Untried Day #118: This past Tuesday I was invited to the Cleveland Indians game for a special women’s event. I had the opportunity to sit in the Social Suite on Wahoo Women night which benefits the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign.

Even though I’ve always been more of a football fan, there’s nothing quite like spending a beautiful summer night at a baseball game, sipping on a beer and snacking on peanuts (Cleveland’s own Peterson’s naturally). It’s the picture of Americana.

And I have to give it up to the Tribe’s marketing team. They have really created something special with their Social Suite. Anyone who is active in social media can apply to sit in the suite, like the fancy people, for a night. The view and the accommodations in the suite are pretty spectacular.

So what’s a nail girl to do on a night that is dedicated to both women and the Indians? A red, Tribe-themed manicure of course!  I wanted the perfect Indians red so I looked to my untrieds and found Zoya Sooki and I paired it with CND Midnight Sapphire from the upcoming Fall 2011 “The Look” launch. It is a pretty good match to the team’s blue color. Keep reading to see how it turned out.

Thankfully, two of my fave people from the company, Amy & Anne, were there to walk me through. You may remember that eons ago, not really but it seems that long, I had the chance to meet the China Glaze team during a trip to LA. It’s where I got my first glimpse of the best green glitter to ever exist on the planet, China Glaze Emerald Sparkle.

Get ready for your own visual assault courtesy of ALU as I bring you a look at the 34 new China Glaze polishes that will be released between now and January 2012. That’s right, I said 34.

To celebrate Independence Day in the US, I decided to get my red, white & blue sparkle on. I even planned to get all crafty incorporating scotch tape and the result ended up being one giant mani-fail! Of course, instead of getting down on myself for it, I’m learning from my mistakes and sharing my missteps with you.

To create today’s look I went straight for my Milani One Coat Glitters in Red Sparkle and Blue Flash. When you want full-on sparkle without multiple, thick layers of polish, look no further. It’s just a shame they didn’t come out with a white version to complete my manicure.

In order to conserve my favorite white sparkler, China Glaze White Kwik Silvr, I pulled out another untried, China Glaze Cloud Nine from the Specialty Glitters collection.

In the summer, there’s nothing I love better than a fabulous China Glaze glass fleck nail polish. I always associate that type of finish with the season because China Glaze had a tradition of releasing glass fleck collections every year just in time for summer.

The series, dubbed Babes in Toeland, produced some of the best glass flecks I have ever seen; Wicked Step Sisters, Stroke of Midnight, Sass in a Glass and Drinkin My Blues Away among others. The glass flecks continued but away from the Babes in Toeland moniker when the beloved Surf collection released and then we didn’t see another glass fleck collection until Summer Days. While China Glaze still includes some glass flecks in their collections, we haven’t seen a set dedicated to them since.

Which brings me to today’s untried, China Glaze 108 Degrees from the Island Escape collection for Summer 2011. Even though there are a couple cremes in the lineup I’m happy to see the return of my favorite nail polish finish.

By now you probably are aware that I’m not the biggest fan of the crackle nail polish trend. I’m not hating on it per se, I’m just not fully on board. Something about the first sets of crackles didn’t thrill me. They were chunky looking and felt dated. However, I find myself crying “UNCLE!” ever since the metallic crackles started to pop up. They are definitely a fun twist on an old look and, well, I usually give in to anything sparkly.

Case in point, the China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals. Foil metallic crackle polish that comes in six colors? Okay, okay I give. It does look pretty cool. See for yourself.