China Glaze had Exotic Encounters Last Friday Night!

China Glaze Exotic Encounters, topped with OPI Last Friday Night and Nicole by OPI Iceberg Lotus

I'm not sure what's going on with my nail supply place. I stopped by Tuesday and they had the China Glaze On Safari collection but hadn't gotten the Summer Neon or Glitter Crackle collections yet. Maybe they just hadn't unpacked them yet? Anyway, I was immediately drawn to Exotic Encounters and the blue creme, Man Hunt. However, since the Polishaholic post about this collection mentioned that Man Hunt is similar to Ride the Waves in the Summer Neon collection, I'm going to wait until I can see the 2 colors together before I decide on which to purchase.

For this mani, I started with 2 coats of Exotic Encounters. Then I added 1 coat of OPI Last Friday Night to all but the ring finger. For the ring finger, I decided to do an accent nail with 1 coat of Nicole by OPI Iceberg Lotus instead. Overall, I'm really pleased with Exotic Encounters and with the outcome of my manicure. To hear my thoughts on Exotic Encounters, plus to see it with another color, keep reading!

China Glaze Exotic Encounters, topped OPI Last Friday Night except on ring, which has Nicole by OPI Iceberg Lotus 

I really like the color of China Glaze Exotic Encounters. It's a beautiful dusty blue-green creme. My only note about it is that it is definitely a 2 coater. 1 coat is very thin and it seems like it may take another 2 to level it out, but it ends up self-leveling by the 2nd coat. It's a beautiful dark teal color, and the color really reminds me of a few other colors in my stash. I will be posting a comparison shortly, but I will say I definitely don't have a dupe for it.

FYI, I happened to have stopped by a Rite Aid while sporting this manicure and was really struck by how much Color Club Metamorphosis looks like NOPI Iceberg Lotus. Sure enough, I checked online and found this great comparison.

China Glaze Exotic Encounters with OPI Mermaid's Tears on ring

Here is Exotic Encounters with an accent nail of OPI Mermaid's Tears.  I love these two colors together. I think they work great as a pair. In fact, I like them together so much that I'm currently sporting an ombre manicure featuring the pair. I wish I could have stamped with them, but neither of the two seems opaque enough to be a good candidate for stamping. For my dotted accent nail, I actually was at work and ended up using the tip of a pencil rather than an actual dotting tool.

Speaking of, be sure to wear a base coat with China Glaze Exotic Encounters. I've mentioned in earlier posts that I am in the middle of moving right now. One consequence of this is that my nail stuff is scattered all over the place and I don't have my usual array of tools in my car. So when I got Exotic Encounters right before heading in for a shift of work, I couldn't wait to try it. I went ahead and put it on without bothering with a base coat. Turns out, this polish is a stainer. Here's a crappy nightime picture of my fingers after removing Exotic Encounters.  I will be sure to use a base coat next time I wear it and will report back on whether or not staining is still an issue.

Staining from wearing China Glaze Exotic Encounters without a base coat. 

I don't think it looks quite as bad in the picture as it does in real life, but trust me, it's significant. Regardless, I really enjoyed wearing Exotic Encounters and am glad to have it in my collection.

What colors will you be picking up from the On Safari collection? Is Exotic Encounters one of them?