snap CRACKLE pop!

Crackle... Shatter....  

     Whatever you wanna call it, these polishes took the nail polish world by storm a while back. They come in almost any color. You apply them just like a regular polish. But, as they dry, the polish separates giving a cracked, shattered effect revealing the underlying base color. The effect will be different on each nail and different each time you paint with it, giving a truly unique design. I made a trip to Sally recently and picked up a couple of bottles of crackle polish to try.

Here is the China Glaze Crackle collection display.

These are the crackle polishes I bought. China Glaze Cracked Concrete is on the left and it's a darker matte gray. China Glaze Fault Line is on the right and is a dark glittery purple.

I painted the purple crackle polish over N.Y.C. Polyester Pink and sealed with a top coat.

Without flash.

and....

With flash.

Overall, I like the effect and I think it's really nifty that they can tweak the polish to make it separate like that. However, I thought the brush was really small compared to a regular nail polish brush. It also dried incredibly fast. I made one stroke down the center of my nail and by the time I made the second stroke beside it, the first stroke was completely dry. I didn't realize it would dry that fast, but it's okay if you mess up because by the time it cracks, you won't be able to tell you messed up. I noticed it also seemed to separate better with a thinner coat.  

I like crackle polish. It looks really neat and I can't wait to try more colors.

Trip to Sally's!!

I got some new goodies! 

Sally Girl mini nail polish (silver glitter)
I haven't tried it out yet but it's got really big pieces of glitter which is what I was looking for. All the glitter polishes I have only have the tiny pieces of glitter.




Beauty Secrets top coat 

I love this brand. I have a huge bottle of top coat by this brand and it's my favorite top coat because it lasts for weeks without chipping! So I decided to buy the base coat because I knew it would be a great product.




California Magic cuticle oil
I have been wanting to gt some cuticle oil for some time now. I have been using Bath and Body Works True Blue Spa Cuticle Treatment and it's really great. But I can't find it in the stores anymore and it's a cream, so I wanted to try an actual oil.




cuticle pusher
I love these things. I use them for more than just pushing cuticles back though. I use them to remove nail polish around the edges of my nails. They are also great for cleaning up polish around the cuticles and nail edges while the polish is still wet.




Seche Vite top coat
I have heard many good things about this product. I have noticed several other fellow bloggers use it and completely sing its praises by saying it gives a really glossy shine, it dries fast, and how it's their favorite top coat now and will use nothing else. I was skeptical thinking that a top coat from a brand I had never heard of would actually be that great, so I decided I would try it. If I didn't like it, it would be just another top coat option, since I have at least 4 different top coats. After I bought it, I was very eager to try it, so I painted my toes (pictures to come) so I could test it out. Oh my goodness, I really like this top coat! It IS great! It dries fast and give a really nice shine, even with just one coat!! But my absolute favorite part about Seche Vite top coat, is you can apply it over wet polish AND IT WONT SMEAR!!!! I am very pleased with this product and plan on using it from now on. I also noticed how think this top coat is and I think that is why it can be applied to wet polish and not smear. Bottom line... I love it!!!! 

(Update: after using this top coat for a week or so, I have decided I don't like it as much. Its SO thick and globby.)




Beauty Secrets nail polish thinner
I have a few bottles of nail polish that have become goopy and think over time. Del Sol brand polishes are the worst! I like these polishes (they change colors in the sun!! who wouldn't like them???) but usually avoid using them because they are thick, sticky, and goopy, that has gotten worse over time. I have heard that adding a few drops of nail polish thinner will solve this problem restore the nail polish to the original consistency and I wanted to try it. And I have to say it works! I added three drops to each bottle of Del Sol nail polish I have (don't forget to shake!) and almost immediately after a few minutes of shaking, I noticed a big change in the consistency of the polish. I was very pleased. It's also a very big bottle and if you only need 2-3 drops each time you use it, that bottle will last several months!! 

 (Correction: It will last YEARS! Four years later and my bottle still looks like I've barely used it!)


So I wanted to try out some of the new stuff I bought and my toes needed to be redone, so I painted this design. It's the colorful leopard print design I did several days ago on my fingernails.

Products used:
Beauty Secrets base coat
OPI in What's with the Cattitude
OPI in Rumple's Wiggin'
OPI in I'm Indi-a Mood for Love
N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow
Pure Ice in Free Spirit
Konad special polish in black
stamper
scraper
image plate m57
dotting tool
Seche Vite top coat 

Although, the products I bought are great, the trip to Sally's was unsuccessful in the end. I actually went to buy China Glaze Matte Magic but THEY DIDN'T HAVE IT!! And when I asked about it, they acted like they weren't even going to get any in at all! Bummer... I guess I will have to find it elsewhere or online. 

One SUPER design

Have no fear, the superheroes are here!! 

Batman, Superman, Spiderman, and Wonder Woman!! 

Colorful Leopard

I wasn't sure how this design would turn out, but I really like it. It's very colorful and perfect for the summer! I got many compliments!

Products used:

Finger Paints base coat

Pure Ice in Oh Baby!

Pure Ice in Flirt Alert

N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow

China Glaze in For Audrey

OPI in Rumple's Wiggin'

Finger Paints in Well-Cultured Pearl

konad image plate m57

stamper

scraper

dotting tool

Beauty Secrets top coat

Vera Bradley

I am a Vera Bradley fanatic! I have so many purses and bags in a few patterns. My favorite pattern is Purple Punch (middle finger). Night & Day is on the index, Loves Me is on the ring finger, and Simply Violet is on the pinkie.

This the picture I used as a guide showing all the patterns.

Get out of the water!!!

 I can hear the Jaws theme song now.... dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun!! It's Shark Week on Discovery Channel!! So I came up with this design last night while watching "Into the Shark Bite." 

Products used: Finger Paints base coat Pure Ice in Black Rage Stripe Rite in black Stripe Rite in white Orly in Angel Face OPI in What's with the Cattitude? OPI in Shower Together N.Y.C. in Big Apple Red N.Y.C. in Times Square Tangerine Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Blazing Blue BonBons in silver dotting tool assorted nail brushes Beauty Secrets top coat 

Minion Mania

Have you seen Despicable Me? It's been out for a while and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by it. I didn't particularly want to see it; I thought the previews looked a bit... well, stupid. But I went after all and was glad I did. It's a cute movie with some really funny parts."It's so FLUFFY!"

So this is my take on a Despicable Me nail design (0riginal by The Daily Nail).

Aren't they adorable?
Products used: Finger Paints base coat Orly in Angel Face Pure Ice in Black Rage Pure Ice in Oh Baby! Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue it N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow Stripe Rite in black Stripe Rite in white dotting tools Beauty Secrets top coat

Dippin' Dots

I came up with this very simple design when I got new dotting tools. They came in a set of 5 and included several different sizes. In the picture it's kinda hard to see but there's a glitter topcoat over the dots.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat Pure Ice in Oh Baby! China Glaze in For Audrey N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow Pure Ice in Don't You Wish OPI in I'm Indi-a Mood for Love OPI in Rumple's Wiggin' dotting tools Beauty Secrets top coat

Cutie Cupcakes

Yummy cupcakes. Each with a different color wrapper, colorful sprinkles, and glitter icing.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow Stripe Rite in yellow OPI in I'm Indi-a Mood for Love Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Hot Magenta OPI in What's With the Cattitude? China Glaze in For Audrey OPI in Rumple's Wiggin Love My Nails in True Lilac Stripe Rite in white Pure Ice in Oh Baby! Pure Ice in Flirt Alert Pure Ice in Wild Thing China Glaze in Shower Together Sally Girl Mini polish in bright purple Pure Ice in Don't You Wish assorted nail brushes Beauty Secrets top coat

Sports Crazies

Time out! Now let's play ball! Football. Basketball. Baseball. Tennis. Soccer.

School Days

Teacher, school, education theme. Complete with a school bus, a chalkboard with letters, and apple, a graded paper, and a pencil. 

Spring Dragonfly

This design is a light blue background with a small dragonfly in one corner and a large pink flower in the other corner. The other toes have coordinating pink dots in a diagonal pattern down one side of the nail. I really like the dots.

Products used: Finger Paints base coat, OPI in What's With the Cattitude?, CoverGirl Boundless Color in Midnight Magic, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, Pure Ice in Flirt Alert, Pure Ice in Wild Thing, N.Y.C. in Taxi Yellow, dotting tool, assorted nail brushes, Beauty Secrets top coat

Tropical Sunset

Sunset. Complete with palm trees, mountains, and waves. This design was actually very easy to paint. The only problem I had was mixing colors to make the coral color for the sky and applying it with a fan brush and then waiting on all the different layers of the design to dry.

I used: Finger Paints base coat, China Glaze in Shower Together, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On, N.Y.C. in Times Square Tangerine, Pure Ice in Flirt Alert, Stripe Rite in Yellow, Stripe Rite in White, Stripe Rite in Black, assorted nail brushes, fan brush, dotting tool, Beauty Secrets top coat

Penguin

A cute little penguin perfect for winter. There's no background in this design but a light blue with dots or snowflakes will give a bright winter vibe. 

I used: Finger Paints base coat, Pure Ice in Black Rage, Pure Ice in Oh Baby!, N.Y.C. in Times Square Tangerine, dotting tool, assorted nail brushes, Beauty Secrets top coat

Pink Swirl

 Pink and white swirl. This is my first attempt at water marbling and it turned out really well. Water marbling is a technique that involves dropping nail polish into water in layers and swirling it around to make a design. You just dip your nails into the water to apply it to the nail. It's a great way to create fun and unique designs with different colors. The only downsides are that it can be messy and it uses ALOT of polish (so don't use your good stuff!).

I used: Finger Paints base coat, N.Y.C. in Fuchsia Shock, CQ in French White, bowl of room temperature water, Q tips, toothpick, nail polish remover, paper towel, Beauty Secrets top coat