While I'm pushing through fall and winter collections, I also wanted to show you a little NOTD that I wore to my alma mater's football game in September. I took the plunge this year and bought season tickets and got them on the 50 yard line! It hasn't been the best season for them, but still - I have loved going to each game. I actually had soon-to-be Mr. PG pick out the blue for this manicure! He doesn't have much interest in nail polish but will occasionally look at what colors I want to wear and give me suggestions.
I started with a base of Poshe, 2 coats of China Glaze Rodeo Fanatic and then topped with Cult Nails Wicked Fast. Next I added a thin coat of Nicole by OPI Gold Texture Coat and topped that with another coat of Wicked Fast. Cleanup was a little messy with a dark blue and then the gold shimmer but it worked for the game.
As you can see, my pinkie didn't fare too well. I paint my nails from pinkie to thumb, so it was first and the crackle flat out didn't crackle. If you have a crackle polish that is too thick, add a few drops of your favorite Nail Polish Thinner (Seche Restore, or a generic brand) and roll the polish in your hands (or shake if you're REALLY impatient like me) until it becomes liquid again.
Random Krystal trivia. I didn't realize that the China Glaze logo was a "C" and a "G" until about 2 years into owning several hundred bottles. I just thought it was a fire flame or something. Nerd.
Crackle is iffy - sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. For this game, it worked but this manicure didn't even last 24 hours before I took it off.
I purchased Rodeo Fanatic from the etailer, Head2Toe Beauty and the Texture coat from Nicole by OPI was a press sample.
Disclosure:
The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company
for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
The companion to Pure Ice Golden Ticket is this black crackle. As far as black crackles go, this one was pretty neat. It was still relatively thin and well, as for the crackling... let me show you. This is one coat of crackle over my existing manicure. This crackle does dry matte, so I added Seche Vite to make it shine.
See how lovely it cracks? This is how a lot of European crackles seem to work (versus OPI here in the States). I'm happy!
Here in the shade , you can see that the glitter shows up super nicely under the crackle.
And finally indoors with the flash - well... not much else to say here. Crackle - good deal.
You can purchase this duo for $6 straight from Bari Cosmetics here. Read more about Bari's Cosmetics including Pure Ice on their Facebook Page and follow them on Twitter.
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
For Valentine's Day, I thought about doing a kind of pink on pink manicure, but in the end, it just didn't really work out for me. Even though it was only 2 weeks ago, I don't even remember what I did for my manicure - time flies when you're stressed, hah! Anyway, I had a couple of combinations in mind, and this was one of them... using my CND Muddy Rose manicure, I added one layer of OPI Pink Shatter, a translucent shatter that still allows some of the underlying polish to show through (as opposed to being opaque).
Pink Shatter dries matte, so I added CND Air Dry only to my middle & ring fingers. I'll have a detailed picture coming up.
You can barely tell this is a pink on pink manicure at first glance, which is what I was going for, but in the end, I just didn't love it.
Here you can see the difference between the top coat vs the matte. The top coat brings out a subtle shimmer to the Shatter, where the other side just appears dry. In fact, it reminds me a little of muscle tissue, like if someone split open your leg. Hey, if The Daily Nail can do zit nails, maybe I can do "raw meat nails" :p
Trying to get a picture indoors with the flash just wasn't working so my pictures today (in order) are sun, indirect sun, close up and this is the shade. Now I've had nothing but ick weather lately, but there was one day of sun, and that's when I tested this manicure. I WANT SPRING TO BE HERE. Minus the mosquitoes, heat, humidity, tall grass growing...
Anyway, I found my bottle of OPI Pink Shatter on sale for $6 at Ulta on a back rack, but most OPI bottles do still run at around $8.50.
OPI [Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] is available at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer.
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
I decided to take yesterday's manicure up a notch by adding a coat of shatter/texture/crackle. Nicole by OPI's Red Texture is similar to OPI's Red Shatter except without the jelly finish. This is one coat of Red Texture with a top coat of OPI Top Coat.
I attempted a diagonal pattern on my index finger, but it didn't work too well. I'm still getting the hang of it. You can also see that my cuticles need some help, especially my middle finger which tends to go flat instead of curved (like my ring finger). Oh nail issues!
In the shade, you can't see much of a difference - I kind of like the nude look of the base color (it's really grey).
Finally indoors with the flash - I really like the vibrancy of this color but if you already have OPI Red Shatter, not sure you need both. I do like that this didn't gunk up in the bottle like some crackles/shatters do.
Nicole by OPI is available beginning at ULTA, Meijer, Harmon, HEB, Sears, Wal-Mart and more for around $8 a bottle. For more information, visit their website, follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter or become a Facebook fan.
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
Somehow, this little one slipped away from me while I was reviewing the "Metals" crackle collection from China Glaze. Haute Metal is a rosey reddish pink crackle that doesn't look good over pink (heh, tried and failed) but I figured I'd try it over my Dr.'s REMEDY Lovely from yesterday.
This is one coat of Haute Metal, topped with Seche Vite.
I think the moral of the story is that this color is best over dark colors. It gets a bit lost with the purple underneath.
A bit more noticeable in the shade but it reminds me of like an 80s rock candy or Easter egg or something... Hah I don't know - guess I'm reaching a little bit here.
Finally indoors with the flash. What is your take on crackle/shatter/graffiti polish? Is it cool still? Are you totally over it? My business cards feature my neon skittle crackle nails and at Cosmoprof North America Las Vegas, a lot of beauty business owners that I gave my card to were mentioning that crackle/shatter is "so over" already. What's the next big trend? Will magnetic nail polish make it mainstream? I do have a lot of that to show you but it's going to be on super nubbins after breaking 3 nails yesterday. (Fun fun). Stay tuned!
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
Moving on down the line with the Nicole by OPI Texture collection is Gold Texture which is just what is sounds like. :) I used yesterday's manicure for my base.
Orange and gold together? It works but I probably wouldn't do that one again. I still prefer gold over green.
It looks so much better in the shade - that's really all I can say. Hah.
Indoors with the flash just washes this out totally. Metallics don't photograph well as seen with the silver shatter the other day. Oh well. :) You get the point (I hope).
Nicole by OPI is available beginning at ULTA, Meijer, Harmon, HEB, Sears, Wal-Mart and more for around $8 a bottle. For more information, visit their website, follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter or become a Facebook fan.
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
OPI Silver Shatter actually came out back in Spring with the OPI Brights "Pirates of the Caribbean" collection. I absolutely hated the way this looked on blogs but trust me when I say this is a color you need. It has all this shimmer that can't be captured digitally but looks AMAZING in person.
I used yesterday's manicure, one coat of Silver Shatter and a top coat of OPI Top Coat.
I mean really, it's hard to tell you how amazing this is when it doesn't photograph well at all.
And it shatters pretty well as well.
I didn't have sun out (of course) so sorry that you don't see the full BLING of this polish.
Indoors with the flash just makes this look ugly. Haha, sorry friends. I promise you that this is amazing and you do need it. This and a black shatter/crackle/texture make me a happy camper.
OPI is available at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer. Please visit their website for details [official website].
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
Hey look, it's another black crackling polish! Nicole by OPI's Black Texture. I decided to use my previous manicure from yesterday as my base.
Unfortunately, I found this polish to be thick, muddy and it wrinkled up on me on the nail. It just needs a little thinner, which is pretty typical of crackle/texture/shatter polishes.
Boo older brush. Never knew I'd miss the Perfect Brush that just came out.
Now, I decided to attempt something more than just the normal crackling.
Normal on the pinkie and ring finger (I actually paint my nails from pinkie to thumb), butt hen I tried horizontal stripes on my middle finger and sideways on my index finger. I think I'm happy with just "normal" vertical lines instead.
In the shade, you can see how it's a bit wrinkly on me as well as bumpy.
Finally indoors with the flash - I like this color combo a lot! And I really like that crackle hides the whole weird jelly/sorbet finish.
Nicole by OPI is available beginning at ULTA, Meijer, Harmon, HEB, Sears, Wal-Mart and more for around $8 a bottle. For more information, visit their website, follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter or become a Facebook fan.
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
Call it Texture, call it Crackle, call it Shatter, or call it Grafitti - crackling top coats are all the rage for 2011. Nicole by OPI announced in late May that they would be throwing their hat into the ring with 6 colors. Nothing new to the game - still the same kind like OPI... the one down side is that while Nicole by OPI changed to their new "Perfect Stroke" brush back in January, there are still some issues with getting all their bottles with the same new brush. That was the case for most of my Texture collection (confirmed with the Nicole by OPI press relations representative).
I decided to use my existing (and botched) manicure from yesterday with OPI Houston We Have A Purple, and just add one coat of White Texture. I topped it with OPI Top Coat.
One good thing about texture/shatter/crackle is that it can hide a bad manicure. I don't like that this white isn't as crisp as OPI White Shatter but it still works. Part of it, for me, was having that thin brush instead of the "perfect stroke."
By accident, I caught a picture with natural lighting. Pretty stuff!
Here it is in the shade - still nothing new.
And finally indoors with the flash. Not bad, not great, not unique, not terrible. I will, however, stick with my OPI White Shatter for my white crackle/shatter/texture needs.
Nicole by OPI is available beginning at ULTA, Meijer, Harmon, HEB, Sears, Wal-Mart and more for around $8 a bottle. For more information, visit their website, follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter or become a Facebook fan.
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
I was pretty excited to try OPI Navy Shatter despite my fear of blues because from everything I'd seen, this blue ROCKS. I decided to layer it over yesterday's Nicole by OPI's Not A Gold Bigger.
It didn't crack too well on my index finger but I LOVE the way that this shattered over my ring finger. Such a lovely crackle and combination if I say so myself (my alma mater colors were blue and gold).
In the shade you can see a tiny bit of sparkle in the blue which makes it even cooler - seriously.
I love all the sparkle in this manicure and can't wait for football season so I can break this out for my college games. :)
OPI is available at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer. Please visit their website for details [official website].
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
It's another crackle post! This is the year of the crackle. I really hoped it would be the year of the holographic polish but hey, maybe next year. This is from the upcoming Metallic Crackle collection from China Glaze - the silver Platinum Pieces crackle. I decided to use it over my existing Redy to Runaway Love? manicure. One coat of Platinum Pieces topped with Seche Vite.
I think the red may have been to bold to really see the silver shine through here. I'm definitely wanting to play more and do a comparison to OPI's Silver Shatter (which is still on my shelf but has been worn a few times). As mentioned before, China Glaze's metallics seem to be much thinner in consistency and doesn't gum up around the bottle neck like OPI's crackles do or the first batch of Crackle Glaze from China Glaze. Granted, you can add nail polish thinner to crackle polishes to bring them back to a thin consistency, but it's nice not to have to do that.
You can see the crackle coat better in the shade - partly because the camera doesn't go crazy over all the sparkling foil of this polish.
Indoors with the flash - the bottle picture looks a lot like the China Glaze Cheers To You a bit but again - it's a crackle! I like that they have a different logo instead of a different cap, although I like the different caps as well.
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
Hey it's time for more crackle polish! OPI White Shatter comes as part of the Serena Williams Glam Slam! Collection, currently partnered with Spark de Triomphe but I decided to check it out of my e.l.f. Black for a classic black and white look. This is one coat of Shatter followed by a top of Seche Vite.
This crackled pretty well! I know a lot of people had issues with China Glaze Lightning Bolt not crackling "enough" and being rather stringy (I didn't really have that problem) but this is definitely a nice bold crackling polish and a very nice white I might add! I'm still on the search for a perfect one coat white creme - wish this was it!
Not much to say in the shade - I'm still giggling how it tends to give a horizontal crack at the smile line (not on my pinkie though). I wonder if that has anything to do with body heat?
Indoors with the flash - I'm in love with how clean this white is!
OPI is available at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer. Please visit their website for details [official website].
Disclosure: The product[s] in this post was [were] provided to me by the company for consideration. For more information, please read this post.
