NOTD: Crackle Effect

Bonjour, beautiful people. A little NOTD post for you today!

This week, I decided it was about time I got my hands on one of the 'crackle effect' nail polishes I have been hearing so much about of late, and see what all the fuss was about.

Until about a year ago, I was absolutely horrific at doing anything with my nails, and it would take me so long to do them that once they were finished, I would leave them for a good couple of weeks, avoiding having to do them all over again for as long as possible. So you can imagine that my nails would not be looking in the best state by the time I finally cracked (excuse the pun) and gave them another go.

These days, I am quite the opposite, and I love painting my nails and changing my look a few times a week, although I must admit, I am far from perfect at doing them and still find it a bit fiddly (I did this look in a bit of a rush, and I took the pictures before I had cleaned around the edges, so please excuse that!).

Anyway, the polishes I used to complete this look were: Miss Sporty Quick-dry polishes in 346 (a deep turquoise), 330 (a mint green) and 312 ( a beautiful shimmery gold), along with Risque's Crackle Polish in black.

First, I painted all but my ring fingers with two layers of the deep turquoise, before deciding that I would like a lighter base, which is when I painted a layer of the mint green on top. On the ring fingers, I did two layers of the gold, which is pretty opaque, as gold polishes go.

When all the colours were dry, I then painted a thin layer of the crackle polish over the top and waited for them to dry.

I've got to say, I am so impressed with this crackle polish and I really love the effect it has produced on my nails! Having seen pictures of nail looks done with crackles before, I was sure there must be some sort of catch, because it looked so arty and I just couldn't believe it could be as easy as just painting it on and waiting! But it is, and it's brilliant. I will be rocking this look for weeks to come, with various different shades underneath, and I'm also hoping to get my hands on some other crackle colours.

Next week, I'm going to try it with a lovely pastel lilac, and a lemon yellow on the ring fingers. :)

A little tip for you, if you want to give the crackle polishes a go: You only need a very thin layer! You might also want to put a layer or two of clear base coat over the top to seal the look and give your nails a shine, as the crackle polishes themselves usually tend to have a matte finish.

Hope everyone is having a splendid weekend!

xx