like magic

OPI - Planks A Lot

China Glaze - Haute Metal Crackle Glaze

3 reasons why I love shatter/crackle finishes:

1. They are designed to look good messy. You'll always end up with something decent.

2. They crack the best over creme shades, which in my opinion are the easiest to mess up (dents, dust, bits of cotton wool stuck to your nails... one of the reasons why I dislike creme finishes).

3. They can fix any of your messed up manicures! (Also supported by the reason explained in parenthesis above.)

Okay so yesterday was a harrowing experience with the friggin' bottle of shit - Northern Lights Hologram Top Coat. Guess I'll just use it on my mom from now on cos she keeps short nails. Her theory is that the NL topcoat becomes frosty over parts of the nail which aren't in contact in skin and that's why it happened to my long nails. Doesn't make any logical sense to me so... whatever it's hers for good.

So yes anyways, look at my right hand! The one I didn't mess up. Crackle Glaze totally saved my left hand too in a swift 15 minutes! :-) Impressive, really. The 3am me was completely sold. Now I don't regret buying so much Crackle Glaze! (Ok, only 2, but still.) I have Haute Metal and Tarnished Gold, as well as the Black, Turquoise and Silver OPI Shatter shades.

The downside is that such formulas get really goopy with time. A personal quick-fix I've found to revive these polishes:
1. Fold a cotton pad into a little 'V' shape and dip the tip into nail polish remover.
2. Place the tip of the cotton 'V' over the neck of the bottle of shatter and squeeze such that the drops fall nicely into the bottle.
3. After about 3 to 7 drops (depending on how much formula you have left) quickly re-cap the bottle (it will get goopy all over the stem of the brush and on the tip!) and shake up!
The formula may be slightly runny if you squeeze too many drops (just keep it under 10) but it'll be fine after application :-)

This is just my personal experience with Shatter polish, I haven't had to do this for my Crackle Glazes so try it at your own risk? Anyways it's a known fact that Shatter shades don't last! This is just my attempt at trying to lengthen the life of my polishes!

x, Ish

deep, deep resentment

**EDIT**

I have clarified this with a professional. I'd probably applied it a little too thick especially around the tips OR it just doesn't work well with long nails... Well I hope to redeem this polish again because I really do love the effect of the subtle, scattered holo bits on plain cremes!!

Do forgive my extreme sarcasm and over-the-top ranting! (It was 3am; I was tired and frustrated...)

** **

You screwed up everything.

I usually complete my manicures in under or within an hour. Now, at 3.21am, I am fucking only halfway done only because of you. It's my first time using you, and so it wouldn't be fair to be so harsh on you... But considering you retail for up to SGD$20 per bottle, and considering that you're actually a top coat which ''Dries in Seconds!'' and is supposedly ''The Symbol for Nail Professionals'', of course I had high hopes.

At first when I glided you onto Planks A Lot, I was amazed. You looked awesome, just sparkling and being your beautiful holographic self (!!!!?!?!) and I was simply in awe! Who never experiences awe with a holographic polish!?!

But you took me for such a fool. Just look at those nasty frosted tips and try to convince me that is what it's supposed to be like.

:''(

I'm too tired to be pissed anymore. Just so, so frustrated. Mostly tired.

Ish.

---

Now it's 3.36am and I am finally going to go to bed! I sound much happier because man, did something save me! :-) Like seriously, this is one quick fix!! (That pun was painfully lame.)

Tomorrow I shall reveal this nail saver! ;-) For now I'll just leave you with pictorial reasons not to get Northern Lights Hologram Top Coat. (Really dude, you let me down too much.) No one deserves such terror especially after that many coats!

lost city

OPI - Black Shatter

China Glaze - Atlantis

This polish pair is beauuuutiful! Goes so perfectly together. I love how the little glitters from Atlantis peeks cheekily out through the cracks.

I also did four 'accent' nails (because they didn't stand out more than the shattered nails but I liked the mix and so did everyone else) using a black base and Atlantis for a french tip. I didn't use OPI's Black Onyx or CG's Liquid Leather... I used a brandless black polish my mom bought in the US for 3 for USD$10 - such a good deal, glides on like butter and opaque in one coat!

Removal of the glitters was decent. Glitters are notorious for their stubbornness towards polish removers. This one wasn't too bad. Perhaps the real test is when I try to remove OPI's Rainbow Connection from my toes!

Ps, I layered OPI Rainbow Connection over OPI Planks A Lot and it looks really good, because Rainbow Connection contains all sorts of coloured glitter except for purple, and hence the glitters can stand out against a dull purple. Try it :-)

Pss, thanks Iris for suggesting the french accent nails! They turned out amazing and I received so many compliments yesterday and today. I think my initial idea of OPI Silver Shatter over a black base would've been overkill!! So thanks babe ;-)

x, Ish

freshie again

Color Club - Fashion Addict

This wasn't exactly a polish I had fancied from what it looked like on my Mac's screen. It wasn't the first one I dug for in that little brown packet I'd collected from the post office after days of waiting, and it wasn't one I'd typically wear first after a large purchase due to my fascination towards flashy, glittery and flaky shades.

Well a swatch changed my mind, and I've waited a whole 3 weeks to actually get to wear this polish out! The holographic finish isn't as striking even with a layer of Seche Vite, but I love how it flatters my skin tone and how it actually makes me look... kind of sweet. Sweet-looking. Like I was really demure, and innocent and a little playful. But mostly sweet.

... I don't know how I could ever end up looking 'sweet', but this one did a good enough job.

This dries slightly dull; the Seche Vite will truly cast light on the rainbow holographic bits that will keep you staring at your nails for hours. That's why I posted a picture which is a tad off-focus (I'm no photographer!) and shaky too, to reveal the hints of rainbow which run and hide each time you turn to look at your nails from a different angle.

x, Ish

freshie

hello, this is my first post.