True Blood Week: Nfu Oh GS-14

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The True Blood character I am drawing inspiration from today is Lafayette Reynolds. The polish I chose is Nfu Oh GS-14. It has a black base and is loaded with medium-sized silver and rainbow holographic glitter. I chose this polish because Lafayette, and the polish alike, is flamboyant and colorful. I love when he wears shimmery outfits and makeup, my favorite being a black and shimmery silver look, he once wore. This polish would look great with "fierce" Lafayette-style cat eye makeup. The pictures above feature two coats of polish. The Nfu Oh brand is available online in the US at fabuloustreet.com. The retail price is $12.50 and all orders ship free for the US.

True Blood Week: Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast

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Second up this week is Eric Northman. The color I chose to represent him is Rescue Beauty Lounge Iconoclast.  This is a black crème that dries to a slightly satin finish. It has purple and green shimmer that is more apparent in bright lighting. I love Rescue Beauty Lounge polishes because they apply so nicely and most colors, including this one, are opaque in one coat. That is rare for black polishes I have tried. The formula is great. It seems to self-level, making each coat apply flawlessly. This color reminds me of Eric because his wardrobe many times consists of black and leather. Or maybe a sleek black sports car he would drive, and close to it, you notice the paint job is shimmery. Also black nail polish is classic, like Eric, and one of a kind with its almost “hidden” micro shimmer.  The above pictures feature two coats and a topcoat for a shiny finish. It is a classy rich looking version of black nail polish and is great for any season. It is part of the Spring 2011 collection and is available at rescuebeauty.com. The retail price is $18.00.

True Blood Week: Zoya Sooki

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In celebration of the True Blood Season 4 premiere on HBO, I am going to show some polishes that remind me of a few of my favorite characters. I am starting off with Sookie Stackhouse. Zoya Sooki is part of the Zoya Summertime Collection for 2011. It is a beautiful true red creme polish. There is no blue or yellow tone to this polish. Red is my least favorite color of polish but I would wear this shade any day. The polish is a bright sunny color and is a great namesake to the True Blood character. I added a flower as an ode to Sookie, who in the show, wears a lot of flowery tops and sun dresses. Sookie also loves to tan, and this is definitely a color that will go great with a summer tan. The summer shade of red and flower remind me of Sookie's carefree attitude, when she is not having vampire problems that is. The polish applies smoothly and opaque in one coat. I used two coats above. Zoya Sooki is available at zoya.com at a retail price of $8.00.

China Glaze Cracked Metals: Tarnished Gold

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Flash (L-R over purple, navy blue, teal and Nfu Oh 52)

Indoor Lighting(L-R over purple, navy blue, teal and Nfu Oh 52)

Tarnished Gold over Nfu Oh 52 and a purple base

Tarnished Gold over Nfu Oh  52 and teal base

Tarnished gold over Nfu-Oh 52 over L-R(teal, navy blue, purple base) Indoor Lighting

China Glaze Tarnished Gold is a golden shimmery, metallic crackle polish. It is a mid-tone gold and it looks similar to OPI Blasted Gold. It is less champagne and more of a true gold than the Sephora version. In the top two swatches I used it over RBL Purple Haze which is a medium tone violet. Purple Haze is more purple than the lavender it appears in my pictures. My friend Jacque suggested I try flakies with crackle and the extra swatches are for her, lol. In the following swatches I used a teal blue on my index finger, navy blue on my middle finger, and a purple on my ring finger. The flakie polish peeks through as Jacque hoped, like burning embers. I found it interesting that in the purple swatch with flakiness sandwiched in between, the gold crackle turned rose gold, which will add a free extra color to your crackle arsenal. It reminds me of swatches I have seen of China Glaze Latticed Lilac. So have fun and pick a metal crackle up for summer. China Glaze Metallic crackles are available online and in store at Sally Beauty Supply at a retail price of $6.99.

China Glaze Cracked Metals: Cracked Medallion

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China Glaze Cracked Medallion is a soft copper, shimmery crackle polish. I used it over Zoya Breezi, which is a subdued cream teal blue. This is the sleeper of the collection. On the cracked metals display at Sally, this was the only color with several still available. I wanted to try copper over blue because I am patiently waiting for the Rescue Beauty Lounge fan collection. One color being made is a royal blue creme with copper shimmer that I can’t wait to see. You can read more about it here. I think this is a fun color for summer, and will go well over many colors. I think over a pink or red would look particularly nice. Next time I am going to try it over Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in Thinking of Blue, to get a classic denim with copper threading, color combination. I like to use one coat polishes under crackles. Because of the need to apply over a completely dry nail, this speeds up the process. All the above pictures are with a topcoat. China Glaze metallic crackles are available at Sally Beauty Supply at a retail price of $6.99.

China Glaze Cracked Metals: Oxidized Aqua

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China Glaze Oxidized Aqua is a sky blue metallic, shimmery crackle polish. It is bluer and less silver than it appears in my pictures. The pictures are with a topcoat added. I used Oxidized Aqua over Rescue Beauty Lounge Under the Stars, a navy blue cream with aqua blue shimmer. China Glaze Metallic crackles are available online and in store at Sally Beauty Supply at a retail price of $6.99.

OPI Silver Shatter Over OPI Skull & Glossbones

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OPI Silver Shatter is another fun color in the OPI shatter line-up. Skull & Glossbones is a dove grey cream from the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection, and compliments the silver shatter well. The silver shatter is very shimmery, and It was hard to capture the detail in my photos. I added a cell phone picture from the last time I wore this look, that I felt better showed the detail. Next to black this is the most versatile shade of crackle/shatter I have tried. All of the above swatches are with a topcoat. The application is smooth, and has a fast dry time. OPI Shatter is available in-store at Ulta, and online at Amazon.com and e-tailers. The retail price is $9.50.

Illamasqua Force

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Illamasqua force is a medium slightly muted electric blue. Although the color is electric blue it is not neon and will be wearable for many skin tones. The application is smooth, and the pictures above are only one coat. I used this under OPI Blasted Gold, or I would have worn this with two coats and a top coat. The wear on Illamasqua polishes is great, and I have worn them up to a full week with only minor tip wear. This polish is available at Sephora.com and retails for $14.00.

Sephora by OPI Blasted Gold Over Illamasqua Force

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Sephora by Opi Blasted Nail Colour is another option for those who like the crackle/shattered look. The gold is a soft almost champagne gold-tone. It applies just like the shimmery OPI shatters, smoothly and easily. I like the pattern it creates, and the application with the shimmery shatters are forgiving, If you don't get the exact same thickness in your coats, or overlap your brushstrokes, the shatter pattern is still similar for all of the nails. In bright light you can see the color underneath the Blasted Gold topcoat. A picture in dim lighting is included to capture the more subtle parts of the pattern. With eight current color options you are sure to find a color you like. The OPI by Sephora Blasted Topcoats are available online at Sephora.com and retail for $9.50.

Sally Hansen: Crackle Overcoat in Denim over Nina Ultra Pro Lacquer

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Flash:Top two fingers, thin layer of crackle, bottom two fingers thick layer

I was looking forward to trying the drugstore version of the crackle trend. Unfortunately, the brush of this polish is very thin. I may have bought one with a defective brush because it was skewed at an angle that made application hard for me. The consistency of this crackle was more watery than the OPI shatter. The color is most similar to the OPI Navy shatter, just a slightly lighter shade. I like the navy creamy texture with the shimmery orange underneath. I am sorry I don't know the name of the orange polish because the sticker is gone, but it is a mid-tone shimmery orange. The color of the crackle polish is much darker than the bright blue it appears in the bottle. It doesn't crackle as evenly and the pattern doesn't appear as pleasing to me as the OPI version. If you can't get the OPI Shatters, this would make a suitable substitute, though I prefer the formula and application of the OPI and China Glaze versions. Sally Hansen Crackle overcoat is available at CVS and Walgreens and retails for $6.99.

OPI Navy Shatter Over Wet n Wild Shine Sunny Side Up

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.The above swatches are with a topcoat. The application of this navy matte shatter is smooth, and has a fast dry time, as with all of the OPI Shatter polishes I have tried. Sunny side up is a  muted mid-tone orange cream that made a good combination to the navy blue color. The navy shatter has no shimmer unlike the other two OPI blue toned shatter shades released. OPI Shatter is available in-store at Ulta, and online at Amazon and e-tailers. The retail price is $9.50.

OPI Turquoise Shatter Over RBL Scrangie

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OPI Turquiose Shatter is a beautiful shimmery matte topcoat and creates a nice shatter pattern. The application is smooth, and has a fast dry time, as with all of the OPI Shatter polishes I have tried. The shimmer in Scrangie peeks through, and since the mid-tone purple polish has a turquoise shimmer also, they are particulary flattering together. This turquoise shatter is a lighter shade, and appears more of a blue-green than the blue shatter. It also has a similar lit "from within" glow as the blue shatter when a topcoat is added. All of the above swatches are with topcoat added. It's a vibrant shade of blue that reminds me of summer waves and the sea. OPI Shatter is available in-store at Ulta, and online at Amazon and e-tailers. The retail price is $9.50.

OPI Blue Shatter Over Zoya Sooki

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This polish is a medium blue matte shatter topcoat with shimmer. The blue is so lustrous and has a wonderful "from within" glow when a topcoat is added. All of the above swatches are with a topcoat. The application is smooth, and has a fast dry time, as with all of the OPI Shatter polishes I have tried. The true red of Zoya Sooki is a great contrast to the bright blue shatter. I can't stop thinking about Superman when I look at the color combination. If you are a blue polish fan, and like the look of a shatter/crackle/blasted manicure, pick this up. OPI Shatter is available in-store at Ulta, and online at Amazon and e-tailers. The retail price is $9.50.