like nail polish! It DOES, however, smell like cheap aftershave. WTF, China Glaze?
In less than thirty seconds I was able to apply the second coat of spray. Working in the same fashion, I coated my nails and waited one minute to ensure they were fully dry. Then, I applied Seche Vite topcoat (like one normally would), and waited for it to dry. Alas, the strong, unique smell of Seche Vite did not even take out the aftershave-esque fragrance.
I was really tempted to not wash my hands immediately and keep the editorial-looking, Silver Surfer-reminiscent hands going for a little while. I used better judgment, though, and schlepped to the sink trying not to bump my hands on anything lest the silvery substance rub off on something else.
At the sink, I fully did not expect to have the same experience demonstrated in the product videos. I anticipated needing to get my nail brush to scrub the polish off my skin. Surprisingly enough, it mostly came off under running water while I rubbed the skin with my other fingers. I did resort to soap to get it all the way off, but it came off gently without elbow grease. Still smelled like cheap aftershave, though.
Here’s the finished look:
China Glaze Coloured Nail Spray
So it looks pretty good! Far better than I thought. I’d love to see a champagne shade.
On the wear:
This is definitely NOT a long-wearing product. This is a, “this only needs to last for ONE day,” product. I applied at 2PM in the afternoon; by 8AM the next day it looked rough with significant tip wear and chipping.
This photo was taken around noon the next day. It deteriorated further throughout the day and I did not subject my fingers or hands to any atypical conditions.
The Bottom Line:
If you want to be able to wear fun colors without significant application and drying time, and only need it for a very brief period of time (like a night out), this is pretty neat. I think it would be useful to have on hand for situations like, “Damn, I ran out of time and really do not want bare nails,” because you can be done in under 7 minutes. Otherwise, if you want to get more than a day out of your polish, this is absolutely not for you. Personally, I prefer the longevity of gel polish to the novelty of the aerosol polish.
I haven’t run through the entire can yet, so it is difficult for me to say how many applications come in a single can of China Glaze Coloured Nail Spray, but I’m certain you will get fewer uses out of this than a bottle of traditional or gel polish. Given that fact, it isn’t the most economical nail wear option – but if that isn’t important to you, have fun!