Crackle Polish Challenge #5 - Test Mani

2015 Crackle Polish Challenge Manicure #5

Featured crackle application: Using Crackle polish as regular polish by using multiple coats

Featured crackle polish: Sally Hansen's Crackle Overcoat in 'Sage Smash'

OK, so I realize that this is a little bit of a cheat since the whole challenge was to use each one of my crackle polishes to experiment with creative new ways to use the shatter effect. However, 'Sage Smash' is pretty much an exact dupe of last post's featured polish, China Glaze's 'Jade-d'. So this is my work-around from having to use essentially the same crackle polish twice!

Experiment: Crackle Glitter Polish as Regular Polish

Polishes Used:
OPI 'Stranger Tides',
Sally Hansen Color Foil 'Yellow Gold',
and Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat 'Sage Smash'

Plate Used:
Mash Nails plate Mash-49

The photo above is the result of a test I did using 3 coats of the crackle glitter polish 'Sage Smash' on my ring finger. The coverage ended up being quite nice.  If you look very, very closely, you may see minor cracks in the surface, but they are not very noticeable. I did use one coat of topcoat to add some shine, because this polish (as with most crackle polishes) dries matte. The middle finger shows one coat of the same polish, crackled over 'Stranger Tides'.

Polishes Used

In order to minimize cracking, I tried apply the polish in a way that was totally opposite of how I normally do in order to promote cracking: I used several brush strokes for each coat (maybe about 5-7), and I also tried to avoid waiting until the previous coat was completely dry before I put the next coat on. Apparently, if the previous layer is slightly tacky, the crackle polish sticks to it, and doesn't crack as much.

I also did swatches using some of the crackle polishes that I've already used in the challenge. They also worked! The following polish swatches were all applied directly to the nail wheel, with no top coat or base coat. Unfortunately, I no longer remember if it was either 2 or 3 coats that I used for these swatches:

Swatches of 3 Crackle Polishes used as Regular Polish

The gold is Nicole by OPI's 'Gold Texture, which I used in challenge #3, the silver is OPI's 'Silver Shatter' from challenge #2, and the blue is OPI's 'Turquoise Shatter' from challenge #1.

If you look really closely at the gold swatch, you can see a little bit of texture at the tip, however, it wasn't that noticeable, and I'm sure it would be even less of an issue with topcoat. 

So there you have it, it looks like it is possible to use crackle polishes as regular polish with careful application, multiple coats, and some topcoat! Of course, results may vary with different polishes, but this experiment shows that it's at least something to try out if there's a crackle polish in your collection that you love the colour of, but don't want to use the crackle effect.