Today I am going to review A couple of brands making crackle nail polish.
Crackle Nail Polish
For those of you who are unsure, crackle nail polish is a coat of nail polish you put over a first coat of nail polish and it dries looking cracked. Depending on how thick you make the coat of crackle will change how the cracked look comes out. For instance, a thin coat will dry with more skinny cracks probably comparable to lightening. If you put on a thicker coat, you will end up with more of a giraffe print.
Crackle was made popular years ago over a summer or two. Not too many people dove into the style, but I remember my sister and I liked it a bit. I guess it lost its steam quickly and faded into nail polish trend obscurity. However, this past summer Katy Perry brought it back when she was featured with her very own line with OPI. I couldn't believe it when I saw the adds, but I was somewhat unhappy because as much as I love OPI, I didn't want to purchase it for 8 to 10 dollars a bottle. Not a good look!
So, today I am going to review two brands that make crackle and give you the skinny on what I think of them.
Sally Hansen Crackle Nail Polish
You can purchase the Sally Hansen Crackle at Walgreens for $6.99. I first saw it early this summer and was fairly pleased. Knowing that I fell in love with many of their other products (nail stickers, spray on pantyhose, etc.), I thought this crackle would be no different. I purchased the silver and black to start. I liked the look, but wanted something a little more creative. So, I went back and bought the blue and the gold. I found that first, the brush is skinny. This is a problem because the key to crackle is to ensure you get a nice full coat on without overlapping or adding a second coat. If you add a second coat it will not dry properly making the crackle effect obsolete. Not to mention, overlapping shows and looks gloppy and awful. In addition, I didn't love the blue. It was very boring, average blue. The silver and gold were pretty, but it is summer and most of us want a bright color to put on our nails to highlight our tans. Silver and gold tend to have a wash-out effect. Lastly, make sure you double up on the top coat. It chips easily and doesn't just chip a little either. The pieces that crackle come off in full pieces leaving you looking like you didn't put any effort in your nails at all.
The skinny: Don't bother unless you want the silver, gold, white or black. The red, pink and blue are fairly boring and the red almost looks burgundy. At $6.99 a bottle you are better off getting a better quality OPI for an extra dollar or two.
Money Savers Tip - If you do want to save the extra money, use an old clean nail polish brush with a thicker brush or use paint brushes. You can use those options to make sure you get a nice thick coat the first time around.
Pure Ice Crackle
I purchased mine for $3.99 at Walgreens.
I only see Pure Ice every now and then. After purchasing my four Sally Hansen colors, I was at Walgreens checking out new colors of make-up and nail polish and found that Pure Ice also started making a crackle overcoat. It came in late, the Pure Ice M.O., but they have quite the array of colors. There are at least a dozen different colors. They have a lime green, neon yellow, bright pink, neon turquoise. They had a lot of creative and fancy colors. Considering I was already crackled out from Sally Hansen, I will admit, I didn't buy it that day. I kept eying them every time I went to Walgreens, but ignored them until I saw my sister last weekend. She was wearing the neon turquoise and it was gorgeous. When I got home I ran into Walgreens and bought the yellow and the turquoise. I have to say, I am glad I purchased them. They run you four dollars less than the Sally Hansen first off. Secondly, the brush is must nicer allowing a thicker application. The colors are pretty and diverse. My only issue is that as Pure Ice is known for, they are cheap and low quality. Similar to the Sally Hansen crackle, it chips off easily and you can leave the house with it on and loose it before the hour is up if you don't apply a top coat or two.
The Skinny - Buy this product instead. At $3.99, the chipping can be overlooked as long as you add two layers of a top coat over it. They come in a variety of colors with a smoother application.
As you can see in the picture, I layered my turquoise crackle over a white nail polish. The white nail polish was a cheap white color by Sinful Colors I bought a year or so before. It is fairly gloppy and cheap, so I just layered two thick coats before adding my crackle. I let the white coats dry completely, layered the crackle and then added two coats of Revlon Extra Life, No Chip, Top Coat after. I have only had them done for a day, but by now I would have had chipping and so far so good. There is no chipping to speak of!
Enjoy!
Why have bread when you can have a schadenfreude
No comments:
Post a Comment