China Glaze The Giver: Live Application and Review

Hey polish lovers everywhere.  I'm excited to bring you this review today of the 12 polishes in the collaboration collection that China Glaze created for the film The Giver, being released early August.  This collection is mostly made up of neutrals, and at first glance a lot of the polishes look very similar, at least to me.  Thus, upon first inspection of the collection I decided to wait before purchasing it.  A few weeks went by and I still hadn't seen any swatches for this (turns out divine) collection.  I mentioned the fact to mr. hubsters and the next day he brings the whole thing home for me to swatch and film.  If you would like to see live application of these little babies- well then you have come to the right place!  You can find that here:

Let's get to some pictures and in-depth reviews.  First off- yes the collection is heavily-weighted on the neutral side and so in the middle of Summer at first I was thinking I was going to have a hard time getting into this collection.  However, after I had swatched just two, I was quickly falling in love with it.  These creams have a fabulous formula and I think they're going to make my go-to palate-cleansers when I'm done with Summer brights and neons.  Not only do you get a great selection of cool neutrals, they have thrown in some show-stopping colors as well.  Having said all that, let's look at each polish specifically.

 First up we have one of the two glitters included in this collection. The density of glitter particles packed into this bottle of polish is more than I've ever seen.  It's intense, but because the colors of glitter are earthy it doesn't feel overwhelming.  The polish is called Boundary of Memory and it reaches this level of opacity at two coats.

This gorgeous bright turquoise is called Capacity to See Beyond.  In a collection of neutrals, this is a welcome punch of color.  You get an easy and smooth application in two coats.  I can see this being on many a polish-lover's wish list.  I say, get it while you can. :)  As you can see, my camera didn't play well with this shade, but that's pretty close to what it looks like on the nail- maybe just a tad lighter.

This moody chocolate brown is called Community.  Very earthy, very comforting- if you enjoy brown polish you're going to love this one.  A great two-coater, this polish just makes me want to get snuggly with my honey.

Next they gave us this taupe/gray called Five Rules.  Again, it applies like a dream.  It's like they made it a mission to create a collection full of neutrals that will allow us to play with nail art and feel very chic all at the same time.  This one feels a little like a power suit to me lol.  Loved it.

They included two almost-white shades in The Giver collection.  This one leads just a little bit pink.  It's called Friends Forever, Right?  What a sweet name for a sweet and delicate color.  I've never encountered a polish like this(or the other almost-white shade) where it really seems like it had just barely half a drop of pink in the mix.  So interesting and it feels very clean and refreshing.  You're looking at two coats, and it was not difficult to even out on that second coat.

This gorgeous plum/violet concoction is called Givers Theme.  Almost a one-coater, but I've shown you two here for consistency across the review- this is another pop of color that the collection really needed.  A shade that really looks great on everyone, I think this will be another that's going to leap off the shelves.

So, this polish ties for favorite of the group, and it's called History of the World.  This is the color I wanted Queen B from last Fall's Autumn Nights collection to be.  It's so rich in pigment and so seductive, in my opinion.  Just the perfect mix of indigo and gray, I think it's perfection and I see myself wearing this all Fall. It basically needs just one coat, but I've shown you two here.

This very chic gray that leans a tad green/blue- I can't make up my mind which- is called Intelligence, Integrity & Courage.  I absolutely love this on.  It's a polish you can wear everywhere and it's appropriate for any occasion.  Something about it was almost empowering and it's practically opaque in one coat.  Another hit out of the park.  You're looking at two coats.

Here is another one of the almost-white polishes, but this one interestingly leans a tiny bit green/blue as well and is called New Birth. Strange color, huh?  Like I said about the one that had a touch of pink, I've never seen a polish like this before, but they're both going to be great for nail art- to just give you that little hint of color in your white polish to keep things interesting.  Like it's sister, it also needs the second coat to smooth out, but it does so easily.

Say hello to my precious...  This heavenly angel is called Release and was the other polish that tied for my favorite.  I don't know what it is about taupe/grays but they call to me with a siren song.  I melted into this color when I had it on and I just love how it feels murky and clean at the same time.  Two coats were just enough to do the trick and they applied without any issues.

Watch out!  They gave us this brilliant brick red called Seeing Red.  This red feels like a poison apple to me, there's something ominous about it.  Very intense, this was the most pigmented of the bunch and really only needs one coat.  You're looking at two here for the purposes of the review.  If you are a red polish-lover you're going to love having this easy warm red to rely on.  Slap one coat on and go.  Again, a really powerful piece in the collection.

The final act of the collection is the second and last glitter they gave us and it's called The Outer Edge, and I've shown it here over Capacity to See Beyond.  This is two coats, and as you can see, it's made up of white and holo glitters in a clear base.  All glitters are the same microglitter size (as were the glitters in the Boundary of Memory) and to me it looks a bit like fallen snow, how it glistens.   This polish was a little thick, but not as much so as the other glitter and it's definitely workable.

And that's it!  Did you find any must-haves?  My top picks are History of the World, Release, Intelligence, Integrity & Courage, and then probably Capacity to See Beyond.  Like I said in each polish's review, I had basically zero issues with formula.  Sometimes with a collection there will be at least one polish that's almost unmanageable.  You won't find that with this collection.  There were no letdowns.

With that said, I hope you enjoyed this review and found it helpful.  Don't forget to check out the live application so you don't just have to take my word on the formula.  I hope you're having a great day and thanks for stopping by.  I'll see you back tomorrow!

Song of the Day: Slow Magic- Youths

Over and out