Burst Crackle ~ Violet Flame

Burst Crackle ~ Violet Flame
A violet crackle with shimmer

This is far the easiest crackle I’ve ever worked with. Forget about OPI, China Glaze and Color Club. This formula is much smoother, applies a lot easier and crackles way nicer!

I applied it over China Glaze’s “Senorita Bonita”, and that gave it this pretty and subtle look.

I’m actually wearing nine layers of polish on the picture:

1 layer of base coat
2 layers of China Glaze “Senorita Bonita”
1 layer of Seche Vite Top Coat
1 layer of Northern Lights holographic top coat
1 layer of Burst Crackle, Violet Flame
2 layers of Northern Lights holographic top coat, applied by mistake (read more below…)
1 layer of Seche Vite Top Coat

The reason for the extra 2 layers of Northern Lights holographic top coat was that I mistook the bottle for that of my Seche Vite. I didn’t understand why it didn’t apply the way it usually does, and it took two whole coats of confusion before I realized my mistake! :D


Opacity: 6/10
Colour, prettiness: 7/10
Durability: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 7.75/10
Buy again: Yes

Northern Lights ~ Hologram top coat "Silver"

Northern Lights ~ Hologram top coat “Silver”
Holographic glitter in a clear base

I like the holographic effect that some polishes have,  and I love glitter, so it was obvious (to me anyway) that I had to buy this spectacular top coat.

Here I’ve applied it over China Glaze’s Senorita Bonita. You can see that it’s not overwhelmingly dense – it’s a very cool enhancement to an already delicious nail polish. It adds that little something extra that helps make a dull day brighter.

It says “Out the door” on the bottle and the top coat dries really fast! I love it! ♥

Opacity: -/10
Colour, prettiness: 7/10
Durability: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 8.3/10
Buy again: Yes

China Glaze ~ Senorita Bonita

China Glaze ~ Senorita Bonita
A red-toned purple shimmery polish with tiny flecks of pink and orange glitter.

This lacquer is from China Glaze’s ‘Island Escape' collection, released summer 2011.

The colour of Senorita Bonita is actually a bit complex to try to explain. I know it sounds a bit weird that a purple polish should contain orange flakes, but the orange is so subtle that it just seems to match the purple perfectly and adds extra depth and shine to the polish. It works really well!

I’ve tried to take a close up of the nail to show the glitter and the tiny flakes to give you an idea of what the glitter is about. There’s more sparkle to this polish than there is glitter!

It took two generous coats to achieve bottle colour, and I actually found the application to be a bit on the tricky side. The first coat left quite a few streaks, but the second coat did the job and cleaned it up nicely. Drying time was also on the slow side, but fortunately I was in my patient mood that day. :)

The picture shows two coats with a layer of Seche Vite Top coat. This is only the second time I've used Seche Vite, and I really like the formula! I’m not surprised that it has gained cult status amongst nail bloggers! It dries fast and makes the polish nice, durable and shiny.

Opacity: 7/10
Colour, prettiness: 6/10
Durability: 8/10
Value for money: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
Buy again: Yes

Color Club Crackle ~ Clean Break

Color Club Crackle ~ Clean Break
A white crackle

I’m not really sure why I bought this crackle in the first place, as I’m not really into white polishes. I guess it’s because I wear a lot of dark colours, and I wanted a new crackle that could be used over the top of them, and I got white on an impulse while shopping online. It turned out to be a good idea, and I've found this is also an exciting way to extend the useful life of a colour I particularly like. Plus it can look really cool - not a bad thing, right? :)

Here I’m wearing a medium layer over China Glaze’s “Sexy Silhouette” and a generous coat of Seche Vite top coat, and I think it does look pretty good. It crackled perfectly, but like other crackles it’s all about working fast, and to get the hang of how thick a layer you apply. The thicker the layer, the bigger the crackles.

It’s so funny when people say: “Whoah!! How did you do that? Didn’t it take a loooong time?” :D

Opacity: 10/10
Colour, prettiness: 4/10
Durability: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 7.5/10
Buy again: Not sure, but probably.

China Glaze ~ Sexy Silhouette

China Glaze – Sexy Silhouette
A deep fuchsia pink with micro shimmer

This is my first China Glaze polish, however weird that may sound. I’ve looked at the brand from time to time, but it was only when I finally decided to order some products from overseas that I got China Glaze in my collection of lacquers.

I was quite excited, as you may imagine, because a lot of nail bloggers write very positively about this brand. And I was not disappointed. I was impressed even after the first layer: No bald spots whatsoever! I gave it a second layer to enhance the depth of the colour, and man, this is sexy indeed! There are people who say that China Glaze’s polishes are thin and runny, and I obviously can’t speak for all of them (the polishes that is), but I found that Sexy Silhouette is neither of the two. It covers very well with the first coat, and it didn’t run for me one single time. It did take a while for the second layer to dry though, longer than I had expected. Not a problem, in my book.

I don’t wear pinks that often, so it takes something rather special for a pink to be enrolled into my collection, and “Sexy Silhouette” has definitely got it. I really like the lovely vibrant colour and the shimmer. Very cool indeed.

The picture shows two layers of Sexy Silhouette and one layer of Sally Hansen’s Diamond shine top coat.

Opacity: 6/10
Colour, prettiness: 7/10
Durability: 8/10
Value for money: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
Buy again: Yes

Orly ~ Bubbly Bombshell

Orly – Bubbly Bombshell
A magenta glitter polish

 This is my first Orly nail polish, and I loved it from the very first moment I laid eyes on it. When I saw it online I just knew I had to order it, and I must admit that I was so impatient to get it that it seemed to take forever to arrive. This isn't a criticism of the delivery process - in reality it arrived in a reasonable amount of time - but I was just so eager to get it. 

Finally it arrived, and looking at the glitter in real life and not just on my monitor, it fully lived up to my expectations. I opened the bottle, pulled the brush up, and man! It was just so dense. I swear I had a glittergasm right there and then! :D

 So. I applied the first layer and it looked very promising. There weren't many bald spots. I applied the second coat, and it was perfect. It was so easy to apply, and with layer two I didn’t have any bald spots at all! The glitter was beautiful, sparkling the way glitter should. And the colour is absolutely amazing.This is a quality product, for sure.

The picture shows two layers and one layer of Sally Hansen’s Diamond shine on top.

I had so many compliments wearing this nail polish. It’s a definite favourite!

Tip: If you think the glitter is fading a bit after some days, just apply a second layer of top coat, and the glitter shines up brightly again. 

Opacity: 8/10
Colour, prettiness: 10/10
Durability: 8/10
Value for money: 10/10
Overall: 9/10
Buy again: Yes!

Amour ~ Green Glitter

Amour – Green Glitter

The name says it all. It's green, it's glitter, and there's lots of it!  

Here’s a nail polish that I’ve been very much looking forward to trying. This is my first nail polish from Amour, and when I saw the colour of the green glitter I just knew that it was a must have!

Opening the bottle and inspecting the polish itself made me go “Wow”! It looks so dense with glitter, and the colour is just amazing. It’s a rich summery grass green colour with lots and lots of glitter in it. Did I mention that I love glitter? Well, I do! ♥

 So. Applying the polish was quite easy. The first layer didn’t cover completely, a few bald spots, so I applied a second coat and was satisfied. I actually considered a third coat, but it wasn't necessary – it was beautiful as it was, glittery and sparkling. I applied a top coat to make it last longer, because it actually looked as if some of the glitter might fall off. I used Sally Hansen’s Diamond Shine, and the first coat of that seemed to just disappear and soak into the glitter. A second coat did the job – the glitter was almost smoothed out and looked shiny and beautiful, just like glitter should :)

During the course of the next week, it didn’t chip, but the office work did make it wear off after 3-4 days. It wore off nicely though, fairly evenly, so I didn’t have to remove it on the same day that it began to fade.

Seriously – I love the colour and glitter of this product! It’s simply fabulous! I just couldn’t stop looking at my nails!

I’ve got Amour’s “Rain glitter” on the way too – I can’t wait to try that out. I hope it is just as fabulous!

Opacity: 8/10

Colour, prettiness: 10/10

Durability: 8/10

Value for money: 9/10

Overall: 8.75/10

Buy again: Yes!

Bourjois and Essence 50s Girls

Here's just a fun little design I made because I was in the mood for red and white.

I used Bourjois 1 seconde for the base. The dots are made with Essence's "Ahoy!" from the "50s Girls Reloaded" series. I finished the design with a layer of glitter top coat.

I like dots, and I think it's a pretty cute design. :)

China Glaze Crackle ~ Fault Line

China Glaze Crackle: Fault Line.

Fault Line is a deep, beautiful purple

The day I wanted to remove the Sally Hansen nail polish (see my previous post), my boyfriend asked me how crackle nail polish actually works. Good question.

I thought I would be easier to just show him, and so I applied a layer of this purple China Glaze crackle on to my thumb nail, over the Sally Hansen. It crackled nicely, the effect was almost instantaneous, and we were both quite stunned by how absolutely beautiful the blue and the purple looked together! So I didn’t actually get to remove the blue, I simply applied the purple crackle to all my nails. Very, very cool indeed, and I'm certainly going to be considering extending the life of an application of colour, by painting a suitable layer of crackle over the top. The possible colour combinations are awesome!

And it’s soooo beautiful. I simply can’t stop looking at it!

Opacity: 10/10

Colour, prettiness: 8/10

Durability: 8/10

Value for money: 9/10

Overall: 8.6/10
Buy again? Yes!

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri ~ Blue Streak

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri 12: Blue Streak.

This nail polish is, as the name suggests, a light blue with shimmer in it.

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Sally Hansen writes that the Insta-Dri nail polishes cover in just one coat, brilliantly. I’ve never experienced that one coat is enough though - I’ve always had to apply two coats, and even then it leaves occasional bald spots here and there.

The brush is kind of big and flat, which means you can cover your nail in two strokes with it (little finger nail with one stroke and thumb nail with three strokes!)  I like the brush! I find it’s very easy to apply the nail polish with it. There’s the thing with the bald spots, but that’s more to do with the polish than the brush, to be honest.

Insta-Dri really does dry instantly, which is just perfect. I suppose it could go without a top coat, it’s shiny enough in itself - but the picture shows two coats and a top coat. And the colour is so cool, it’s like looking out over the ocean. If you put a top coat with silver glitter in it on, it’s even more gorgeous!

I probably won’t buy it again, but that’s mostly because I don’t wear blue that often. The polish itself is cool, though.

Opacity: 8/10

Colour, prettiness: 7/10

Durability: 7/10

Value for money: 6/10

Overall: 7/10

Buy again: No

Wet N Wild ~ Night Prowl

Let me start this blog with a nail polish I bought quite recently.

It’s from Wet N Wild, and is called Night Prowl. It has a black base with an infusion of dark purple glitter. I was sceptical when I bought it, because I’ve heard quite a lot of fairly negative stuff about Wet N Wild. It’s a cheap brand – which is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but I’m sure you know what I mean. You do tend to get what you pay for, and this particular product is not an exception to that rule. 

The first layer left me with a very bad impression. The black was very sheer, and the glitter was almost non-existent. I applied the second coat, and that helped a bit, but I was still not satisfied, so I applied a third coat. That definitely helped. Now I had a black base, with pretty purple glitter sprinkled over. I still had a couple of bald spots despite the three layers, but three layers are as far as I go.

The colour is very dark, but nonetheless pretty. I would have liked a bit more of  a kapow! effect from the purple glitter, and I’m sure lots of people thought I was just wearing black. It is quite attractive when seen in the sunshine though. 

I applied this on a Friday afternoon after I got home from work. It had already started chipping by Saturday midday, which is just not acceptable in my book. I work in an office, which can be pretty rough on the nails, but I hadn’t been to work at all after applying it, and in these easy circumstances the nail polish should definitely last for more than a day. 

Opacity: 4/10

Colour, prettiness: 6/10 
Value for money: 2/10
Durability: 1/10 
Overall: 3.25/10 
Buy again: No