Sunrise, sunset: CND Creative Play Nail Lacquer Sunset Bash collection

Did you know that Shellac is actually the name of a brand in addition to the name of a formula? If you’re getting a Shellac mani, it’s actually a specific polish by the brand CND, anything else is actually just a gel manicure.

If you haven’t heard of CND, it’s a nail polish line based in San Diego, CA that is a global leader in professional nail products and services. It’s moreso a line that you would see exclusively at salons, rather than one you can buy at any store. In addition to Shellac, they also offer Vinylux, their own version of the no-light gel mani, and Creative Play Nail Lacquer.

I’ve tried both Vinylux and Shellac, but am totally new to the Creative Play game (in fact, I didn’t even know that line existed until last week). Creative Play seems to be new to CND and  it’s traditional nail polish, one that you can change up consistently. It dries quickly and has micronized pigments for a burst of colour with each application. Currently, there are 104 colours available in the collection with 10 different finishes.

CND Creative Play Sunset Bash collection

For summer 2017, they released the Sunset Bash collection consisting of eight shades that pop and represent those hot summer months. There’s teal, mint, coral, lilac, you name it. Like most nail polish lines, they offer up a base coat, colour, and top coat, and those micronized pigments I was talking about earlier help to optimize colour intensity, smoothness and gloss.

At first glance, I thought it was like any other summer collection out there. These colours aren’t really new to the nail polish game. The majority of them are creme, but there is a shimmer and a glitter in there as well.  When I got to actually watching them, I was very impressed with the formula. The majority of the colours went on quite opaque after one swipe, and best of all, they dried rather quickly, which is always a plus in my books.

CND Creative Play in Barefoot Bash CND Creative Play in Express Ur Em-oceans CND Creative Play in Party Royally CND Creative Play in Shady Palms CND Creative Play in Skymazing CND Creative Play in Tangerine Rush CND Creative Play in Teal the Wee Hours

I received seven of the eight colours (missing Fuchsia Fling) and was impressed with the formula. They all went on rather glossy except for Teal the Wee Hours, but a shiny top coat can solve that problem. As someone who loves glitter polishes but finds that they tend to be way more sheer when applied rather than how they look in the bottle, I was pleasantly surprised with Express Ur Em-Oceans, as two coats gave me a nice glittery finish on the nails. I ended up pairing Teal the Wee Hours and Express Ur Em-Oceans for a shiny blue colour that was truly gorgeous to look at.

Overall, I’m really impressed with CND Creative Play. Usually when I get nail polish collections, I’ll swatch them once and depending on if I actually like the colour, I’ll choose to either keep it or give it away. There are a lot of colours in this collection that I totally want to rock for more than the five minutes it takes to paint my nails and take a photo. I will say though that if you love a specific shade in this line and want it in Shellac, it doesn’t appear that CND transcends the colours. I’m sure though that Shellac offers up a similar shade.

Have you tried CND Creative Play nail polishes?

Please note, I was sent these products from PR. All opinions are my own.

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