Like all regular China Glaze collections, this one was separated into two groupings. "Sand & Sea" is the more pastel/lighter shades in the collection.
Below Deck - Purple/grey/mauve hybrid creme. This one is supposedly as close as China Glaze could get to the old, discontinued, and much-beloved neutral, Channelesque. I've never owned Channelesque, so I can't tell you if it's a dupe or not (check The Swatchaholic for a great bottle comp pic), but I can tell you that I absolutely LOVE Below Deck. It's one of those colors that I can't describe to save my life, hence the above purple/grey/mauve hybrid description, but it's also fabulous. I don't have a lot of neutrals, so Below Deck is pretty unique in my collection. This one is a true creme, without the hidden shimmer like some of the other cremes in the collection. The formula is perfect, as well. It was almost opaque at one coat, though I did 2 coats. UPDATE - The Swatchaholic now has a on-the-nail comparison up. They look very similar.
Knotty - Golden beige shimmer base with silver and pastel (pink, green, blue) glass-fleck shimmer. Judging the bottle, this is one of the two in this grouping that I thought I wouldn't really like. However, once I put it on, I found myself really liking it. The shimmer in it is unexpected and very pretty. Pic is 3 coats. Formula was a little thin, but nothing unworkable.
Pelican Grey - Light grey creme with subtle pearlescent shimmer. Beautiful lighter grey. The best part in this polish is the "hidden" pearly shimmer. Usually greys give me cadaver hands, but I loved this with my skin tone. Formula was a tad on the watery side. Pic is 3 coats. (UPDATED - I changed my picture of Pelican Grey so it doesn't look like a dupe to Sea Spray)
Sea Spray - Light grey-blue creme with pearlescent shimmer. Like Pelican Grey above, Sea Spray has that fantastic pearly shimmer, though it's not hidden in this polish. Of all the polishes in this part of the collection, this one may be my favorite. I think the name on this one is perfect. The formula was very similar to that of Below Deck. Pic is 2 coats, though it was very close to being a one-coater.
Sunset Sail - Peachy nude creme with pearlescent shimmer. Yes. Another one with a pearlescent finish, and that's a-okay with me. I can't get enough of these polishes with the slight-pearlescence. Like Knotty, I really didn't see myself liking this one at all. However, once I had it on, I fell in love with it. It's a pretty peachy-nude that doesn't look overly-orange against my pink skin (the redness around my fingers is due to the cold and not to this polish). Pic is 3 coats, and aside from thinness, there were no issues.
White Cap - White jelly with tons of golden glass fleck shimmer. This one is so pretty and very unique for a non-unique concept. I know golden-whites or white with golden shimmer are relatively common, but this one stands alone. Due to the jelly finish, the golden shimmer is able to be suspended in the base. Plus, it's a little on the thin side which lets you build the color and the shimmer. Pic is 3 coats.
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I know I sound like a broken record when it comes to China Glaze collections, but I absolutely love the first 6 in this collection. And I didn't expect myself to say that. I thought it would seem a little lacking when compared to last year's amazing Up & Away collection. However, dare I say that I may like Anchors Away even better? I love that there is variety in the finishes. Up and Away was all cremes, and fall's offering, Vintage Vixen, was all shimmers, so I love that this collection mixes it up a bit.
This collection is now available for pre-order at TransDesign, but I know several people have reported seeing it in brick and mortar beauty supply stores. I should have part 2, Knotty Nauticals, up very soon.
These were sent to me for review
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