China Glaze Smoke And Ashes

China Glaze Smoke And Ashes is a black polish with blue-green duochrome shimmer. This is kind of an unusual polish for spring but then again, the entire Hunger Games Collection seems more fall-centric to me. Smoke And Ashes has a lot in common with the hard-to-find OPI Unripened, but in my opinion, this is better.

This is a very difficult polish to photograph. The shimmer in Smoke And Ashes comes through more than in similar polishes like Unripened  but from far away it can still look like just a plain black polish. Up close, it's quite pretty though and has some complexity to it--moreso than these photos probably convey. The formula is great and this is a one-coater, although on a few nails I did two to cover up some patches here and there.


I like this polish but I would totally love it if the shimmer was a bit more visible. It's so beautiful up close but unfortunately it's not that prominent from far away. Overall though, this is another solid addition to the phenomal Hunger Games Collection. There's just something intriguing about this polish and I enjoy watching the shimmer play in the light. I think Smoke And Ashes would also make a great playmate for the lovely Luxe and Lush, which is from this collection as well.