Vault 106: $OPI Run With It Shattered

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Sephora by OPI Run With It, 2 coats with topcoat. I remember really lemming this polish, then being a bit disappointed by it. It kinda gives me corpse hands, and the shimmer is not nearly as visible on the nail as it is in the bottle, but it does have a sort of textured look to it. It certainly isn't flat or chalky, it's just a bit blah on me, kinda like Minnesota weather in February.

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And a coat of OPI Turquoise Shatter livens it up! I loved this because it makes me think of water washing over a white sand beach. What I wouldn't give to see that in person right now!

Vault 106: OPI DS Coronation Cracked

directly under a full spectrum lamp

This is three coats of the lovely and elegant OPI DS Coronation. It's essentially large fleck holographic pigment in a clear base. As you can see, it's not a linear holo. I suppose it's similar to the China Glaze Kaleidoscopes, but a cousin not a sibling. As some of you may know, there were two different holo pigments used in OPI Designer Series polishes - linear and non-linear, and they seem to use each in the same color bases. For example, Coronation is to Shimmer what Fantasy is to Glamour. I'll have to do a swatch post of my DSs someday, to show what I mean. Regardless, the holo (both linear and non-linear) DS polishes are all old/discontinued and hard-to-find, but SO gorgeous! If you ever stumble across any, BUY THEM! You won't regret it!

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Gorgeous as Coronation is, when I found a new-to-me brand with this gorgeous purple crackle, I had to try it out! This is one coat Nabi New Purple crack with topcoat. It's less blue in real life.
I found Nabi polishes in a little neighborhood discount clothing boutique, and needless to say, I bought a bunch. They were only $1.50 each, even the crackles, which is still the cheapest crackle I've ever seen.
Are you sick of crackles yet? I'm not, mostly because I use them somewhat rarely, and they're still really useful for covering up tipwear and other manicure sins, regardless of trends. I'm not buying many more, just because I have a nice selection, but I will continue to use the ones I have. Honestly, I'm more sick of everyone else saying 'I'm so over crackle'.

Vault 106: Tiger, Tiger

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I did this manicure last spring, when I was playing with different uses for crackles. For this look, I used OPI Black Shatter over Zoya Rica. I started with very little Black Shatter on the brush, and pulled it from each side of the nail towards the center. I really liked this, and I've used this same technique a few times since then. It looks best with a very thin layer of crackle, and if you don't quite meet in the middle.

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Zoya Rica on it's own. I didn't record how many coats, but it's most likely two. Gorgeous color! I bought this whole collection (Zoya Sunshine) last year, because I adore the gold fleck/foily finish and the stunning colors.

Vault 106: Last Valentine's Day Mani

I was going through my photos (I have too many just waiting for editing and posting), and found last year's Valentine's Day mani. I broke out the fake nails, because my real ones were horrible stubs, and I wanted something GLAM for a change. First, the finished product:

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What you see here is 2 coats of China Glaze Sugar High, topped with one coat of LA Splash Be Mine, stamped in white with the rose from BM14, and OPI Black Shatter diagonally across the tips. (Remember those days when crackle only came in black? And only OPI? Yeah, WAY back then! XD)

These are the Broadway nails I used. They were on super-ultra clearance at Ulta last year, so I doubt you could still get the exact same ones. I'm still a n00b with press-ons, only using them maybe 2-3 times a year since my nail fetish started a few years ago. These came out pretty well, and lasted much longer than I expected (about a week, I think).

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Here is just the China Glaze and LA Splash layering, pre-art and pre-chopped. I had planned on cutting/filing them down immediately, but Hubby liked them this long, so I painted and wore them for a day. Hey, it WAS Valentine's Day, after all! LOL
Anyway, I really loved the hearts, even if I only got a couple, but the sparkle was definitely the main attraction. It may not look it from my photos, but the bling factor was out of this world! And it actually flashed green as much as gold. If you passed on this LA Splash collection last year, but now NEED this polish (everyone does!), they're still available at Cherry Culture.

China Glaze Metallic Crackles

Fashionably late again. 

Tarnished Gold and Cracked Medallion. I couldn't decide which to do first, so I did them both! TG is on index and ring, and CM is on middle and pinky. I really loved how these look over that rich blue. Gorgeous! This is one medium-thick coat of each in full sun.

Oxidized Aqua. This feels so retro '80s! Love it. I played with the coat thickness here, as you can see: thin coat on index, progressively thicker to pinkie. I really like this over neons!

I'm still loving the Crackle trend, even though others might be tired of it. And these foil-finish crackles are beautiful! I'm not saying we need to see any more crackle collections, necessarily, but I'm happy to play with what I've got.

*Disclosure: Some of the products featured in this post were provided by China Glaze for PR purposes.

Press Release: China Glaze Crackle Metals

THE HOTTEST METALS GET CRACKLED China Glaze Introduces Six New Crackle Glaze Polishes in Sparkling Metallics for Summer 2011 Los Angeles, CA – (June 2011):  Set your summer style to “sizzle” with China Glaze’s new Crackle Glaze Metals collection.  The pioneer in crackle technology, China Glaze takes the beauty phenomenon to the next level with this second-generation polish that pairs the edgy innovation of crackle with the elegant beauty of metals. The China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals collection features six sparkling metallic colors including: ·        Tarnished Gold: Warm, honeyed hue ·        Platinum Pieces: Shimmering silver ·        Haute Metal: Pale pink ·        Cracked Medallion: Bold bronze ·        Latticed Lilac: Soft lavender ·        Oxidized Aqua: Deep aquamarine blue Create dramatically different looks with just one sweep of China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals.  Layer over different base colors to create bold styles.  Use a lighter coat to create a fine crackle, a thicker coat for a deep shatter effect.  As versatile and edgy as China Glaze’s biggest celebrity fans (Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Nicole Ritchie and Kelly Osbourne, to name a few), Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals is sure to be this summer’s hottest beauty trend! The China Glaze Crackle Glaze Metals collection will be available as open stock colors and 12 piece counter display with a unique Crackle Glaze screen and including an instructional hang tag. China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde. China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze China Glaze is a division of American International Industries. About American International Industries For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women.  Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks,  Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.

China Glaze Crackles

I have for you today three China Glaze Crackles. I thought I'd do my swatches a bit differently than usual, because these are made to be toppers over other polishes. So I swatched skittles of very diverse colors, to show the versatility: including a neon, a glitter, a foil, a bright saturated color and a pastel. Plus, as a bonus, I have a full manicure, to show off a Crackle to its full potential, since the swatches are sans topcoat.

First, the real manicure. Here we have 3 coats of OPI Big Hair...Big Nails (coral jelly sorbet base), then one coat LA Splash Sweet Heart (the coordinating glitter), then one coat China Glaze Cracked Concrete, plus more layers of topcoat than you want to know about.  Love how much of the glitter shows through!

Broken Hearted. Hot pink cream crackle full of win! This looks great over all the colors, even the green, but I think my favorite here might be over the neon yellow... or maybe the blue... or maybe, well, you get the idea.

Cracked Concrete. Charcoal gray cream crackle that looks great over everything, too. I think my favorite, though is the lavender on my pinkie. There's just something about purple and gray together!

Lightning Bolt. Bright white cream crackle. This one is fun because it tends to take on the cast of any strong colors it's over, like the neon yellow on my thumb. But it looks great over all of these, even if it gets a bit washed out over the foil on my middle finger.
Overall, these are a lot of fun to play with, and you can get different effects based on how thick or thin you apply them. Mostly, I did medium-thick coats partly because I like the bigger chunks, but if you applied more thinly, you get a more stringy appearance, a bit like Lightning Bolt on my thumb. Also, you can apply in different directions, to make the crackle trend diagonal or even horizontal across the nail. The formula itself is a bit thicker than regular polish, but I've read that polish thinner is safe to use in these, if that bothers you.
My one big complaint here is the brush - I really wish China Glaze would hop on board the wide-brush bus, because I think the application of these polishes in particular would be vastly improved! I think the current brushes are too firm and narrow, because you really need to work quickly, applying in as few strokes as possible. But the brushes don't fan out to maximize each stroke, and tend to cause serious cuticle drag when you have to keep pulling polish down the nail. I found it extremely difficult to apply a thin coat, and I think the fault lies with the brush. I may have to swap out an OPI Pro Wide brush for better application.  If it works, I'll let you know!
Despite my complaint, I highly recommend getting as many of these as you can! They are awesome-sauce bottled, and I only wish I would've acquired the other three colors (see my PR post) before they were long-gone from stores. Good luck, if you can hunt down some of these! I have heard a rumor that at least three colors will be released in the permanent line, but I don't know which or when, so keep your eyes peeled!

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by China Glaze.