Rock A Gnarly Mani With China Glaze’s “Stoked To Soaked” Nail Lacquer Collection

Summertime is all about brightness and sunshine, so why shouldn’t your fingertips get to enjoy some of that vivacious energy? This season, China Glaze turned up the volume with its two-part Off Shore collection, which includes 12 amazing shades divided into two families: Stoked to Be Soaked, which includes six surfer-inspired brights and bleached neon shades with warm tonalities, and Dune Our Thing, which includes cooler, more blue-toned creme shades that recall the ocean and lush tropical flora. Both six-piece sets are stunning, but I’m particularly floored by the Stoked to Be Soaked collection since it incorporates some of the most electrifying shades I’ve seen since China Glaze’s Summer 2010 Poolside collection.

Rather than a bevy of full-on neons, the collection mainly includes warm creme colors that fall just short of that fluorescent mark, the white mixed into their formulas creating a bleached neon effect. These bleached neons — which include the yellow Sun Upon My Skin, the key lime Be More Pacific, and the peachy If In Doubt, Surf It Out, are then married with a true neon dynamo, the green Shore Enuff, and tempered with more traditional, robust, deep shades like Sea’s the Day, a bright cherry red, and Stoked to Be Soaked, a fiery vermilion with golden orange shimmer that constitutes he only glittery lacquer within the Superb Six.

Below, you’ll find swatches  of all the nail lacquer shades so you, too, can get stoked!

BE MORE PACIFIC

Doesn’t this color just make you think of green key lime pie? It’s obviously a green shade but it’s a warm hue that feels almost citric and, in turn, zesty. Like a key lime pie, it’s got a sweet-yet-tart feel, and its creamy texture calls to mind a slice of Florida’s official state pie, which owes its consistency to the sweet condensed milk and heavy cream in the recipe. It’s also, true to the surfer vibe of the Off Shore collection, a bit reminiscent of the neon green Zinka Nose Coat sunscreen, a product that was popularized in the ’80s and was available in a wide array of neon hues.

IF IN DOUBT, SURF IT OUT

Not quite a peach shade and not quite an orange, this creamy shade straddles the line between the two. If you’ve ever seen the neon orange burnout tees favored by so many surfers and Cali babes, then this shade will likely remind you of those garments. The nail lacquer is quite vibrant, but its intensity is somewhat tempered by a hefty dollop of creamy white polish that gives it a “bleached neon” effect. The color reminds me of orange sherbet and Orange Julius drinks.

SEA’S THE DAY

There’s nothing particularly revolutionary about this red nail lacquer, but it’s indubitably pretty, reminiscent of the red candied apples you’d find at a carnival or circus. Like those sticky sweet treats, this nail polish has a lot of shine, which makes it feel all the more succulent and alluring, more enticing than the apple the Evil Queen offered Snow White (and not at all poisonous!).

SHORE ENUFF

This is, without a doubt, my absolute favorite color in the Stoked to Be Soaked collection.This is probably the one shade I’d describe as a true, full-fledged neon, but that’s not why I’m so drawn to it — instead, there’s something fascinating and unusual about the actual fluorescent green shade. Whereas traditional neon greens tend to way towards the yellow-soaked chartreuse realm, this one maintains its cool undertones so that it feels like a kelly green that was electrified. If you were to go shopping for a green surfboard, you’d likely come across some products with a similar coloration, so the polish shade feels particularly apropos for this collection.

SUN UPON MY SKIN

Some might venture to call this creamy hue a pastel yellow, but it lacks the timidity and daintiness that we associate with those powdery soft hues. Instead, I’d describe it as a bleached neon yellow reminiscent of Crayola’s Unmellow Yellow crayon shade or, to use yet another food example, of the traditional bird-shaped marshmallow Peeps. The color is extremely creamy and it takes a good 3 coats to achieve complete saturation so take your time when applying each individual layer of color, waiting at least one minute in between coats so that there’s no clumping or gooey messiness.

STOKED TO BE SOAKED

This color can best be described as a lifeguard orange. Unlike the other shades in the collection, it’s not a strictly cream lacquer but, instead, it’s saturated with tiny specks of orange and red glitter that will give your mani a subtle shimmer and maximize shine by better reflecting oncoming light. I’ll admit that it’s not my favorite shade in the collection, but it definitely holds its weight. Besides, what surf-inspired nail color collection would be complete without an orange hue reminiscent of lifeguard swim trunks and life jackets?

You can buy the entire six-piece collection for $30 or pick your favorites for $7.95 each at Ulta.com