China Glaze Anchors Away Part 1

Late to the party, as usual - but fashionably so, right? 
I'm splitting this collection into two posts, because there are two distinct halves. Let's start with the pastels, or as I like to think of them, the 'Yacht Club'.

White Cap. 3 coats, smooth application. This is by far my favorite of the collection. It's predominantly a sheer white with gold sparkle, but it flashes multiple yummy colors in the light. It's really quite dazzling, and even though it's not completely opaque (my usual preference), I would wear it alone. Though it's just as/even more fabulous layered. If I only recommended one polish in this collection, this would be it!

Knotty. 3 coats, smooth application. This one surprised me with it's beautiful sparkle. It's a sheerish, sandy nude with the green and pink sparkle I've come to associate with OPI (obviously not unique to them, though). It's really pretty, but does my skintone no favors - I might have to try it layered, maybe over a green or blue. Hmm...

Sunset Sail. 3 coats, 2 would've been okay, if not for the cuticle drag. Nice peach with hidden shimmer, but my husband saw me swatching it, and the first thing he said was 'That makes your hands look dead!' Yeah, guess it's not my color. 

Pelican Gray. 3 coats, runny and hard to control. Light/light-medium gray with shimmer. Not much to say, except that it looks better on me than Sunset Sail. 

Sea Spray. 2 coats, smooth application. Very pretty dusty pastel blue shimmer. Reminds me of an overcast sky over the Atlantic Ocean. More blue than Pelican Gray, but not by much. It would probably be opaque in one careful coat, but I did two just to be *relatively* consistent.

Below Deck. 2 coats, smooth, creamy application. Very pretty and trendy dusky mauvey creme. It tiptoes the line between mauve and taupe, with a hint of prune. I like it, but I'd probably get bored with it quickly, and succumb to the urge to layer some sparkle and/or stamping all over it.

Overall, these are pretty, work-appropriate colors and nice for spring, but not very unique. I know of at least three dupes/close-enoughs for Sea Spray alone. I highly recommend White Cap for the zing factor, but the rest, eh, take-em-or-leave-em. Of course, your mileage may vary, and I would recommend going to
the store to see them in person.
As to formula, that was a bit hit-or-miss for me: most were smooth and creamy, and applied like a dream. But Pelican Gray and Sunset Sail were what I call a 'sneaky' formula - you think you've wiped off all the extra and have a nice drop on the brush, but by the time the brush hits the nail, the polish is all over the place and pooling in your cuticles.  The best way to work around this is to take an extra second to wait for that stealth blob to descend onto the brush and wipe it off until there's just the hint of a bead on the brush.

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by China Glaze.