The Great Aussie Polish Challenge Day 4: Australis - White Crackle

Don't forget to enter my Blogiversary Giveaway and Nail Art Competition! There's three Born Pretty Store gift vouchers to be won. Entries close 5th August 2012.

Australis - White Crackle

(over Ulta3 - Strawberry Sundae)

Australis White Crackle is a white crackle cream. The formula was really nice and smooth and it cracked fast. I won this from Australis in a Twitter giveaway. Australis has giveaways on Twitter all the time. Follow Australis on Twitter so you can enter their giveaways.

When I chose the base colour I didn't realise it matched the bottle, also that it was another Australian brand polish. Two happy coincidences.

The Epitome Of Superficiality

Kelly's Kolors

Shatter Me Claire

All Things Charmed

Lab Muffin

Polished Peripherals

The Polish Haven

Osiri and Loki Paint Their Nails

Lacquer Dreams

Jas's Blingtastic Nail Blog

Read More

China Glaze - Crackle Glitters Collection

Image Source: Secret Allure

Image Source: Body & Soul 

 Glam-more  -  Gleam Me up  -  Jade-d  -  Luminous Lavender

This is China Glaze's latest crackle collection. Most people are all crackled out by now but not me so I'm looking forward to this collection! Purple, blue and green are my three favourite colours so I'll probably get all four of them. I'm not sure about the release date of this collection but I think it will be out in the first half of this year.

What do you think about this collection?

Read More

Barry M - Croc Effects

I'm back at work today! :( Very jealous of those who are still on holidays. Now I'm looking forward to my Bali holiday in May, its 117 days away but who's counting?

I've had this polish for a while now but I haven't posted it yet for two reasons. I got it for a friend who reads my blog and I didn't want her to see her present before Christmas. Also it was a bit tricky for me to get it to work properly. I think I've got the hang of it now though.

Lightbox

Barry M - Croc Effects 

(over Ulta3 - Mojito)

Croc Effects has instructions on the side of the bottle which I didn't actually notice until after I managed to get it to crack right. The instructions read:

1. Apply a thin coat of your chosen nail varnish.
2. Wait 1 to 2 minutes until nails are touch try. Do not apply to dry polish.
3. Apply a thin coat of Croc Nail Effects.
4. After 3 minutes the effect will start to appear.

I don't really agree with their instructions, this is what I did:

1. Apply a few coats of the base colour as normal and let it dry completely. (I left mine overnight)
2. Once the base colour is dry apply another coat of the base colour and wait 30 seconds.
3. Apply a coat of Croc Effects before the extra coat of the base colour dries.
4. After about 5 minutes the effect will have finished cracking.

Croc Effects does not work over dry polish like normal crackle does. In the picture below I applied the extra coat of base colour to half the nail so you can see how it behaves over wet and dry polish.

Over dry polish it will not spread out. It will still crack but the cracks are so small you can only notice if you look really closely. It needs the wet polish underneath to help it spread apart. The photo below shows you what happens if you do not let the base colour dry completely first.

Barry M - Croc Effects 

(over Color Club - Jewel Of a Girl)

You can see that on the left nail that Croc effects pulled all the layers of polish with it as it cracked leaving the bare nail exposed. This was one of my first attempts.

Did anyone else get Croc effects? I got mine from the Barry M website for £3.99 and delivery was £10.83 for 6 nail polishes.

Read More

Ozotic Pro - Mosaic White

Ozotic Pro - Mosaic White (Worn over piCture pOlish - Bombshell)

1 Coat

Top Coat - Amour

This combination was suggested to me by my boyfriend. I wasn't sure how the white would look over a dark colour but it's quite opaque. I think I may have used a fairly thick coat and it cracked fast. I got this with a special deal from piCture pOlish. They used to sell it but I don't see it listed on their website any more.

Read More

China Glaze Crackle - Platinum Pieces

China Glaze - Platinum Pieces

Platinum Pieces is a metallic silver crackle polish. I've put it over China Glaze - For Audrey. I actually used two coats here. I applied one coat and then as the first coat started to crackle I applied the second coat. I did this because one coat is too sheer for me. The only place I want to see the base colour in in between the crackle gaps. This picture was taken in overcast light.

Read More

China Glaze Crackle - Black Mesh

Black Mesh

Thumb: Black Mesh over Ulta3 - Citrus

Index: Black Mesh over Colour Club - The Lime Starts Here

Middle: Black Mesh over Colour Club - Wicked Sweet

Ring: Black Mesh over Colour Club - Raspberry Rush

Pinky: Black Mesh over Ulta3 - Purple Pumps

This is the first crackle polish I've owned so I can't compare it to any other brands. I thought it worked quite well. It applies easily and cracks fast.

I got this from TransDesign.

Read More