Reprise: China Glaze Def Defying and KBShimmer Toucan Touch This

I did a post on this polish combo in the first days of this blog, a year ago this month, and wanted to have another go at it for Easter. If you have a hankering to see the original post, it can be found here.

Def Defying was released by China Glaze as part of its Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away collection in September 2012. It's a lively succulent chartreuse green in a creme/jelly hybrid formula with just the right amount of translucence to let light in and make the color glow. I'd say that it's got a little more yellow in it than what I think of as a lime green -- if we're talking fruit, it's much more of a Granny Smith apple green. From what I've seen online, Sinful Colors Innocent is close in color but slightly lighter with a drop or two more yellow in it.

Application of this cutie patootie polish was not such the walk in the park that I remember, but it was ok just the same. The consistency of Def Defying is fluid, creamy and well-behaved at the outset. It applies easily with China Glaze's relatively long slender flexible brush and stays where you put it. Pigmentation is ok. The first coat is sheer and somewhat streaky especially over a ridged nail bed, where the ridges are happy to butt up and show through the polish. A second coat by and large takes care of the streakiness and provides good opaque coverage for smoother nails. Mine are not smooth, but I left it at two since I'm going to be layering over it. This polish can pull patches and leave darkened areas if overworked or applied too soon over wet polish. It goes on  best for me in medium coats with a light touch on the brush. Def Defying dries naturally in average time to a richer, more vibrant shade than the bottle color and a nice glossy finish.

Photos show two coats of Def Defying over treatment and basecoat with no topcoat.

China Glaze Def Defying

China Glaze Def Defying

 

China Glaze Def Defying

 

China Glaze Def Defying

 

China Glaze Def Defying

China Glaze Def Defying

China Glaze Def Defying

I know I've been saying it about every green polish since the beginning of the year, but this one really REALLY reminds me of the mist of green that appears over the landscape as the deciduous trees begin to leaf out. I love the fact that it's bright and strong without going over the line into neon or acid territory.

Def Defying is perfect as a base polish for Toucan Touch This by KBShimmer. I'm so sad that this has been discontinued, it's such a great polish! Here's how Christy described it: "A chartreuse base, almost lime green in color starts this bold polish out. Gold, green, teal, blue, and orange hex glitters, some holographic add a fun punch. Micro teal, orange and blue bars are accented by micro orange glitters. The bar glitter is micro fine, and adds a sparkle  to the polish without the troubles of normal bar glitter. This polish is loaded with glitter, so shake well before application."

China Glaze Def Defying, left and KBShimmer Toucan Touch This, right -- bottle shot

KBShimmer Toucan Touch This, macro shot in the bottle

So basically, a party in a bottle! Mine had been sitting for almost year but the glitter suspension properties of the crelly base are holding up well with no glitter settling at all. Christy is a genius formulator with glitter polishes, her mixes are beautifully balanced and fun and her crelly bases are second to none.

Toucan Touch This (hat tip to MC Hammer baby!) is a tad bulky to apply with it's considerable glitter load but the base is creamy and fluid and well-behaved and the glitter payoff per brushload is excellent. I had some instances of stacking and free edge protrusion but nothing you don't usually see with similarly constructed polishes. The bright green crelly base is somewhat translucent as you would expect, thus my decision to layer. But coverage can be built with this polish by itself in about three coats. I used two over Def Defying for this mani. Toucan Touch This dries naturally in fairly good time to a slightly flat textured finish, which I smoothed with a layer of Gelous before adding a glossy fast dry topcoat.

Photos show two coats of Toucan Touch This over the Def Defying manicure above with a leveling coat of Gelous followed by a topcoat of Seche Vite.

KBShimmer Toucan Touch This over China Glaze Def Defying

KBShimmer Toucan Touch This over China Glaze Def Defying

KBShimmer Toucan Touch This over China Glaze Def Defying

KBShimmer Toucan Touch This over China Glaze Def Defying

KBShimmer Toucan Touch This over China Glaze Def Defying

KBShimmer Toucan Touch This over China Glaze Def Defying

KBShimmer Toucan Touch This over China Glaze Def Defying

KBShimmer Toucan Touch This over China Glaze Def Defying

Such a festive glitter mix! I especially love the grassy visual texture provided by the microbars. All of the glitters in Toucan Touch this are reflective so it's got sparkle aplenty in addition to all of the pops of color. Just an awesome colorful glitter polish full of happy springtime energy! All the colors in and over the green remind me of Easter baskets with multicolored contents nestled in shredded cello grass. But it also brings to mind tropically-themed strings of colored lights against cabanas and lush foliage by the pool. Either way, a bright celebratory polish look that's as fun to wear as it is to look at.

Wishing you and yours a happy Easter!

love,
Liz