OPI Black Shatter: Tips and Tricks

I promised to make a special post about the Black Shatter polish. I am talking just about Black Shatter at the moment because I haven´t tried any other crackle polish. I hope you find this post helpful. If you think I forgot to mention something important, let me know in the comments. Thank you!

CHOOSE A BASE COLOR

The first thing you need to do is choose a nice base color polish. Black Shatter is made to go with another polish. You can play with different colors and finishes for hundreds of different combinations. For my post I used a bright pink neon color - OPI La Paz-itively Hot. When you choose a bright color like this the crackle effect will stand out more. On the other hand if you wear a dark base the effect will be less visible. One of my tips is using a holo polish as a base, it look great!

WAIT FOR THE BASE TO DRY!

This is the most important part. If you want to get a nice effect you MUST have the base color completely dry. For the best results let the polish dry by itself, do not use a fast drying top coat. On the pictures below you can see what an ugly mess you will get if you rush your mani and apply on a wet base. You really don´t want this on your nails!

HOW MUCH TO APPLY?

Once your base is dry, you apply the Black Shatter. Be quick and don´t care about minor imperfections. Once the polish crackles they will not be visible. You can play around with the amount of Black Shatter for different effects. Look at the picture below. On the top I used a very thin coat and then every nail added more and more. On the bottom was a thick coat. You can see that the thicker the coat is, the bigger crackles. It is up to you what effect you like more :)

FINISH WITH A TOP COAT

Once you apply the Black Shatter and it crackles finish the whole mani with a clear top coat. The polish dries matte, so you add the shine and your mani will last longer.

So as you can see Black Shatter is really easy to use if you follow these simple steps :) I love playing with it and hope you too. Hope I helped with this post. Would love to hear your thoughts on Black Shatter.

OPI Serena Williams Grand Slam Collection 2011 - Video

This is really short :) but I am sure some of you would like to see the colors moving so here it is. I hope you are all having a great Saturday!
My swatches of the Serena Williams Collection are here.

OPI Katy Perry Collection 2011 - Swatches and Review

Another collaboration OPI is coming with is the Katy Perry Collection which I have for you today. It consists of four polishes plus the Black Shatter (I made a special post with tips and tricks with Black Shatter here). I will show you all the polishes with Black Shatter so you have an idea of how they look. I didn´t wait for them to dry completely, so the effect is a bit different.

The swatches are all without a base or top coat and are in natural daylight (no sun or lightbox).

NOT LIKE THE MOVIES

When I applied the first coat I was a bit afraid that I will have to do five for full coverage. In the end I needed just three. The color is a very nice silver with a hint of green and a bit of purple.

NOT LIKE THE MOVIES WITH BLACK SHATTER

This makes a really nice effect. A nice contrast of the light colored base and the black crackle.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY

LOVE! I absolutely love this polish. The color is deep, very pigmented. You may say that there are already colos like this but I don´t care. I could own a thousand of these :) The picture is two coats.

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY WITH BLACK SHATTER

These two must have been made for each other. Love the way the base shines through the black crackle. It makes a beautiful effect. This is my next mani!  

TEENAGE DREAM

Is a light pink base with holo glitter. This applied very nicely and I used three coats. I think it will be very nice for layering. I like this polish because it is not boring and it is a nice twist to boring light pinks.

TEENAGE DREAM WITH BLACK SHATTER

This is a combination that I don´t like very much. Maybe it is because I didn´t wait for it to dry. I just think that the Black Shatter hides too much of the glitter here.

LAST FRIDAY NIGHT

This polish has two sides. The nice one is when you look at it. It is amazing. I love the color and I already tried it for layering which was also great. The other side is the application. The polish I had was extremely thick for me and it was impossible for me to apply it. I will try to add some thinner and hope this will work. The picture is just with two coats. I am not sure if only my bottle was the problem, hope it was.

 

LAST FRIDAY NIGHT WITH BLACK SHATTER

Due to the fact, that the base was all thick and wet, the effect it not very nice. I think I will redo my pictures of this once I use the thinner.

My overall thoughts about the collection are very positive. The colors are fun and not boring at all. And if you are bored after a few days of wear you can always use the Black Shatter which I love, love, love! The only problem child of the collection for me is the last one. The formula was really hard to work with :( Other than that I recommend the collection. These are already available in shops.

Now you know I love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to let me know what you think in the comments :) As always a video is coming soon.

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company

China Glaze Anchors Away Spring 2011 Collection - Video

I am sorry I am so late with this video. But better late than never so here it is :)
My swatches of this collection are here.

OPI Serena Williams Grand Slam Collection 2011 - Swatches and Review

Just got this in my mail. I ripped the boxes open because I knew what was inside! I am so excited about these :)

The Serena Williams Collection will be releasing two polishes for each tournament. These two I have for you today are for the Australian Open. I am already curious about the others!

The swatches are all without a base or top coat and are in natural daylight (no sun or lightbox).

SIMPLY SMASH-ING

Simply Smash-ing is simply amazing! It is a yellow green with a foil like finish. On the nail it is much brighter than in the bottle where it looks more muted. The application was fine and this is three coats. It is such an unusual color, I love it! Not boring at all.

SIMPLY SMASH-ING WITH BLACK SHATTER

I think you must have already read a milion times that Black Shatter is great. Now that I tried it I must say: yes, it really is! There are a few rules which you should know in order to get a nice finish but I will do a special post on Black Shatter later (edit: here is the post about Black Shatter). For this picture I waited about seven minutes for the base polish to dry and then applied one thick coat of Black Shatter. Over it I used a top coat to seal it.

And because I loved the result so much, here is one more picture of how it looked.

So here we have it...two amazing polishes which I really recommend you get. Both of them are must haves for me and I will be getting back-up bottles for myself :) These are already available in shops so I hope you already have them. Did you get this collection and what do you think about it? Let me know :)

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company

Illamasqua Throb Collection Nail Varnishes - Video

This is a really short video but I thought it might be helpful if you see the polishes move :) I love the way Load came out. It looks great! Such a unique color.
My swatches of the collection are here.

Illamasqua Throb Collection Nail Varnishes - Swatches and Review

Hello nail polish addicts :) I have something very exciting for you today. The latest three Illamasqua shades from the brand new Throb Collection! Now you might think this will be boring...a red, white and black but wait for the swatches, this is much more.

Here is what Illamasqua says about the collection: "Bold blood reds lead the way for our brand new, super dramatic Throb Collection, a quintet of never before seen colours with undeniable impact and passion."

The swatches are all without a base or top coat and are in natural daylight (no sun or lightbox).

LOAD

First is Load which looked white to me from the promo pictures. It is not. It is creamy and looks more ivory to me. I have nothing like this, I have just plain whites. The formula was great, not streaky and covered in 2 - 3 coats. I did three for the picture.

THROB

A red? Another creme red? Do you think it is boring? You might but I don´t. This polish is AMAZING in every single way. I absolutely love the color, the color of blood. I thought I would do a comparison but I didn´t find anything in my collection of reds that would be close enough. Still if you have an idea, let me know I will be happy to compare. The other great thing about this one is the formula and coverage. What you see on the picture is one coat! I love this polish so much.

SCORN

I already showed you this one here but it belongs in this collection so I swatched it again. Same as the others, might look boring in the bottle but it is unique. It has a velvety matte finish which I love. This is two coats.

So what are my thoughts about this collection? I love it. Seriously. Illamasqua can make colors that have been made a milion times unique. I can´t wait to wear Throb as a full mani, such a beautiful red.

This collection is for Valentines day. What do you think of it? I also made a video of these three, will post it soon.

The collection is already available online here. The polishes cost £13.50.

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company.

China Glaze Hey Sailor Comparison

Promised to show you some other comparisons of polishes from the China Glaze Anchors Away Collection. Today a comparison of the reds closest to Hey Sailor (HS) which is a bright red creme. The closest I could find was OPI Color So Hot It Burns (CSHIB) but it is not a dupe, it is cooler. I also included Illamasqua Alarm (A) which was asked for in the comments. This time it is really hard for me to choose a favourite. I love all of them. What about you? .)

Illamasqua Gimp

It has been ages since I last showed you something else than nail polish. I hope it is okay if I do a makeup post from time to time. I don´t feel like an expert in makeup (nor in nail polish) but it is fun to play with colors. I will just show you products that are special for me. One of them is Illamasqua Gimp, the perfect smokey eye eyeshadow. It is a matte powder dark gray (almost black) eyeshadow. It is very pigmented and is very easy to blend and work with. I really love it and it is my favourite eyeshadow to create the smokey eye. Pair it with a sexy red lipstick and red nail polish (Illamasqua Alarm would be great) and you will look amazing!

For today I did something else than a classic smokey eye. I paired Gimp with Urban Decay Peace. It makes the eye pop out and shows the blue color of my eye :) Hope you like it.

China Glaze Below Deck Comparison

Here is my first comparison post with polishes from the China Glaze Anchors Away Collection. I am starting with Below Deck (BD), which you wanted to see most. I tried to find polishes as close as I could. Those were Sephora by OPI Metro Chic (MCh) and Essie Merino Cool (MC). I also included H&M Grey Sky (GS) which was asked for in the comments but that is way lighter. All the polishes I swatched were two coats. As you can see no dupes here. I like Below Deck most, it really is a very pretty shade. Must have!

China Glaze Anchors Away Spring 2011 Collection - Swatches and Review

So the first collection of the new year from me is China Glaze Anchors Away. I was very curious about it and was so happy to find a package with the collection this week.

What China Glaze says about the collection: "Sail away this spring in 12 nautically-inspired colors from China Glaze. These bold and confident brights are reminiscent of a carefree natural getaway, with soft ethereal hues that inspire leisurely thoughts of sand and sea."

So we have a nauticall inspired collection. I love the theme! Here are the polishes in their bottles. Really wide range of colors:

The swatches are all without a base or top coat and are in natural daylight (no sun or lightbox).

PELICAN GRAY

Light gray with subtle shimmer. I love the shimmer in it! Will be adding this to my favourite grays. You will need 2 -3 coats for this polish to be opaque.

LIGHTHOUSE

I think you just look at the pictures and you get it. This is amazing! A very bright golden yellow. Looks like the sun :) It is a jelly and applied very well. I used three coats here.

FIRST MATE

Dark blue creme. It is very pigmented and if you use a thicker coat you can go with just one. Love polishes like this. For me a perfect blue for a nauticall mani.

KNOTTY

Knotty reminds me of Frosty from the Holiday collection but it is more beige than white. It is a perfect polish to work but still not boring. This is three coats.

LIFE PRESERVER

If I were to choose a least favourite color from this collection, it would be this one. I just can´t wear colors like this :( For those of you who like it, you will love to hear that the application was flawless and needs just two coats for full opacity.

AHOY!

On the other hand, here is one of my favourites. This one is so pretty! A darker jelly pink. Can´t wait to wear this one as a full mani. Very bright and happy color :) Two coats.

SEA SPRAY

Another winner. A blueish gray with hidden shimmer. It makes your nails look really nice. I don´t think I have anything like this in my collection of polishes. You must have this one! Two coats.

HEY SAILOR

It wouldn´t be a nauticall inspired collection without a red. Here is a very bright classic red creme. It is a bit thicker but still I had no application problems. If you make a thick coat it covers in just one. I did two here. Will compare to other reds to see if I can find any dupes :)

BELOW DECK

This is supposed to be very close to the popular China Glaze Channelesque. I don´t have it to compare but I am glad I have at least this one now. Looks amazing! Can´t get enough of colors like this. Two coats. Another must have of the collection.

Here is my comparison with Below Deck.

STARBOARD

Not very fond of shades like this so I don´t think I will be wearing it but I know a lot of my readers are big green lovers. So here is one for you! Two coats.

WHITE CAP

This is a sheer jelly with golden shimmer. This is three coats and still not opaque. Those of you who can´t stand VNL might try layering it, I am sure the result will be great.

SUNSET SAIL

Beige shimmer with a hint of orange. Not sure if I like it or not. Must try as a full mani and wear it longer. Two coats.

 Anchors Away is a very nice collection. I found some amazing shades (my top three is Ahoy!, Lighthouse and Below Deck) that I can´t wait to wear. The choice of colors is wide...from sheer whites to a dark blue.

As for formula I found some of the shades a bit thicker but I had no problems applying them. Most of the colors are two coaters.

The collection should be already available in shops. Did you already get some of these? Tell me how you like the collection. I hope my swatches were helpful :)

* the product(s) in this post were sent to me by the manufacturer or their PR company.