Hello!
Quickly typing this up as I don't have any proper internet access until Monday - sad times! But wanted to keep my blog updated, so here's some photos of my most recent nail art... although sadly, bits keep getting chipped off what with moving furniture and cleaning. :-(
I'd recently tried out crackle varnish over a block colour, and thought how fab it could look over multi-coloured nails. I picked two of my old favourites for the base, which were Coral Pop (the pink) and Wave, both by 17, and both hi-shine. They're kind of like the Barry M gelly range, fab colours and consistancy. I painted my nails with the pink, and once this was dry I added blotches of green.
Last time I played with crackle, I didn't wait long enough for the base coat to dry. I think I waited about 10/15 mins, and it felt dry to the touch but when I painted on the crackle, it smeared the polish underneath leaving it bare and patchy. This time I left the base coat (the pink) on overnight, before adding the green blotches the next day. I let these dry for about an hour. The green still smudged a bit but the pink looked pretty good.
Here's the result... (sorry about pic quality, phone pics)
and some pics showing what my nails were like underneath before the crackle top coat - messy but it doesn't matter! (this was when I had to re-do three after they got all chipped, so colour combo reversed!)
Lastly, here's another pic I never got round to posting of blue glittery nails I did for this week's challenge theme. It was a look I'd used on one nail of my previous blue effort, and I thought it looked nice so did all my nails the same for a simple but sparkly look.
Lastly again - my nails are in Look magazine again! YAY! I'll do a special post later with a pic of it. :-D
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.
I had to simplify my nails as my manager at work isn't keen on bright colours and patterns. Part of our uniform is dark pink so I decided to go with Ruby Gem by 17 so I could at least say I matched! This is two coats with topcoat. I've posted so many pics because my camera and my phone wouldn't fully capture the beautiful colour! It's not as bright as the first pic, nor as dark as in the last! These are three pics of the same polish though...!
I love this colour so much. It's exactly the colour I want to buy a car in... and the Seche Vite over the top has made it super shiny.
My next little review is on 17's glitter crackle top-coat. I bought this a while ago and didn't really get on with it, but thought I would give it another go. I'm afraid my opinion hasn't changed! I think it's way too heavy, and although if you look closely you can see the cracks revealing the colour underneath, from a distance you can't really see the effect. I think this might by the glitter not allowing the polish to "crackle" effectively?
