Week 8 - Green Nails

I had two ideas I really wanted to try this week! I went with crackle nails first for two reasons. One is because I'd just recently bought the polish and really wanted to give it a try. And also because I thought it would be slightly less 'in-your-face' than my other idea that involves glitter, which would be better for work. 

I bought this fab little set from Primark for just £3! You get a bright coloured base (there's different ones in different sets), a black crackle coat and a clear top coat. All for £3, awesome!I chose the set with green because I don't actually own a bright green colour, and I thought this one looked really nice. Also I didn't have a plain crackle top-coat! And obviously it'll be great value for money cos I can use them separately.

  I decided to apply this before work yesterday morning. I first applied my new Green Tea & Bamboo Strengthener by Sally Hansen that I bought the other day with a 25% off voucher from the new Boots mag! (otherwise I wouldn't have let myself have it for the price). I then applied one coat of the green. One coat gives quite good coverage, and I thought that as it was mainly going to be covered up with the black anyway, I wouldn't waste time doing a second coat. (first mistake)

I then waited about 5/10 mins until the green was dry to the touch, then applied the black. (second mistake)

Once the black had crackled and dried, it had a kind of matte/discoloured finish, which I suppose is why you get a topcoat provided. I decided to try the primark top-coat to continue with the theme and to see how it worked. It was nice, very shiny and immediately improved the look of the nails. Butttt it took forever to dry, and I ended up smuding a nail, as I was kind of trying to multi-task (get breakfast, coffee, dressed etc!) ...you can see the smudge on my pointy finger here - had to go over it again!

I think this look is reaaaally effective. I made some big mistakes in applying it, and here is what I have learnt from my first go at applying this!

1. Give yourself enough time. You must let each coat fully dry before you attempt the next step.
2. Apply more than one layer of base coat, even though it's going to be partially hidden under the black.
(these two points are made because I only waited about 10 mins between the green and the black.THis meant that when I painted on the black, it partially removed the green at the bottom of some of my nails, and made it uneven in other places, which you can see in the pics. I think two fully dry coats underneath would have worked way better.)
3. Use a quick-dry topcoat if you are in a rush! 

I'll definitely use this crackle again, maybe over a gradient or something! Oooh so many things to try! I think for now though I will take it off and try my second look for green week.