Black and Yellow: Pure Ice Crackle in Catwalk over Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blackout

Flash

Indoor Lighting

I know what you must be thinking, so you might as well play this while reading:

Pure Ice Crackle is another drugstore version of the crackle polishes we have all come to love or loathe. There is a wide range of colors and textures available in the Pure Ice range. I saw these at Walgreens, and the variety of colors different from those I already own, attracted me to try at least one. So I chose the yellow shimmer, called Catwalk. I had problems deciding between that and a murky green cream crackle.

Catwalk, a yellow shimmer crackle, applies smoothly and is similar in texture, finish and application to OPI Shatters. The shatter pattern appeared nicely and application was a much easier process than my previous drugstore crackle experience with Sally Hansen Crackle. This yellow shimmer dries matte. I added a topcoat in the above swatches. You might notice in the enlarged clickable version of the pictures, that there is an almost imperceptible rainbow shimmer hidden in the yellow that is so pretty. It gives this polish a little extra pizzazz. I used the crackle over Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in Blackout. Blackout is also available at Walgreens, and is a fast drying, opaque black cream polish. I only needed one coat for full opaque coverage.

Pure Ice Crackle is a great choice for those who like crackle polish at a great price. It is available at Walgreens at a retail price of $3.99.

China Glaze Cracked Metals: Tarnished Gold

Indoor Lighting

Dim Lighting

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

Dim Lighting

Indoor Lighting

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

Indoor Lighting

Dim Lighting

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.

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

Indoor Lighting:Top two fingers, thin layer of crackle, bottom two fingers thick layer

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.