When two unloved shades collide

I’m not normally one for glittery nails, or Katy Perry if I’m honest, but when OPI launched their Katy Perry range earlier this year, my head turned. I couldn’t decide between Teenage Dream – the baby pink glitter ball shade or Last Friday Night – the bright blue glitter fantastic shade. So I opted for the full collection in the form of the OPI mini nail lacquers, which included The One That Got Away and Not Like the Movies. I do love OPI minis!

They’re a great way to try new shades. The 3.75ml bottles may be mini, but they’re very handy and in reality I rarely use a full bottle of nail polish, at least not before it’s all dried up or turned into sticky syrup. I’ve had these a while now but I was so disappointed by them I didn’t bother breaking my neck to blog about them. The two stand-out, glittery shades did not live up to my expectations. I wanted them to look exactly like they do in the bottle, unfortunately it’d take about five coats and maybe not even then! The colour is far too translucent, it’s more like a glitter top coat!

This is last Friday Night by itself – more like a wet Wednesday!

Until I teamed it with another unloved shade in my collection… I picked up this Nails Inc Electric Teal polish free with Instyle magazine a couple months ago. To say it’s unloved is perhaps too strong but it’s not really MY colour.

Although put the two together and……

I applied 2 coats of the Nails Inc and one top coat of the OPI and Voille! The slight blue  pigmentation in Last Friday Night turned the dull teal into a gorgeous two tone peakcock shade and of course the sparkle makes it really burst! I love it, now I need to find a perfect partner for teenage dream.

Barry M Crackle Paint… How to

I have to admit to being quite taken with this new nail art trend. It’s cute, it’s novel and all the brands are doing it BUT I’m not sure it’s for adults? With that in mind, I bravely tested it out… on my 12 year old sister.

Crackle polish is available in a rainbow of colours – gold, green, WHITE you name it. For your first time I’d recommend a black, plus it goes with everything. Barry M’s crackle paint is available in black,white, pink and blue and priced at £3.99 it’s very reasonable.

How to…

Firstly paint your nails as you would normally. You can use any colour, any brand. I think black works well with bright colours, so we chose No7’s Foxglove – a hot pink. Apply one or two coats, BUT make sure they’re bone dry before you start with the crackle.

Then on top of your painted nails apply with the crackle varnish, BUT and here’s the tricky part, you cannot overlap the crackle, which is difficult because the brush isn’t wide enough to do just one stroke, yet it’s wider than half your nail meaning some overlapping is inevitable. The other difficulty is it DRIES  very quickly but once on you will be impressed by the instant crackling effect – it’s like magic. My only criticism with this Barry M version is it gets very glupey very quickly. Be careful not to apply too much.

I’d say practice makes perfect with this one, by the time I got to the last nails I felt like I was finding my stride, but for a first attempt, I’d say we didn’t do too bad…..

What’s amazing is, you get a different result everytime and can vary the effect by doing faster or slower strokes.

My sister was really happy with the results and her friends were green with envy, which I think answers the question, is it for adults? Probably not, unless your name is Lady GaGa.

The World’s gone shatter nail mad… Check out LCN Crackle Finish

The World has gone shatter nail mad! Everyone’s at it, and here’s a new one for you from hand, nail and footcare specialists LCN. 

Simply apply a base colour, the add a coat of LCN’s crackle polish and watch the magic happen. With names Like Blue Linda and Pink Jane, I can’t resist. Just £4.65 online at beauty concepts.

Coming soon: 17 Gold Shatter Nail Polish

They’re all at it, Barry M, OPI, China Glaze and now purse friendly 17 want us to shatter, crackle and smash our nails.

Granted, most of us over the age of 16 might want to give trendy nail art a wide berth, but the gold is very summery and less dramatic than the black ones on the market and with an estimated price tag of around £4, I’d say it’s worth a go. Although be careful not to be too heavy handed, in this picture taken from 17’s Facebook page, the product looks a little thicker than it’s pricier competitors.

Set for release later this month, have some fun creating weird and wonderful patterns.

LUST HAVE: China Glaze Crackle Nail Varnish in the UK

Don’t just paint your nails, CRACKLE them!

Give your nails an edgy yet fabulous look with China Glaze’s Crackle nail polish. Following in the footsteps of OPI’s Katy Perry Shatter collection, these amazing nail varnishes make nail art easy and accessible, what’s more they’re now available in the UK.

Now I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea and it does look a little like the highlighter/varnish/Tip ex experiments my friends and I concocted when we were ten, but there’s no denying they’re fun, clever and pretty edgy.

China Glaze is known for providing high quality, trendy and innovative nail care products which are meant to help your nails look amazing without any damage. The Crackle Collection comes in 6 colours including broken hearted and crushed candy. Simply apply over any base colour and watch the cracks appear.

Available from The Beauty Partnership £9.96. I’ve got my order in.

COMING SOON: MAC’s Wonder Woman Collection Spring 2011 hits the UK

The beauty world is buzzing with anticipation of MAC’s latest campaign. Paying homage to our ultimate femme fetale and super hero Wonder Woman, the upcoming release is expected to kick its predecessors Hello Kitty’s and Barbie’s asses!

For those of you too young to remember Wonder Woman, imagine an even curvier Katy Perry with super powers.

Details are all quite hush, hush in the UK but I’ve had a sneak peak on Mac’s American site. The collection includes a wide range of bright pigments, lipsticks, blushes, powders and nail varnishes all encased in kick ass Wonder Woman branded red, blue and yellow compacts and pots. It even includes an accessory range of fashionable brush bags and belt.

The colours are guaranteed to brighten up your spring palette and fits perfectly with this seasons 70s trend.

On sale exclusively at Selfridges from 17 February, then nationwide from 3 March. Be quick, the collection’s expected to sell out quicker than you can say POW! ZAP! BANG!