Cracklin' Gemma

Sorry for the delay - I'm on vacation from the day job, and thus my routines are all screwy (or non-existent) this week. But I do think this manicure turned out pretty nicely, although the clerk at the hardware store today took one look at my nails and asked, "Did you do that on purpose?" Cracked me up, so to speak. ;-)

The folks at Sally Hansen were kind enough to send me a couple of crackle polishes with the polish strips, so this week, I decided white and green were the colors du jour. I've been wanting to try Zoya's "Gemma" for awhile now, and since it was already on the manicure tray...

As always, I started with a coat of Seche Vite base coat, followed by two coats of Gemma. I have to say, I love, love, love this color. You'll be seeing a lot more of it, for sure!

 

 

After it dried, I put on a somewhat thickish coat of "Snow Blast" crackle overcoat. The formula for this crackle is nicer than some I've used...it's got a nice consistency that is easy to work with. It started cracking soon after I applied it, and the crackle is matte in it's dry state. I put a matte topcoat over it at first, but I didn't care for the matte finish - it left the lines really sharp.

So I finished it off with two coats of Seche Vite, which smoothed out the lines and gave it a nice shine - so it looked like I did it on purpose (supposedly). ;-)

I think they turned out pretty nicely...reminds me of leaves, or snow on grass. Or distressed paint on old furniture...

Thanks to the Sally Hansen team for providing the crackle...and a purple one, which I fully intend to use for my Halloween costume this year. Stay tuned for that!

Next week...hmm. I'm not sure. I'll think of something though. Until then, happy polishing!