China Glaze • Side Saddle • Polishes

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*TOP REVIEWER* anooshka on 11/19/2012 6:22:00 AM more reviews by anooshka

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Tan   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

Beautiful shimmery vampy brownish/purple. Looks gorgeous on my dark olive skin and I think would suit many skin tones. It's one of the most flattering vampy shades I own. I love how it's super dark without looking straight up black indoors.

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valeria_l on 5/8/2012 3:18:00 PM more reviews by valeria_l

Age: Unknown   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

Love this color. I love China Glaze nail polishes especially since I can get them for $3 from Head2Toebeauty. I find the dry time to be faster than OPI. This color is the perfect dark purple brown. It gives my other favorite dark, Romeo & Joliet by OPI some competition. They are not the same but are both great dark colors. Side-Saddle was perfect in 2 coats and lasted about 4-5 days.

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*TOP REVIEWER* jiney17 on 2/13/2010 6:15:00 PM more reviews by jiney17

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Black, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Dark brown with a burgundy (plummy wine) undertone. From pictures on various nail blogs, I thought the bronze shimmer in the bottle would be more visible, but it's not. I think three coats (necessary for full coverage) might've drowned the shimmer a bit. As it is, it's a nice vampy color, but not terribly exciting, nor unique.



The above were my initial impressions. The color has grown on me after a week of wear. I like that it assumes a deliciously cool, plum cast in cool daylight, but that the browny-bronzey undertone comes out in warm light. Complex and attractive color.

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*TOP REVIEWER* niclyf on 10/27/2009 11:12:00 PM more reviews by niclyf

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

STUNNING .. Beautiful .. Unique shade that I can't rave enough about!



Side Saddle won my heart upon application. This shade is a total winner! It's a deep but not too dark rich brown, infused with gold microshimmer and with a plum undertone. Applies like a dream, wears well, and is so complex and unique shade wise, that I couldn't NOT give it 5 lippies. Looks equally striking on toes or tips, and is a stellar shade when I want something dark and luscious. Totally gorgeous!!

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littlemoose on 10/21/2009 6:44:00 PM more reviews by littlemoose

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Olive   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

Side saddle is my only polish from CHG because I´m a OPI lover. But side saddle is so uncommon color, that i make an exception to the rule. It´s deep warm brown color with gold shimmer but if you look on it in other side, it´s dark plum. I never realised connection between brown and plum but it works and it looks really beautiful. And one coat is covering well.

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*TOP REVIEWER* satsuma on 9/25/2009 9:16:00 PM more reviews by satsuma

Age: 44-55   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Warm   Hair: Black, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

Gorgeous deep plummy brown with a lot of subtle gold shimmer. Its deep enough to be vampy, but more approachable & I can get away with this in a fairly conservative office. Makes a wonderful fall mani or pedi & wears like iron for me. Two coats are all that are necessary for good opaque coverage & no streaks.


I'm very fond of China Glaze polishes in general, but its Rodeo Diva collection from 2008 was particularly outstanding & this was one of my favorite colors from the collection. Its generally still available from etailers & has some availability in B&M stores , so if you spot it I recommend grabbing this. I think reg retail is about $6, but I paid $2 at my local nail supplies store on clearance. At either price I think this is backup worthy, its a wonderful color to wear in the fall. I'm warm toned & the brown is emphasized under artificial lights when I wear this; the plum tones are more visible in daylight & may be more visible also if you're cooler toned.


ETA - for a different look try Essie Matte About You on top - the shimmer in the polish gives it enough texture to remain interesting with the matte top coat, & it gives a wonderful subtly edgy, but still work-appropriate look.

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ggslancaster on 9/3/2009 8:53:00 AM more reviews by ggslancaster

Age: 44-55   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Excellent dark brown & plum shimmer w/subtle gold highlights visible in some lighting. My bottle was purchased in summer 09 & the application was easy; good coverage in 1 coat, and perfect in 2. Add in the China Glaze reasonable pricing, to make this a winner.

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*TOP REVIEWER* gnippy on 2/6/2009 12:21:00 PM more reviews by gnippy

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

Pretty dark brown w/plum undertones and lots of gold shimmer. Since it is winter in MI there isn't a great deal of sunlight so mostly this polish just looks like a deep, rich brown, but in brighter lights the plum undertones and the gold shimmer really show up. This has just enough plum undertone to look good with my NW20 strong pink undertone skin. The quality is good - nice texture and consistency, not too runny like some of the ChG polishes can be. Pigmentation is really good. Many could probaby get away with one coat, but I like two. ChG polishes generally wear well on me and this is no exception. This comes packaged in the standard ChG polish bottle w/the standard brush applicator. I purchased this online for about $2.65. It is available at Sally Beauty for $3.25 w/a Beauty Club card. Small prices for such superior polishes. I would definitely purchase this one again should I ever run out and it were available. UPDATE 02-10-2009 - We finally got some sun in Michigan and upon further inspecition of this polish in the sunlight, the micro glitter isn't get gold. It also has some green, red & blue micro glitter although in much few numbers than the gold.

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*TOP REVIEWER* kschmiddy on 10/16/2008 4:41:00 AM more reviews by kschmiddy

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

Side Saddle is a sort of half plum, half brown color with gorgeous gold shimmer. I am really pleased with Side Saddle. As with all vampy shimmers I was afraid it would look black indoors, but it's just light enough to look truly brown and the shimmer is noticable. In brighter light I was happily surprised that the plummy undertones really stand out as well. It's more brown than purple but the purple is noticable enough to add a nice unique tone and the gold shimmer shows. Really truly pretty and unique! This brown is an instant classic in my collection.

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*TOP REVIEWER* glossedup on 9/6/2008 12:57:00 AM more reviews by glossedup

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

*******PLEASE CLICK 'CONTINUED' FOR PRODUCT SWATCHES*******



Side Saddle was released in August 2008 as part of the Rodeo Divas collection. The product is 0.5oz and I bought mine online for $2.68 (not including shipping) and would have gladly paid five times over. This polish is GORGEOUS.



On me at two coats, this polish doesn't have much eggplant/plum in it. The base colour is definitely purple but once I add the second coat the bronze/brown shimmer dominates and any plumminess is only really visible in sun. This is fine, I like it lots both ways. It's a warmish colour, but I think lots of girls (and guys!) could rock this shade.


Would definitely repurchase :) Application is fantastic, and wear is too. If I were to try and dupe this shade, I'd probably layer OPI Lincoln Park After Dark with some Dior Liquorice on top, but that'd have much less shimmer IMO.


I am a NC25 (MAC Studio Fix), 30 (Chanel TI), 2 (MUFE Face & Body) Camel (BECCA LSC) OC02/03 (Lunasol Intellectual Powder foundation) AAB.





Third day of wear with SH top coat

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ChococatG on 8/31/2008 12:11:00 PM more reviews by ChococatG

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Olive   Hair: Brunette, Curly   Eyes: Brown    

Side Saddle is a funky color. It's vampy in that dark and sexy kind of way. I see it as a brownish-burgundy with a warm bronze shimmer. A great alt to navy, purple or black colors for Fall. The color is most stunning out in sunlight.
The first coat (over a base) was streaky, so I applied the second layer a bit thicker to ensure even color. I've had it on for 6 days now (with one layer of top coat) and only seeing a little wear at tips. I'd say it's a good buy.

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*TOP REVIEWER* ayngemac on 8/13/2008 12:44:00 PM more reviews by ayngemac

Age: 30-35   Skin: Oily, Olive   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I thought this was a brown color (I bought it online), but actually in person it looks like eggplant with bronze shimmer. It's very pretty but not what I was expecting. It's almost a dupe to Sinful's Rich in Heart, but has more purple. It was $2.99 at head2toe beauty.

EDIT -- Had to take off another star because it chipped the very same day I put it on.

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