China Glaze Prey Tell is a super vampy burgundy from the On Safari Collection.
If you want something darker on your nails now that we’re heading into fall, but don’t want to wear a full-on black, this may suit you well.
I actually prefer wearing a full-on black compared to shades that are near black and so dark that you can’t tell it’s not black.
Prey Tell is almosttt a near black. You can tell that it’s redder, but in dim lighting, it’s verrrry dark.
Despite usually feeling annoyed by near-black shades, it was the finish that made me enjoy wearing it…and not the actual colour. Allow me to show you photos of what I mean and also explain in detail!
China Glaze Prey Tell Pictures
Sunlight
Natural Light
Flash
Sunlight
Natural Light
Flash
China Glaze Prey Tell Ingredients
China Glaze Prey Tell Swatches
All swatches have:
- CND Stickey Anchoring Base Coat
- 2 coats of China Glaze Prey Tell
- Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Sunlight Photos
Natural Light Photos
Flash Photos
Claim: TRUSTED
√ Daringly dark red
Key Notes
- Name: China Glaze Prey Tell
- Collection: China Glaze On Safari Collection 2012
- Press Release: Click here to see the China Glaze On Safari Collection press release
- Colours Available in the China Glaze On Safari Collection: Adventure Red-y, Man Hunt, Exotic Encounters, Jungle Queen, Kalahari Kiss, I’m Not Lion, Call of the Wild, Desert Sun, I Herd That, Elephant Walk, Purr-fect Plum & Prey Tell
- Amount: 14 mL (0.5 fl. oz.)
- What I Paid: Nothing! (This was provided by PR.)
- Where to Buy: Victoria Nail Supply, Trans Design, NailPolishCanada, Head2Toe & 8ty8Beauty
China Glaze Prey Tell Review
Colour
Maybe if you’re very pale, this shade would show up redder on you, but on my skin tone (which is still pretty light, but with yellow undertones), Prey Tell by China Glaze looks very, verrry dark.. It’s menacing! It’s rubbing its hands together while thinking up some devious plan for world domination. 😉
I could tell that it wasn’t black in most lighting conditions. And, in the sunlight, the burgundy-brown really comes through.
This shade really isn’t my thing. I have a Go-Big-or-Go-Home philosophy when it comes to dark shades. If it’s so close to black, I just want to wear full-on black because it’s more dramatic. So, this colour didn’t do anything for me. And when I saw it in the bottle, I knew right away that the colour wasn’t going to wow me.
However, even though the shade didn’t wow me, something else did! 🙂 Woo hoo!
Finish
The finish is absolutely amazing! It’s a creme-jelly hybrid polish – it’s so shiny even on its own! And unlike a lot of jelly polishes, this us more opaque and covered up my nails like a standard creme.
The shine was incredible, even before I slicked on a top coat! I could literally see the reflection of my face very clearly on my nails! (This would be the ideal lacquer for Adonis to wear…hehe!) 😉
Application & Formula
Application was also wonderful! It glided on easily and smoothly. It was like putting on a liquid layer of glass. Very sexy formula!
Haha, but, of course, my shaky hands accidentally messed up my index finger. That’s why it’s sloppy near the cuticle. (I don’t do any clean-up on my manicures unless I do full-nail stamping. So, yes, I wore that sloppily painted nail in public along with the rest of the manicure…And. I. Was. Still. Happy.) 😀 Remember, happiness is more important than perfection! Those little ‘imperfections’ aren’t even that noticeable in real life when you manicure isn’t blown up like it is on a blog.
But, going back to the formula, it’s fantastic and easy to work with…haha, but if you hands shake because you got too excited like mine did, well, that’s another story. 😉
Pros
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Cons
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Final Verdict: 7/10
If I were to just rate Prey Tell by China Glaze on the colour alone, I would give it a 5/10 because it didn’t excite me. What made my heart race was how shiny my nails looked – it’s cool (and slightly disturbing) to be able to see your own reflection in your nails! 😉 And the formula applies perfectly. So, based on the finish and the formula, I had to give it an 7/10.
Do you wear near-black shades? Have you started wearing your vampy polishes yet? Has a finish made you love a polish that you might otherwise not care for?
That is one gorgeous colour, really pretty.
Hey Stacy!
I take it that you like vampy shades. 🙂
I would love to have this shade, it seem so brown to me and this is a min point for me ( disappointing). love the shine very much.
I love dark and berry polishes, But I seem to scare people away because of that so Im wearing it on my toes
Hey Icequeen81!
Haha, why would dark polish scare people away? Black polish became tres chic a few years ago, and I think vampy polishes are becoming more and more mainstream. 🙂 Don’t let others ruin the polish fun for you!
I am one of ‘those’ who looks horrible in plain black creams so I do use ones that lean burgundy, green, blue. However, did not pick this one up – I have one older polish that has a burgundy/black look – it’s been my go to one when I wanted to wear a really black looking nail – that for me is not all that often now days. Kind of done with that black look – I have so many deep shades I would rather wear.
Hey beachgal!
Really? I didn’t think that anyone looked bad in black nail polish! What is it about black polish that you think looks bad on your nails? I know that some people who are verrrrry pale think it doesn’t look good. I actually LOVE it when a ghostly pale person wears jet black. Then again, I’ve always had a thing for goths. 😉
I love how shiny this is, but it’s hard for me to get excited over near-black shades. I feel like because I have one super dark vampy red, I don’t need another. Oh, who am I kidding? I’ve got to have at least 5 of these by now. All the more reason to not need yet another!
The Lacquer Tracker recently posted: F4 Mint Chocolate Chip
Hey The Lacquer Tracker!
Polish really is like potato chips – it’s hard to have just one. 😉
Like you I’m not really a fan of near-black shades, but this one is very shiny and pretty! I like vampy shades, but I usually like it when they have a bit more colour pigment in them!
Jenn recently posted: OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! OK Fine!
Hey Jenn!
The shiny finish really makes this polish great. If it just had a regular finish, I’d be a polish snob and not bat an eye at it.
I actually think vampy shades look AWESOME on you!! I love it!
MariJo recently posted: How About Some Polka Dots?
Hey MariJo!
Awww….thank you so much! I love vampy polishes as long as they’re more colourful and less blackened.
With fall /winter around the corner I’ll be busting out the vampy shades for sure. I love the near-black shades… and I feel the same as you about Cult Nails Blackout (a near black blue-grey)… the finish on it is soooo shiny (and it too is a jelly-cream).
Lovely 😀 (are your nails shorter again? I love dark /vampy shades on shorter nails… ) 😉
Marta recently posted: On this Day…
Hey Marta!
Yup – shorter for this shade. I really prefer wearing vampy shades on short nails (looks more chic to me), although Prey Tell on long nails would look wicked sexy.
loveeeeeee it
Hey Icequeen81!
Hehe, considering that you love dark shades, I’m not surprised! 😀