China Glaze Stone Cold - Capitol Colours Hunger Games Collection

Wow, what an interesting nail polish. This is a dark grey with silvery microglitter, and it dries to a matte finish. I've never seen anything quite like it, though I've seen plenty of metallic greys and mattes. It really does look for all the world like graphite, although it might also be described as gunmetal grey.

I found the application to be very good, quite smooth, and I found I could get full opacity and coverage in just one coat (though I did two, because I think the manicure lasts longer that way).

You can finish this with a shiny top coat if you like, or use a matte top coat for extra protection. It looks good shiny; the glossy top coat brings out the silvery glitter. It also looks beautiful matte (which is how I prefer it).

After reading all the reviews on here that say it chips super easily, I tried an experiment. I used a basic, clear base coat (Poshe Quick Drying Base Coat), let that dry completely, then put on two coats of Stone Cold, and no top coat at all. I kept the polish on for four days, and in that time there was normal tip wear (the tips wore to an interesting silvery colour, actually, very pretty) and one nail had a surface scratch that could only be seen in certain light and if you were really looking, but there was no significant or even especially noticeable chipping. I do not baby my hands (I type constantly, do dishes, drive, cook, etc. etc.). Admittedly, I wasn't making pottery or digging bare-handed in the garden or using my nails to scratch wallpaper off or pry things open, etc., but I certainly was leading my normal life as a student and mum (i.e., medic, chauffeur, chef, laundress, tutor, seamstress, dispute arbitrator, typist, etc.), and not worrying about my nail polish. In fact, I was kind of hoping it would chip or something, just for interest's sake, but it didn't. I'll try it again some time and see if that was just a fluke, and if so, I'll amend this review, but I truly didn't have any chipping issues with this polish, even without any top coat.

Another thing I've noticed about this polish is that as you wear it longer, it becomes slightly less matte and more satiny, or perhaps it's just that the dark grey pigment slowly erodes leaving more of the silver microglitter visible. It's interesting to watch it evolve, I think.

Really novel polish, definitely in the "well, that's different" category. Love it enough that I bought a backup bottle.

UPDATE: I repeated the experiment with chipping, and, again, no top coat, four days, no chipping. I did get tip wear, and by the end of the fourth day the polish was starting to become somewhat satiny as opposed to matte, but still no chipping. I DO experience chipping with many polishes (sometimes more or less, depending on which base coat I use), but this polish seems pretty solid to me. I like it enough that I bought a backup bottle.

This is a stunning dark silver sparkle polish! When it dries it looks like glitter embedded in concrete! It's viscous and easy to apply, and it dries well. Like most China Glaze polishes, it's a little smelly, but it's worth it for the color payoff and precise application.

This is my second favourite colour off China Glaze! I bought them off ebay (since they dont sell them in Australia, and some australian websites sell them for 11$ each). They were 7$ each including shipping and I was amazed!
It was opaque from the first coat,considering how thin China Glaze's formula is.
and the matte finish just adds sophistication to the polish. AMAZING! just AMAZING for the price.

This is my first time trying a matte polish. I used this with a base coat on my toes and have not had problems with chipping. It was opaque with one coat, but I applied another just to smooth over my own errors in application. It was thicker than I expected, but it dried down to a smooth finish. I like that even though it's a matte color, it has some very muted shimmer that gives it a little something extra.

Normally... I stay away from China Glaze, I have a few of their products but I'm an Essie girl. THIS collection, not just this nail polish but this entire collection is AH-MAZING! Only two coats for each polish (excluding the glitters of course) and you have an opaque nail, they last forever and eeeek! Just love love love all around. I'm definitely happy I bought some of these :)

As for Stone Cold, I originally didn't want to purchase it because it was a matte, but it's so awesome because you can wear it either way, matte or shiny and you can wear glitter over it or Luxe & Lush and spice it up :D Definitely a keeper!

I love this color! Remember that it does dry matte. Always use a base coat for mattes, it helps with the staying power! This is also a gorgeous complex gray with topcoat over it. I really recommend this color.

I had to have some of these polishes imported as they are not sold in my country, though I was so keen on a few of them. I settled for four, and paid through my teeth for them, but it was so worth it. I was so excited about this colour, and I was not wrong. The application is so nice and easy, not streaky, bubbly, thick or anything of the like, and the colour was absolutely gorgeous! It really does look like graphite on your fingers. A great plus about it (as with most matte polishes) is that is dries rapidly, so there is none of this waiting madness that frustrates me so.

The colour is a win on both fronts because even when you put a top coat on it is is simply stunning. Naturally, being a matte, it will chip a whole lot faster than the average polish, but this was not that bad (provided you aren't doing anything too rough). I am not even phased about the chipping because it is so quick and easy to apply/take off that even if I had to redo it every other night it wouldn't take me more than ten minutes.

I would definitely buy this one again when mine is finished.

This is an absolutely beautiful nail polish and reminds me of granite (I know some people think more of graphite). If only this nail polish had more staying power! It started chipping within 24 hours of first application despite having used one coat of OPI natural nail base coat and 2 coats of stone cold for a solid colour. I touched up the next day and it chipped again within a few hours of the touch up despite the fact that I was at home the whole time not doing anything intensive using my hands. I'll have to give it a go with the Essie Matte About You topcoat once my order arrives in the mail as I don't want to sacrifice the matte effect for longer durability with a normal glossy topcoat. In terms of the actual application, I was so happy about the quick drying of the formula and didn't find it too hard to get an entire layer done on a nail before needing to dip back in again. I'm a little concerned about the hardiness of the nail polish over time though. I'm afraid that, because of the rapid drying, I'll get halfway through the bottle one day and find that the rest can't be used because it's dried out due to repeated exposure to air. I hope one day they consider bringing this out with a more durable, chip-resistant formula. Until then I wouldn't buy it again.

First off this is a wonderful color with quite a bit of depth to it. The subtle shimmer really reminded me of good graphite. I wore this with a base coat and had a few troubles getting a smooth first coat on. It was full opacity with one coat, but I went with two to even out some of my own user errors. Unfortunately chipping is a huge problem. I had to do a few touch-ups through out the week to keep it looking okay. By the end I added a glossy top coat and it still looks amazing color wise. I may have to test this out with a matte top coat instead. Removal took more elbow grease than I expected however.

I love this nail polish. It dries as a matte graphite color that reminds me of pencils. The formula is great in that it only needs one coat and dries within a minute. It did chip a bit when I wore it without topcoat. Maybe pairing it with a matte topcoat is the solution?