Crushed Candy Crackle

I know these crackle manis are all over the blog-o-sphere, but I really like how this colour combo turned out.  These blues are perfect for the rainy weather we are getting here today.

I achieved the diagonal crackle pattern by brushing the crackle polish on in thick diagonal strokes instead of straight down.

I used 2 coats of Sally Hansen's "Pacific Blue" as the base for China Glaze's Crackle Polish in "Crushed Candy".

Hope you enjoy this post, and have a great start to your week!

Lightning Bolt Crackle

I went to Sally's this week, just in time to grab a few of the only bottles of China Glaze's crackle collection that they got in stock. Sadly, these collections come out later in Canada than in the U.S., and they seem to be in short supply.

I used the white crackle called "Lightning Bolt" and though I've seen great swatches on other blogs, I was a bit disappointed with this polish. I applied it over Sally Hansen's "Grass Slipper" and it turned out looking yellow or light green instead of staying true white.  I'll have to give it another shot over other base colours to see if I can get it to stay looking white.

In the end, the effect looks cool, but I wanted it to look true white. I even applied a second coat of it after the first coat finished cracking, but it still appears yellow. The bottle I got seemed really watery too.

So far I like the Barry M special effects crackle polish I have in black much better than China Glaze's version, but I would still like to experiment a bit more with this polish and also try some of the other crackle polishes by China Glaze before I give up on them.

Has anybody else had this problem?

BarryM Instant Nail Effects - Crackle Manicure

My sister finally came home from England for a visit and she brought me the BarryM Instant Nail Effects crackle polish I'd been waiting for for months.  I was really excited to use it...and then OPI's crackle polish ended up coming out at the same time, so these crackle manicures have been popping up on many nail polish blogs.

Anyhow, here is how mine turned out:

I used Sally Hansen "White Out" as the first coat, but I probably should have applied more than one coat for a less streaky foundation. I was so excited to try the crackle polish that I really didn't even let that one coat dry enough - thus the smudgy looking thumb.

BarryM's crackle polish works great and with a coat of Seche Vite over it, it's lasted just fine for about a week already! I've had many interested people asking questions about this manicure, and I've received a lot of attention because of it!  So, if you can get your hands on BarryM's version, I'd certainly recommend trying it out.



Will you try a crackle manicure any time soon?