China Glaze- Stone Cold

I recently wore China Glaze- Stone Cold. This was released in the Hunger Games collection this spring. It is a matte finish polish that is supposed to capture masonry from District Two of the Hunger Games. I am in love with matte finish polishes, but they do not wear very well. I took this picture right after I did this mani and I even cleaned up a bit. I figured if I didn't take the picture right as I finished, that it would be chipped before I would have another opportunity- I was right! They say not to use a base coat with mattes because it will mess up the finish, but I used OPI Nail Envy Matte. It didn't really make that much of a difference with the wear time, but I'm sure it helped strengthen my nails. The formula was pretty opaque. This is two coats and the picture is with the flash. I get much better pictures in the daylight, but I did this mani at night.

Here is a picture without a flash. I reminds me of OPI- Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees Suede. Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees has much more silver shimmer in it. This one reminds me of charcoal or coal. As a Hunger Games fan, I feel as if Stone Cold would be more fitting for District 12. Although I love matte polishes, I still struggle with the application. It was even more difficult with China Glaze's brush which is smaller than the OPI brush. You have to put a lot on the brush because it dries so quickly and you want to be able to cover the whole nail, but then it's finding that happy medium between having the polish dry too quickly to cover your entire nail or having too much running all over the place. The latter usually happens to me. I enjoyed the polish and the color though. Mattes aren't made to last that long.