Scaly Fingers - Barry M Croc Nail Effects

Sorry for leaving you all lonely for a week...

You'll all be thrilled to know, I'm sure, that I spent my weekend pretty much immersed in nail polish and therefore have lots and lots of new manicures to show you! I picked up Barry M's Croc Nail Effects the other day, but wasn't really expecting to like the results. I thought it would be too subtle and a poor alternative to the crackle effects - I was proved wrong, however, and I actually really like the effect it has given!

You apply the polish just like a crackle polish, with the thickness of the layer determining the type of crackle you get. the thinner the layer, the smaller the cracks, the thicker the layer the bigger the cracks (within reason - don't go plooping loads of it onto your nail, it will just get messy!) I started with a base of Barry M Gold Foil Effects, and found the Croc Effect worked better over a "touch dry" base, rather than a completely dry coat! I applied a medium coat and it took about 2 minutes to crack fully, leaving tiny vein-like cracks in the black polish - just like crocodile skin!

index finger - moments after Barry M Croc Nail Effects application

Barry M Croc Effects 2 minutes after application

This polish also dries shiny (as opposed to the matte crackles), so this is with no topcoat. i'm two days later and I have to say it has worn pretty well, considering it's just 2 thinnish layers of polish! Nice one Barry M! As I said, I wasn't really expecting to like this effect all that much and it is very subtle to the naked eye, but its really grown on me and I've ended up loving my scaly fingers! Mmmm scaaallyyyy.



A different kind of scaly, crocodile fingers

Thanks everyone, let me know what you think on the comments!

(Did I make up the word "plooping"? I'm pretty sure I did. I'm Captain Dictionary, over here.)

A clash of crackles: Butterfly Collection blue crackle

Today I'll show you the second crackle from my collection. I've talked about the other one, China Glaze Black Mesh, here. This one is a no-name brand crackle that I found in a local store at a pretty low price (about 2,5 dollars). So let's see how this compares to the popular China Glaze.

The base color:

Kallos High Gloss Nail Colour shade 54 is a bubblegum pink crème. The first thing that I noticed about it was that it’s described as “waterproof” on the packaging. Funny cause I thought all nail polishes were waterproof. Second thing about it is the smell. It smells like paint. I couldn’t figure out the ingredients from the bottle or from the site (the brand is Hungarian), but I’m pretty sure this contains toluene. You can only smell it while the bottle is open and your nails don’t smell, so I think for this price I can live with it. Application was average, altough the brush is pretty uneven. Again I can’t say anything about the wear time on this one. I’ve worn this for only 3 days (with the crackle on top) with no chipping.  Despite being a hater of pink polish in general, I must admit I kinda liked having this on my nails.

natural light

The crackle:

This blue crackle polish comes from the brand Butterfly Collection and that is all I could find out about it (no shade name or number on the bottle). The bottle is pretty small (8 ml) and I did have the impression that it was pretty empty to begin with. I don’t know if it’s just me but I had to sink the brush deep to get polish on it. This is also very thick and harder to work with than the China Glaze crackle. It starts cracking and drying immediately after you take it out of the bottle. As opposed to the ChG, it cracks in really tiny chunks and as it dries, some of the chunks kinda lift a bit from the nail. It’s also impossible to level out with a top coat. It remains gritty and uneven to the touch. Other than that I guess it does a pretty good job at achieving the “shattered look”. 

artificial light

Verdict:

This look involved brighter colors and also a crazier combo than the previous one. I think it’s great if you are going for really funky  nails, but I’m not sure it’s for everybody. I would probably wear it again if I’m in the mood for crazy, bright nails.

A clash of crackles: China Glaze Black Mesh

Hi guys! So for those of you that got the George R.R. Martin reference (clash of crackles, yeah), kudos. The rest of you should really check his books out! Coming from somebody that never liked Harry Potter or Lord of the rings, these books are great. 

Moving on to polish, I thought of doing a comparison between the two crackle polishes I own. One is the famous and widely covered China Glaze Black Mesh, the other one is the no name brand Butterfly Collection, that is probably available only to (Eastern) European polish fanatics. I also went for a different look with each of these crackles, so that you can see the possibilities you have when you use them. Today I'll start with the China Glaze black crackle.

The base color:

Color Club Gossip Column is a dark teal. Altough it came out in a spring collection, I have to say I’m getting more of a fall vibe from this one. Application is good, the Color Club brush is similar to the China Glaze one and the polish is opaque in two thin coats. I haven’t worn this one for a long time so I can’t really say anything about the wear time. The only thing about this polish is the fact that it stains the cuticles, being so dark and all, so take care at removal and try to smudge it as little as possible on the area around the nail. 

Sorry for the phone pictures, but the camera wouldn't capture the color of the polish properly.

phone picture again

The crackle:

Black Mesh was the first crackle I’ve ever used, so I must say I was kinda nervous the first time and thought I would maybe mess it up, but this wasn’t the case. You basically have to be careful and not apply it too thick or it won’t crack properly. You also aren’t allowed to go over the same area multiple times with the brush. Being a crackle though, you don’t have to be very careful to get the edges perfect, cause you’re going for a graffiti look. The polish is a little thick, but easy to work with. It dries to a matte finish so if you want it to be shiny, top coat is mandatory. What I’ve noticed in particular with this crackle polish is that it cracks in bigger chunks and the chunks stay on the nail and can be easily leveled with top coat. You will see in my next post why these observations are so important.

Verdict:

All in all, I like this look very much. The fact that I’ve used a darker base color made it not pop as much and you couldn’t really see it from the distance, but this only made it a more elegant crackle combo.

 

Blueberries

Good Morning,

After wearing OPI Planks Alot for two days I wanted a fresh mani. I pulled out OPI Navy Shatter.  Boy I'm glad I did.  I love the contrast that it gave me mid-tone blue to dark blue but it's shown more so on the pictures then in real life.  After applying I thought of blueberries. Lol! Yum Yum *-* 

It's a good thing Navy Shatter and Seche Vite is quick drying because I'm running laaate...now I got to get to work.

                            I love adding them in my smoothies

                                                                                  source: bewellbuzz.com

Blueberries are high in anti-oxidants. Also, they are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. They are a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins C and K and magnesium.

Until next time please have a great nail polish day. (✿◠‿◠)

Sally Hansen Distressed Denim...C R A C K L E

Good Morning,

Are you all cracked out yet!!  Sometimes I am and sometimes I'm not.  As of right now I'm not. Lol!  I love the color of Sally Hansen's Distressed Denim.  When I picked it up I thought it was a twin to Revlon's Royal.  Distressed Denim looks like a royal blue color from the bottle.  It's a jelly texture and the color is much darker on the nail. I thought the tiny brush was going to give me trouble but no troubles at all.   It looks amazing over Finger Paint's Give Pink A Chance. 

I love the way the cracks turned out large not teeny tiny.  I applied it using a left to right swishing motion.

Give Pink A Chance

Until next time please have a great nail polish day. (✿◠‿◠)

Ozotic Mosaic

Up until two days ago, I didn't own a crackle or shatter polish... and I still don't.  No, I have a 'Mosaic' one.  Seriously why can't nail polish companies stick with a consistent name for these sorts of polishes?

Anyway, this is the new Ozotic Mosiac polish, which for all intents and purposes (man I love using cliches - I might just have to pull a few more of them out of my hat) sorry where was I, oh yes, it works the same way as China Glaze Crackle, OPI Shatter, BarryM Instant Nail Effects etc.

So here are my baby gaga nails with mosaic on top. Application was a piece of cake and these crackle polishes are kinda fun to play around with. Then, waiting with baited breath to see what effect it will create when it crackles.

Below  is another quick mani I did as soon as my polish arrived in the mail.  Initially, I was a little disappointed with the crackling effect, but then I did some reading about crackle polishes (specifically this post from the lacquerista) and realised I should have waited longer for the base to dry.

I've only used this crackle polish twice, but both times I had that crack line just below the tip of my nail, on every nail.  Interesting. I think my thumb was the driest in the picture below and cracked to my liking the best.

So, while its a case of seen one, seen them all, I'm pretty happy with my Ozotic Mosaic and don't feel the need to try any other brand.

You can buy ozoitc mosaic from a number of etailers, with prices ranging from $5.95 - $12.95.  Just Google 'ozotic mosaic' and you'll find them.  Although I think only piCture pOlish ship internationally.

On another note, I was looking at the Artform website the other day and noticed that they no longer list their private label holographic or multichrome polishes.  I guess you girls bought them all out!  I also read on the Makeup Ally Nail board, a few girls ordered a polish from Artform and had an Ozotic Pro delivered.  

I guess I was right in saying their polishes were exact dupes of each other (using the same numbers etc), or more accurately, that the Artform polishes were a private label produced by Lumineye, whose proprietary brand is Oztoic. Looks like Artform will be supplying Ozotics to Aussies soon, and I think their prices will be a little better than piCture pOlish too.

Oh and sorry, I can't help it. Must. Use. More. Cliches.

Sally Hansen

Sally Hansen’s fashion partner, Prabal Gurung, presents his first-ever resort collection this week. To celebrate, he created an exclusive fashion film featuring Rye Rye, “New Thing”. Sally Hansen collaborated with the designer and created 4 exclusive nail looks with Sally Hansen nail color including:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Pacific Blue ($2.99)

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sun Kissed ($2.99)

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Gilty pleasure ($7.99)

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out ($2.99) and Antiqued Gold Crackle Overcoat ($5.95)

All of these exclusive nail colors can be found at your local drugstore. Be sure to check out the video below featuring the Sally Hansen nail looks!


http://www.stylelist.com/2011/06/15/prabal-gurung-and-rye-rye-premiere-2012-resort-video-new-thing/


Until next time please have a great nail polish day. (✿◠‿◠)

SH OverCoat Antique Gold

Good Morning,

It's all about the crackle.  SH Overcoat.  Pretty cleaver of Sally coming up with the name.  I like the square bottle too with the crackle lid.  The prices of these are pretty steep don't you think?  $7.99 Gesh!  Some Walgreen's have them for $6.99 and  Walmart has them priced at $6.24.  The other problem I have with these is the brush...why is the brush sooo tiny?!  It would have been nice if these had the same brushes as the Sally Hansen complete salon manicure ones.

 I like Antique Gold's formula.  The gold is so sparkly.  I haven't tried the others yet.

                                  Antique Gold

I don't think pictures show the true actual prettiness of crackles.  After I applied a topcoat it glistens and shines can't see it in the pictures though.

China Glaze Blue Iguana with SH Antique Gold Crackle

Did you grab any of the Overcoats?  Which ones?  Which ones do you like?

Until next time please have a great nail polish day. (✿◠‿◠)

The girliest you will ever see me!

Don't worry, these are MY nails, not those of Katie Price or any of the cast of The Only Way is Essex. I would never call myself a girly-girl (she says with a blog centred entirely around nail polish art and makeup), preferring to do more colourful, eyecatching and badass designs. This manicure is, however, the most trashy-fabulous you will ever see my nails haha. All that's missing is a giant 3D acrylic bow.

I've got exams coming up (BOOOO), so wanted something on my nails that would tempt me away from removing it and doing something else, to maximise revision time. Anyone whose ever had a full glitter manicure on, will know what an utter ARSE they are to remove. I am hoping that the fear of removal will make me concentrate harder on revision, and resist using nail polish as a distraction!

I started with two coats of Catrice Be My Millionaire, a silver polish, then added 4 coats of Models Own Juicy Jules. Juicy Jules is AMAZING, it's a holographic glitter, and catches the light beautifully - perfect for sunny days. I could have got away with 3 coats, but I wanted maximum glitter coverage. I had a hard time photographing the sheer awesomeness of this glitter, and I'm sure that if I had got it perfect, your eyes would have exploded anyway. I resorted to using a lamp directly over the nails, and using the macro setting (as opposed to the SUPERmacro setting) on my camera to blur the image sliiiighttly so you can see more of the holographic-ness. *gets a bit pic heavy from this point onwards...*

Juicy Jules on its own:

blurred so you can see the holographic sparkle

a sharper picture that doesnt show the colours as much! also sorry for my STUPID index finger that broke, I know it looks ridiculous!

I added a coat of Seche Vite to smooth it out and create a base for Barry M's new pink crackle polish Pink Fizz. I find the best way to use the Barry M crackles is to apply them thickly, as they crack better, with larger spaces between the pink bits. I hate it when you use a crackle and it barely cracks, so you can only just make out the base colour (I'm looking at you Boots 17!).

I added another coat of Seche Vite to top off the whole thing, and because the Barry M Instant Nail Effects dry Matte.

under the lamp

under the lamp

natural light

I tried my best to capture it, but imagine all that holographic glitter shining through! BLINGTASTIC! Now, this was somewhat of an experiment, but I took a video on my camera to see if I can better show you the sparkle. The quality is pretty poor, but it does give you a good idea of the shine. (bloody nicked my cuticle right before though didn't I?!)

 

Hopefully you get an idea! I actually tweeted this manicure at Amy Childs from The Only Way is Essex (a trashy reality TV show over here in the UK - IT'S BRILLIANT), she is yet to reply though haha :P

Let me know what you think everyone, was it worth it to include a video? I really wasn't sure about it, but thought I would get some feedback from you :) I realise this isn't strictly Nail Art, but that's what I love about crackles, they add instant interest to a Manicure with minimal effort. I know they've been around a while now, but I've not seen this combo before :D

Em x