China Glaze On Safari, Native Collection for Fall 2012: Elephant Walk and Prey Tell

The thing about getting sets is that sometimes, you end up with nail polish colors that you probably don't want. But the lure of a cheaper price per bottle can be too good to pass up that more often than not, purchasing a set comes out as the better deal. Now, if you're lucky, these 'unwanted' shades will only be one out of, say, six. That's decent odds right there. But if you're luckier, these initially iffy shades turn out to be surprise loves, after all. Continuing part two of our China Glaze Fall 2012 collection series, here are two such colors that I wasn't really excited to get. But all things considered, these two turned out to be a happy addition to my ever-growing nail polish family.

On the deck today: Prey Tell and Elephant Walk

The Quick Take and Fun Facts

Token bottle shot.

Back of the bottle.

Labels at the bottom.

Standard China Glaze brushes.

Seen at: Sally Beauty, Nail Polish Canada, Trade Secrets and wherever China Glaze is sold.
Price: $7 CDN for 14mL
Note(s): Both are from the China Glaze On Safari Fall 2012 collection. Native is the 6-piece set of the darker, more colorful shades in the collection. Tourist is the 6-piece set that includes the two glitters and more neutral shades.
***All nail swatches were done with OPI Natural Nail Base Coat and two coats of China Glaze Elephant Walk and China Glaze Prey Tell unless stated.


The Low Down


Brand/Name: China Glaze Elephant Walk
Color: Medium grey with green undertones
Finish: Creme with slight hidden shimmer

This one had some major shy shimmer.

I know what you're thinking. Another grey? Now, don't chalk this one up as just another grey. It's surprisingly unique. It's a medium grey with green tones to it. The greenish cast is easily what brings this in unique territory. Most other greys have either a yellow (think cement grey or warm toned grey) or blue (think slate grey or cool toned grey) undertone. The green undertones bring this grey into true neutral territory. I usually prefer my greys to be on the cooler side of the spectrum but here's one that will appeal to most everyone! It also has a pretty hidden shimmer in the same vein as China Glaze Pelican Gray or China Glaze Sea Spray. I probably should qualify that and say that it's actually quite visible in most lighting conditions. It's just a bit tricky to capture in photos and dim lighting. This makes the finish more of a creme than a full on shimmer.

Natural light/No top coat/No flash

Can you spot the shimmer?

Natural light/No top coat/Flash

The fine sprinkling of silver shimmer makes for an elegant looking finish.

Sunlight/No top coat/No flash

Notice how it can look cooler toned or warmer toned depending on the light?

The formula of Elephant Walk nicely toed the line between thick and watery. It made application easy breezy as it flowed wonderfully and worked nicely with the standard China Glaze brush. I have to note that it is such a pigmented formula that you can probably do without a second coat. I say probably because you'd need a single medium to thick coat to cover the nail completely. For those of us who prefer thin to medium coats, you'd best do two just to be on the safe side. Dry time was pretty average and removal was fantastic: no staining issues at all.

Natural light/Top coat/No flash

Very slightly shinier than without top coat.

Natural light/Top coat/Flash

Hammie says: I like the shimmer. Though I think they could have made it more obvious, but that's just me.

Sunlight/Top coat/No Flash

Hammie says: I hear greys are back with a vengeance this fall; this would make a trendy pick!

I was surprised that Hammie actually approved of Elephant Walk. But then, I guess it amuses him to no end when he thinks about how elephants are (supposedly) afraid of little critters like hamsters. So the name 'Elephant Walk' makes him break out in the funniest case of the giggles. Nonetheless, he says the shimmer is what does the trick for him. It's like a sneaky ninja hamster that just pounces on you when the light hits it just right. (I quite like that particular metaphor. Way to go, Hammie!) But for me, it's the green undertones that bring this grey from good to awesome. The versatility of a color is always major points in my book. The stellar application and formula combined makes for a grey that I honestly think you need. I pulled out a few of my own greys and none matched Elephant Walk. The closest I could find is Barielle U-Concrete-Me and even that looked like it had more blue in it. It was also a shade or two lighter and lacked the sprinkling of shimmer. As for availability and value for price, both are looking pretty good. As a newer release, you shouldn't have trouble tracking Elephant Walk down, even in stores. Value for price is top notch in that you get a fairly unique color with a fantastic formula.

Hammie's Score:

9 Hammie Points!

Brand/Name: China Glaze Prey Tell
Color: Dark burgundy
Finish: Creme

I had to tinker with the color a bit to get it just right as my camera keeps photographing it a few shades too dark.

Here's what a single coat looks like. It looks positively blood red!

The color paired with the name is quite unnerving, especially when you see how they relate to each other. In the bottle, I honestly thought it was a dark brown. It was just so deep a color that I wasn't exactly sure what it was. So when I started to apply this, I knew I had to take a photo of what the first coat looked like. Sure, it's a bit streaky but look at that red! It's a gorgeous, deep blood red that brings to mind fangs and Barnabas Collins. When you add the name 'Prey Tell' to the mix...well, that just makes it all the more menacing. Creepy aside, this is one ridiculously sexy red. Because it has such a dark cast to it, it's the perfect red to wear when you want to make a statement without the in-your-face brightness of your run of the mill red. This one hints at the hedonistic side of darkness. To be quite honest, it brings to mind such characters like Morticia Addams or sultry Jessica Rabbit. For those of you don't quite like the starkness of black, this makes for a great almost but not quite black alternative.

Natural light/No top coat/No flash

Just...wow.

Natural light/No top coat/Flash

Will you look at that shine?

Sunlight/No top coat/No flash

*swoon*

While the first coat looks like a hot streaky mess, the self-leveling formula makes everything nice and opaque at two coats. The consistency is very slightly thicker than Elephant Walk but it's not particularly noticeable with regards to application. It worked well with the brush and allows you to get close enough to the cuticles without needing much clean up. Dry time was average although I'd caution you to be careful during removal. This baby can stain! Double up on base coat to be on the safe side.

Natural light/Top coat/No flash

I swear, this has top coat.

Natural light/Top coat/Flash

Hammie says: It's so...dark. O.o

Sunlight/Top coat/No Flash

Hammie says: But that shine..!

Now, this goes without saying but I probably didn't need top coat to up the shine level on Prey Tell. It's just so insanely shiny by itself. Heck, you can practically see the window's reflection in the swatch photos! I probably wouldn't have gotten this by itself as I usually gravitate towards the blues, greens, and purples when I go for dark but not black shades. So this one caught me by surprise. I ended up really liking it, especially for the dreary, cooler days of fall. Amusingly, I managed to find a few similar shades in my stash. None are anywhere near as dark, though they do share the same color family. Julep Demi is a bunch of shades lighter, but if I were to compare it to a single coat of Prey Tell, they'd be pretty close. MAC Vintage Vamp is the closest match that I could find. They are only maybe a couple of shades apart as Prey Tell is only a smidge darker than Vintage Vamp. If you have the MAC version, you probably don't need Prey Tell, but as far as formula and application goes, my money is still on the China Glaze vampy red. You really can't beat that incredibly shiny finish! Hammie agrees. And while he says he's a little averse to just how deep a color Prey Tell is, there's just no denying that it's one sexy beast of a nail polish.

Hammie's Score:

8 Hammie Points!

Hooray for the weekend! Not much to look forward to in my weekend plans except to go scouring Winners in hopes of finding OPI Here Today Aragon Tomorrow Suede. If you follow me on Instagram (@polishedindulgence), I posted a couple bottles of my suede finds. I've noticed them popping up in various Winners locations in my area so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. Hope your weekend plans are a whole lot more fun than mine! :P That aside, what do we think about Elephant Walk and Prey Tell? Do you prefer non-black shades or do you like the starkness of black? What's your go-to sexy nail polish? And if you haven't already, do please take the time to enter for a chance to win a bunch of goodies from our first Blog Birthday Giveaway!