Crackly Mail Day Two!

So today I got 6 more bottles of polish in the mail. I kinda went over board with the crackles when I was shopping online and I didn't really realize it till they all started coming in.

I now have three bottles of black crackle from different brands. xD

Anyway today I got the following bottles:

 China Glaze Crackles in Luminous Lavender, Latticed Lilac, Cracked Medallion and Black Mesh

OPI Shatters in Blue Shatter and Silver Shatter

So naturally I had to try them. the only one I didn't try was the China Glaze Black Mesh because I don't expect it to be super different from the Sally Hansen Ink Splatter and the Pure Ice Strobe Light polishes. I could be wrong but I will find out another day.

Also as usual since there were five to test I did one on each finger of my left hand with a black base and one on each finger of my right hand with a white base. So  you will get an idea of how they will look on darks and light colors.

Here are the pictures starting with my left hand:

 Full Sun

Shade

And my right hand:

 Full Sun

Shade

Again the OPI polishes won for quality and ease of application but you can't deny the sparkly beauty of the China Glaze polishes.

My favorite of this bunch ir hands down the OPI Blue Shatter. Blue is my favorite color and this shade is particularly lovely.

A quick bonus picture, my nails as I had them yesterday and earlier today, having used a Klean Color Metallic Aqua base with OPI Super Bass Shatter and topped with a clear high gloss top coat:

Because I am slightly crazy...

I made a spreadsheet listing my nail polishes, and only those with color, as in no clear top/base coats or nail treatments. However I did include my Matte top coat.

The list.

Not huge but still... most of my friends kinda see my polish collection, beautifully displayed in racks on my wall, and inform me I have far too much of the stuff. My reply is generally "No such thing as too much!"

Here are two pictures of my display:

 This Has My Sally Hansen's, Top & Base Coats, Treatments, and my Mom's Mary Kay Polishes

And this one is my Pure Ice, Klean Color, Sinful Colors, and Revlon Polishes (And my one OPI polish)

Yep, there they all are. And I love them all.

The Pure Ice polishes are all around $2 a bottle with the crackles having been found on Ebay for 17 dollars for the 8 bottles, they used to retail at about $4 , but to my knowledge are not on the market anymore. I was thrilled to see them on ebay and for less than original retail!

The Klean Color polishes can be bought on the company's web site for about $3.50 each, however once again I got them on ebay for a steal. The metallics were the 12 bottles for $16s including shipping making them around $1.40 each! The chunky holos were more though at $17 for 9 holos and the matte top coat (so 10 bottles). Making them around $1.70 each.

My Sally Hansen polishes were all bought full retail price at WalMart or RiteAid, same with my Sinful Colors and Revlon polishes. they all range form 2 dollars a bottle to 6 dollars a bottle.

The one OPI I have I got on Amazon for about 5 dollars. It is an awesome color and the price was right. I'm glad I got it.

So. How much have I spent on polish in the last six months?

Well over $100 dollars. When I put a price on them it makes me go "oh god I can't believe I have spent that much!" but in the long run I will enjoy them for potentially years to come. Which to me makes them totally worth the pricetag.

And in other crackle news....

I know a lot of people are sick of crackle but I still love it sooo... here is my latest haul I got in the mail today:

The Bottles

The Bottles With Camera Flash

As you can see I got some Pure Ice crackles and an OPI Shatter. As far as I know the Pure Ice company doesn't make crackles any more so finding 8 bottles for 17 bucks (including shipping) was awesome considering I have heard so much good stuff about them in how they apply and work. The OPI Shatter is from the Nicki Minaj collection which is from 2012 if my research is correct. The Pure Ice crackles are from 2011.

The colors in the above pictures are: (from left to right)

OPI: Super Bass Shatter, Pure Ice: Jetsetter, Pure Ice: All Shooked Up, Pure Ice: Show Stopper, Pure Ice: Crushed, Pure Ice: Catwalk, Pure Ice: Shattered, Pure Ice: Flash, Pure Ice: Strobe Light

And here they all are on a white base coat (except Pure Ice: Flash which is on a black base coat for obvious reasons)

Now the Pure Ice went on great for the most part but some of the bottles had gloopy chunks on the brushes which I assume is due to the age of the polish I will try cleaning them out with a tooth pick if i run into any again. The OPI Worked like a dream. It's my first OPI polish so I wasn't sure what to expect but it is pretty much as great as everyone else says it is. It helps that I lovelovelove the color.

And once again I find myself stressed and chewing my fingers and finger nails to an extent... mostly the finger tips as the polishes I use have done wonders at keeping my teeth off my nails.

Happy Painting errybody!

Sally Hansen Crackle Dissapointment...

So I got the blue crackle I'd been eyeing for a long time. Sally Hansen's "Wave Break" which looks so gorgeous in the bottle.

Well I got home and applied it over a gold base coat and was sad to see it turn the polish color green as it was so sheer the blue and gold "combined" to make green.

I wanted a bold blue. I got a sheer glittery one. 

I am disappoint Sally Hansen....

Note: I don't have the pictures of the paint job on this computer but will edit them in later, when I can.


Edit: As Promised, pictures.  

 

 Left Hand. Gold Base with Wave Break and Ink Splatter Crackle

 Right Hand. Gold Base with Wave Break and Ink Splatter Crackles

The pictures really don't show just how green it wound up looking. It wasn't an unpleasant shade, it just wasn't what I had been wanting.

Barielle Advanced Every Day Nail Care: Nail Strengthener Cream

Well that title is a mouthful. But that is the name of the product I am using lately.

My nails have always been not the greatest but with the nail polish kick and the use of Acetone removers my nails got a bit worse. Rather awful to be honest. So I have spent this week being polish free and applying this nail cream every day, multiple times a day. And it IS helping.

My nails are noticeably less flaky. Which is awesome. They also aren't peeling off thin layers like they were last week. Huzzah!

Got mine at Sally Beauty for 10 dollars. Ten Dollars well spent!

Nutra Nail Products, I think they might just work!

So my first gradient was a smashing success and lasted, without ANY chips, a solid 7 days. Seven GLORIOUS days of beautiful pink and blue.

I know it wasn't the polishes I used for the actual gradient because that stuff will be gone in a few hours if you aren't careful. I think the grand success was due to the base and top coat I used. They were Nutra Nail "Bullet-Proof Strength Formula" and "High Gloss Top Coat" which I purchased bundled together at Wal-mart in March. They were seven dollars or so.

Honestly when I bought these I wasn't expecting much. But since I have started using them I have been pleasantly surprised.

The Bullet-Proof as a base coat helps my polish adhere to my nails better I think, and the top coat definitely is glossy and smooth.

I'd definitely recommend them to my polish buddies.... If I had any polish buddies.

This was how my gradient looked after seven days (I'm super proud n'stuff):

Gradient Nails

I followed this tutorial for my first try and doing a gradient paint job. And it turned out pretty dang well. I can't stop staring at my nails now.

I've also been stressing and that triggered my finger chewing habit... so sorry for my rough looking fingertips.

Anyway here is the gradient I dun:

I really like how the colors I chose came out. 

And with a new month comes money and a new desire to buy nail polish.... must... resist.... xD

Until Next Time!