China Glaze designed their six new Crackle Glaze polishes to create a worn-in, desconstructed look for fingers and toes.
How it works: first, apply a coat of nail polish (shimmer, cream, matte, whateva!), and wait for it to dry. Then, add a layer or two of one of the China Glaze Crackle colors. In about five minutes, you’ll see the polish separate to form shattered patterns on the nail (I’m wearing a light gray cream beneath the Crackle colors in the pics below). Check it…
From left to right: Black Mesh, Crushed Candy and Broken Hearted
Cracked Concrete, Lightning Bolt and Fault Line
From left to right: Black Mesh, Crushed Candy and Broken Hearted
Cracked Concrete, Lightning Bolt and Fault Line
It’s not really my style, but I give ups to China Glaze for keeping things interesting. If I were 13, listening to a lot of Avril Lavigne and shopping at Hot Topic, however, I’d probably be all over this in a hot second. 🙂
The limited edition polishes, each around $5, are available now at select beauty stores.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Trisha says
February 17th, 2011 at 11:47 amCrackle nail polish is back in style? I had no idea.
I remember trying this kind of thing back in high school (though a different brand). It looked neat but didn’t last long, even with a top coat. Hopefully, China Glaze improved on that.
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Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:03 pmTheir polishes are great in terms of wear… I’m betting these will last!
Melissa says
February 17th, 2011 at 11:55 amI recently bought OPI’s version and it looks WAY better than those do? But it only comes in black. I saw the China Glaze colors and kinda got psyched but not if they work like that. Karen have you tried OPI’s version?
Melissa says
February 17th, 2011 at 1:35 pmHere is a link to my pics of the black shatter. One is over pink glitter polish and the other is over gold. Don’t mind my cuticles thanks! lol
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112409&id=1299877116&l=164b0fffe6
izzie says
February 18th, 2011 at 6:52 amOPI does have just the black for now, but there is another collection coming out relatively soon that has a silver shatter. Normally, I adore china glaze, but these just don’t seem to crackle well at all. I have the OPI crackle and the formula is fantastic and works perfectly, these I’m on the fence about.
Melissa says
February 18th, 2011 at 10:15 amSilver would be fun! I’m sure OPI will throw out some new colors if China Glaze is.
Ana says
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:25 pmOoh, thanks for the heads up! I have black shatter and am hoping for more colors. Silver would be so fun! I got all excited when I saw this post… didn’t know another brand was doing the same thing. But I agree, these really don’t seem to have as nice of an effect as OPI’s shatter.
Jeni says
February 17th, 2011 at 11:56 amThe idea of these polishes so unique/interesting. On your fingers they look a lot different than I expected. I was excited to try them, but now I’m not so sure!
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Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:06 pmI think maybe I’ll have to give these a few tries. It could look neat with more contrasting colors…
Jennifer A. says
February 17th, 2011 at 5:35 pmI’m pretty sure they look a lot different than you expected because Karen didn’t put polish under the Crackle polish. It needs another polish underneath for the chemistry to fully work (aka crack).
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 5:40 pmActually, I did. I’m wearing a light gray cream in these pics. 🙂
Chelsea says
February 17th, 2011 at 11:57 amWhy would anyone want their nail polish to look chipped on purpose?? I’m obviously not cool enough for this trend…
Stephanie says
February 17th, 2011 at 12:00 pmBefore the this trend(before 2010) I have never heard of crackle nail.. but I have to say I like it. I don’t own one, but that’s going to change soon!
From this colection I really like Black Mesh, Crushed Candy and Broken Hearted.
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Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:07 pmAwesome, Stephanie! 🙂
Sarah says
February 17th, 2011 at 12:13 pmI like the crackle look, OPI has one out that Katy Perry is endorsing. I can’t wait to try it out
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Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:08 pmFunny you should mention her… Did you know that she’s a cat lady?
Fabienne (mermadelove) says
February 17th, 2011 at 12:18 pmI like these, but I think based on your pics, they don’t work as well as I expected. Also, I don’t think it’s available where I live!
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:09 pmI think I’ll have to go at it again. I’ve seen it look much more “cracklier” LOL!
Bellyrockin says
February 17th, 2011 at 12:25 pmLovely colours, but they don’t look to work as well as the Barry M one. I notice you say to put one or two coats on, but I would definitely recommend only one to make it work properly.
Kajal Couture says
February 17th, 2011 at 12:32 pmBummer. I saw the ad for these and was really intrigued, but the effect on your nails is sooo not what they advertised. Maybe it takes a few trials?
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Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:10 pmYeah, maybe. I might try it again…
gio says
February 17th, 2011 at 12:36 pmI love crackle nail polishes but these are disappointing. They don’t seem to work as well as I had hoped.
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Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:10 pmI think these take more patience than I have, LOL!
Rengirl says
February 17th, 2011 at 12:36 pmI’ve seen some awesome swatches of these – maybe if you tried for better color combinations, they would look better and suit your style? I am definitely getting them as soon as Transdesign has them back in stock.
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:11 pmCool. Yeah, I’ve seen them with more contrasty colors and they look okay. I’m not really a crackle kinda girl, but I appreciate that it looks different and unique.
Tiffany says
February 17th, 2011 at 12:55 pmI think these look cute! Love the teal shade… I feel like they would look better over another polish color?
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:11 pmI bet that teal would look cool over gold. 🙂
Tiffany says
February 17th, 2011 at 6:42 pmUnrelated, but thanks for the NARS tweet. I needed a treat so I ordered copacabana 🙂
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 6:47 pmOh, you’re very welcome! 🙂
kana says
February 17th, 2011 at 1:07 pmI couldn’t get my hands on the Katy Perry for opi one, so i’ll definitely have to get myself a couple of these! I probably wont wear it too much on my finger nails, but my toes will get this all the time!
karo says
February 17th, 2011 at 1:11 pmI think these look is HOT, but for me NOT!
sorry…I wont wear crackle look on my nails 🙁
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Vijaya says
February 17th, 2011 at 1:13 pmI want these so much. I’ve had a really hard time finding the Katy Perry crackle polish. xP
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Lulle says
February 17th, 2011 at 1:26 pmThey really don’t look too good on the pictures… I’ll pass !
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Lindsay says
February 17th, 2011 at 1:28 pmIs it sad that I want every color of this that they make?
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Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:17 pmIt’s a neat concept… you’re lucky you can pull it off!
Melissa says
February 17th, 2011 at 1:38 pmHere is a pic of mine but it’s the OPI Black Shatter. I think it’s looks pretty cool!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112409&id=1299877116&l=164b0fffe6
Alka says
February 17th, 2011 at 1:52 pmInteresting concept but I am not sure I would want it on my nails…my furniture yes.
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:16 pmHaha, like a distressed dresser?
Girl says
February 17th, 2011 at 2:05 pmThis looks wierd, I don’t think this will catch on.
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:16 pmSome people really like it… I think it’s neat but not really my style, LOL.
Janice says
February 17th, 2011 at 2:08 pmI have yet to see these anywhere. Do you know if they’re in Canada yet? I’d love to have the purple one!
Yumyum says
February 17th, 2011 at 2:36 pmThis looks creepily nice
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Hedy says
February 17th, 2011 at 2:38 pmI wish I still had my Covergirl crackle from the 90’s.
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:15 pmKinda random but I have a few bottles of Cover Girl’s Navy from the 90s… ahh, those take me back!
Crystal says
February 17th, 2011 at 2:57 pmI bought the black & white one today @ Sally’s (even though the girl said they shouldn’t put it out until the end of the month). With your Sally’s card they were $4. Honestly I like them. It’s not a look that I would wear on my fingers or wear all the time but the polishes really do look great. & no I have never been an Avril or Hot Topic fan myself. Lol. 🙂
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:12 pmGood to know about the Sally’s card deal. Thanks, Crystal. 🙂
Banana Bread says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:03 pmIt looks like you painted this on bare nails… HOWEVER, this WILL NOT work properly! Thats why you got such poor results. You also should ONLY paint 1 thick coat of crackle polish! Try it again… I think you will get much better results
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:12 pmI actually painted it on a light gray cream. 🙂
Krystal says
February 17th, 2011 at 3:22 pmI picked up the Black Mesh early last week (I think) and put it over a turquoise polish. It came out really nicely. Wanted to pick up Lightning Bolt as well, but they’re $8.50 here in Hawaii. Banana Bread is probably right about the thick coat. The first nail I did, I used a thin coat and it didn’t come out as well as the others.
nell says
April 7th, 2011 at 6:20 amwhere in HI did you find these?
Cindy says
February 17th, 2011 at 4:05 pmIf you try again, can you perhaps try with black under or a high contract color under with a lighter color on top? I think they might be interesting with the right color combo.
Nina says
February 17th, 2011 at 4:12 pmthat looks pretty and pretty interesting. can you actually hear or feel it crackle? that is what im wary of.
Jen says
February 17th, 2011 at 4:17 pmI have this in Black Mesh, and I love it! It looks way better with a contrasting color underneath it. I really want the white one too (Lightning Bolt).
Jen says
February 18th, 2011 at 1:38 amhttps://jensaddictions.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/sephora-by-opi-glee-collection/
Link to my blog post with colored polish underneath the black crackle. It looks really neat, I promise. 😉
Melissa says
February 17th, 2011 at 5:27 pmI have a feeling that much like matte nail polishes, the hype over these will fade quickly. I agree, if I was 13 I’d totally want them! But they just look kind of cheap :/
Jennifer A. says
February 17th, 2011 at 5:36 pmKaren, for these to work, you need to wear another polish under them. AND that polish needs to be FULLY DRY. It’s chemistry!
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 5:40 pmI’m wearing a polish underneath in these pics. It’s a light gray cream. 🙂
Makeup Morsels says
February 17th, 2011 at 5:39 pmahhh I like these a lot! The black one is my favorite, actually it’s probably the only one I’d wear. But I’d layer that one over everything xD
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Meghan says
February 17th, 2011 at 5:49 pmI want to try these out SO bad!
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Madelynn says
February 17th, 2011 at 6:40 pmI think you used too much polish, Karen. They crackle much better with thin coats.
Is Crushed Candy the crackle form of For Audrey? Hmmm
Karen says
February 17th, 2011 at 6:46 pmI might try again. I was in a hurry to get these up… 🙂 Anywho, hope you’re having a fabulous night!
Madelynn says
February 17th, 2011 at 8:02 pmI’m very thankful for the swatches! I couldn’t decide if the concrete color was the right shade for me… turns out it is! Thank you! :]
BeautyMaven says
February 17th, 2011 at 7:49 pmHey Karen! I know I’m just another reader butting in my opinion, but I tried out the Katy Perry (Kitty Purry!) and I spent a Sunday playing around with it– I don’t know if it’s the same for this brand, but I learned:
1. It doesn’t really work on bare nails, so that’s why people are confused lol.
2. It crackles with a thin or thick coat
–Thin makes many more cracks
–Thick is more graphic, with larger cracked sections
3. With the Katy Perry, it’s a matte finish so it comes off easily– it does better with a top coat.
I have pics up with examples of different coats ~
http://goodbeautyishardtofind.blogspot.com/2011/01/katy-perry-for-opi.html
Hope that helps! (PS OPI is coming out with a Silver Shatter for Summer!!)
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stacie says
February 17th, 2011 at 7:56 pmI love these! Crackles look amazing over metallics and glitters. Nice quick way to do nail art
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Deb says
February 17th, 2011 at 9:00 pmSo glad I don’t like this look…I feel like these are gonna be hot sellers!
Stephanie says
February 17th, 2011 at 9:05 pmHi Karen! I just thought I would add that these do not work well over certain top coats with the super glossy finish, like Seche Vite or Sally Hansen’s Insta-Dri. You probably already know this, but I thought that I would let the readers know.
Have a good night! 😀
Nina says
February 18th, 2011 at 4:43 amWhile i do love the colors, I am just not a huge fan of crackle nail polish 🙁 IF i were to try this, i would probably go for Fault Line. 🙂
Mmmm says
February 18th, 2011 at 5:23 amI think Barry M came out with one of those nailpolishes but just in black (in the UK) I don’t really like the effect those give on their own, but I do think they would look really interesting over a different colour, if they work over another nailpolish anyway. Crushed Candy is a colour to die for! 😉
Kim says
February 18th, 2011 at 7:07 amYou know what’s nice about this trend? My polish looks like this on its own after a couple of days and now I can be like “oh, hey, it’s crackle!” instead of the truth (that it’s all chipping off because I’m too lazy for base and top coats). hee hee! I agree, though. It’s always nice to see companies trying new things in polish. 🙂
Beautiful Canvas says
February 18th, 2011 at 8:02 amThis is a neat formula/technology but I don’t think it’s my cup of tea.
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alana says
February 18th, 2011 at 1:39 pmKAREN – i think to make these work better you need to wear a thick base colour nail varnish, that’s i have found, rather than a thin base coat?
alana says
February 18th, 2011 at 1:40 pmthat’s what i have found* damn typos
Lia says
February 18th, 2011 at 8:21 pmI tried Black Mesh today for the first time over Revlon’s Minted and Sally Hansen’s Mint Sprint and it looks AMAZING. I can’t stop staring at them. But it does take a bit of practice to get the hang of it. I got a TON of crackle on each nail, no problem.
Nicole O. says
February 18th, 2011 at 10:38 pmYea, I think OPI’s Black Shatter is MUCH better than these. I, too, was excited about the colors, but now after seeing the swatches, not so much.
I’ve yet to even find OPI’s Black Shatter, let alone try it, but I would definitely choose it over these. Hope OPI releases more colors. I just found out they’ll be releasing Silver Shatter along with their Pirates of The Caribbean Collection.
crystal says
February 18th, 2011 at 11:51 pmpersonally, china glaze’s version of the crack is really distasteful~
tony moly (a korean brand) has ‘snakeskin’ nailpolish that creates very trendy, cute snakeskin-texture patterns on ur nails
amy says
February 20th, 2011 at 7:09 pmI think colour wise, Crush Candy is the prettiest in the collection. I remember crackle polishes by Cover Girl and thought they were pretty cool, but I never purchased any. Since China Glaze is impossible to find in my area, I would probably, pick one up by OPI just to experiment because of its novelty factor. Karen, maybe if you have time to play around, you could post a nails of the day manicure using the crackle polish and a colour base underneath. It would be interesting to see what combo you come up with.
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Mary says
February 21st, 2011 at 4:51 pmI have to admit, if I just accidentally “smudge” a part of my nail polish before it dried, it would definitely look the same. ;D
choklityum says
June 14th, 2011 at 2:26 pmI bought the China Glaze Black Mesh yesterday and layered it over a heavy-duty glitter polish. Personally, I love it! But I’ve always liked to do funky things with my nail colors. I’m waiting for my Sally Beauty Supply to get the rest of the colors in. (We can be a bit behind here in Iowa, sometimes. ;oP )