Crank it up with Crackle: Barry M Instant Nail Effects - Black Magic

Hi Guys! As you might have noticed Crackle is huge these days: Crackle is back! There are quite some brands releasing crackle top coats at the moment, IsaDora, BYS, P2, OPI, Barry M and I think I'm still forgetting a bunch. Last year I ordered a Krackpolish from TransDesign and it did Jack. So don't order that one! But today I'll be showing you a crackling top coat that actually works: Instant Nail Effects by Barry M! There is a reason I'm posting this today, it's Halloween! And don't you think this polish makes you look like someone who just crawled out of their coffin? Muahaha.

Be quick

What I like about this matte black top coat is the fact you can see it work, it dries and crackles FAST. In fact, it starts cracking while you apply it, so you'll have to be rather quick. There is no need or time to apply it perfectly, just slap it on and you'll be fine. You'll only need one thin layer and make sure you don't overlap, because it messes with the crackle. It doesn't really work well will all kinds of top coats though. I found it works best if you apply your base color, use a quick drying top coat, let it dry and then apply the Crackle. And that way the matte effect stays intact!

Barry M Instant Nail Effects applied over 4 colors by Catrice: Clayton My Hero, Sold Out Forever, I Scream Peach! and London's Weather Forecast.

Play with Color!

As you can see the crackle comes in big chunks, almost making it look like the print of a giraffe. Seems like the new crackle is more like this, Black Shatter by OPI has a very similar effect, but if you like the dense crackle from back in the day I suggest looking into the one by BYS!
I applied Instant Nail Effects on top of several colors, and it looks very hot against a contrasting color, but I like the more subtle effect it gives on a closer color as well! I've seen this Barry M top coat applied over gold, and it looked smoking hot.

Overall

If you really like this Crackle effect I'd definitely recommend this top coat. It applies alright, but you do have to be quick. I love the fact it dries matte, it definitely adds to the deconstructed look! The price is alright too, depending on where you buy it, it will cost you around £3.99 / $6.40 / €4.60 for 10ml.

Where to buy

I noticed it's out of stock everywhere, but as soon as they'll restock you can buy Barry M Instant Nail Effects directly from their website or from Alice and Jo's Havesentials.
ETA: If you're Dutch you can check out this shop: www.beautyfocus.nl

Eyeko - Coral Polish

Wow. That's what I thought after I put this polish on. Wow. I don't really own anything THIS bright, and I think this polished unleashed a secret longing for colors like these, haha. I'm not sure whether this is considered a true neon, but it sure is BRIGHT. I do have some coral-y colors, but I certainly don't own anything similar. I think I'll be wearing shades like this a lot this summer!

Besides the color, I'm in love with the packaging of Eyeko polishes, every color has it's own designed label, cute huh?
The only thing that bothered me a bit, was the application. It's definitely on the thick side. It took 3 layers to even everything out. But if you add some thinner, it's pretty much perfect! I wore this polish for about two days, and experienced some chipping on my thumbs.

Check out this cute packaging!

Eyeko polishes cost £3.50 (€4.- or $5.40) for 8.5ml. Eyeko products can be bought online at www.eyeko.com. Their shipping is extremely cheap: either free (if you're in the UK or Europe) or $5.40 for all international orders.

This polish was sent to me for review by Eyeko

Coral Comparison featuring OPI, Essence, P2 & Catrice

Hi guys! After swatching Catrice's I Scream Peach! the other day, I really felt like doing a comparison! I picked out four colors to compare: Essence - What do U think?, Catrice - I Scream Peach!, P2 - Flamboyant and OPI - Shootout at the O.K. Coral. As you can see, these are somewhat similar in the bottle.

On the nail, they are quite different, well two of them are. What do U think and I Scream Peach! are almost identical, I think the latter is a teeny tiny bit darker. Like I mentioned, these are really close dupes of Chanel's Orange Fizz!
The formula of these are really similar too, they're both cremes and they both need 3 coats. The one by Essence is more smooth when it comes to application.

P2 Flamboyant is darker and more vibrant, a bolder color. The finish of this one is kinda where a creme and a jelly meet. It took me 4 coats to get rid of the evil VNL, but other than that, application was perfectly fine.

OPI's Shootout at the O.K. is really different from the others, it is slightly duochrome, alternating between orange and pink. The formula of this one is really good, still needing 3 coats, but applies like a dream.

I think coral is a difficult color though, I love how summer-y it looks, but I do think colors like these tend to look better on someone with a tan, and obviously I don't have one haha. Will you be wearing coral this summer?

Thanks for reading and see you next time!
- Michèle

Catrice Ultimate Nail LACQUER vs. Chanel

Hi guys! Happy Easter!! I'm not really celebrating, besides eating too much chocolate of course, so I have some time to show you a few new polishes I'm really excited about.

Catrice, a European brand, released an entire new collection for this spring and summer. This brand normally is releasing pretty conservative colors, but now they really managed to surprise me! This 'Ultimate Nail LACQUER' collection consists out of 32 (!) trendy new colors. Catrice says they were inspired by the new trends that we've seen on the catwalk this year. Sooo of course I had to indulge and buy some of their polishes. 3 of those I'll be discussing today, and they have such an exciting thing in common: they look a lot like some of Chanel's best selling polishes!

Catrice - Sold Out Forever

First off, let me show you Sold Out Forever (lol), which funnily enough, sold out almost everywhere I've been haha. At the moment, this is said to be the closest dupe of Chanel's Jade. Yes, even closer than Claire's Dream Catcher or Charlotte Russe's Jade! Whoa. It even has the legendary shimmer. Unfortunately I don't own any of Chanel's polishes so I can't compare the two :-(. I had a really hard time to get this color accurate, the close up on the left is best to be trusted. I'm really digging the color, eventhough shades like these always manage to create the infamous lobster hands.

Catrice - Lost In Mud

Next up we have Lost In Mud, a color very close to Particulière, I've found a comparison photo here, what do you think? I think Lost in Mud is a tad darker. Either way, it sure is pretty! I don't find Particulière that exciting to pay that amount of money for, so Lost In Mud is a good enough option for me. I enjoy colors like these a lot, they're just so timeless.

Catrice - I Scream Peach!

Last but not least: I Scream Peach! This one is almost identical (a teeny tiny bit darker and more vibrant) to 'What Do U Think' by Essence, which is also known for being a dupe for Chanel's Orange Fizz! (If you haven't yet, please check out this wicked comparison by Megan Chair from Little Music Boxes!) So in theory, this one should be rather similar as well. I just love Catrice for being so trendy ;-). I was surprised to see how much I liked this color, I think this is a beautiful shade of coral.

Note: I want to add that I'm not saying all of these are exact dupes because I haven't compared them myself (yet?), but they are pretty similar in the least!

I'm not head over heels with the formula though. These were all 3 coaters, and all on the thick side, so I had to add thinner to all three. The brush is a bit too short for my liking but other than that everything was fine. Drying time was ok and no bubbling or anything. I have to admit I haven't tried the other polishes from this line yet, so this applies to the 3 above. And I have to say: these polishes are cheap! Only 2.49 euros a piece, so you won't hear me complaining.

Picture is property of catrice.eu

For more information and a complete color overview you can check out their website: www.catrice.eu. Catrice is also releasing The Oceana Collection this summer including four other new shades, 2 of them being mattes! Check it out.

Well, this was it for today! I hope everyone is enjoying their Easter weekend, don't eat too much chocolate! Thanks for stopping by and till next time :-).

New Collection: Catrice Nude Sensation

Ik zag deze vanmorgen en ik kon ze niet laten liggen omdat ik geen enkele nude nagellak bezit.
Ik moet zeggen dat ik een beetje teleurgesteld ben door deze collectie. Catrice heeft normaal gesproken aardig goede nagellakken maar deze waren veel te doorzichtig en streperig.

English: I saw these this morning and I had to pick them up because I don't own any nude polishes.
I must say I was a bit dissapointed by this collection. Catrice usually has some pretty good polishes but there were way to sheer and streaky.



01 Nude Cream. Een melkwitte jelly. Ik heb vier laagjes gedaan en er zijn nog steeds kale plekken maar ik weiger meer dan vier laagjes te lakken van welke lak dan ook.

English: 01 Nude Cream. A milky white jelly. I did four coats and I still have bald spots but I refuse to do more than 4 coats with any polish.



02 Soft Coral. Een doorzichtige babyroze. Ik vind de kleur wel mooi ondanks dat het niet iets is dat ik normaal gesproken draag. Ook nu had ik weer vier laagjes nodig en ze zou nog wel een of twee laagjes kunnen gebruiken.

English: 02 Soft Coral. A sheer baby pink. I like the colour on this one even though it's not something I would normally wear. Again I needed four coats and it could have used one or two more to cover streaks and bald spots.



03 Coral Pink. Dit is inderdaad een koraalroze! Ik weet niet wie besloten heeft dat koraal een goede nude zou zijn maar als iets op mijn lichaam deze kleur had zou ik me ernstig zorgen maken... Eerlijk gezegd vind ik deze echt afschuwelijk bij mijn huidskleur.
Deze had drie laagjes nodig en was wat makkelijker te lakken dan de andere twee. Misschien omdat ze meer pigment heeft?

English: 03 Coral Pink. Oh it's coral alright! I don't know who decided coral would make a good nude but I would be seriously concerned if anything on my body had this colour... Honestly I think this one looks hideous on me.
This is three coats and this one applied a lot better. Maybe this has more pigment?




04 Nude Beige. De naam zegt het al. Ze hebben het beste voor het laatst bewaard bij deze collectie. Deze vind ik erg mooi! Dit is drie laagjes. De applicatie was wederom een stuk beter dan de eerste twee. Mooi gelijkmatige laagjes en niet zo streperig.

Ik had wel een vergelijking willen doen met al deze lakjes maar ik heb alleen iets in mijn collectie dat een beetje op Nude Beige lijkt.

English: 04 Nude Beige. The name says it all. They saved the best for last with this collection. I really like this one! This is three coats. Application was a lot better than the first two. Nice even coats with minimal streaking.

I would have done a comparison of all colours in this collection if I had any but I only had something simmilar to Nude Beige in my collection.



Nude Beige op wijsvinger en ringvinger, Orly Country Club Khaki op middelvinger en pink.
Vergeleken met Nude Beige lijkt de Orly echt een grijs terwijl dat helemaal niet het geval is als je haar op zichzelf ziet.

English: Nude Beige on index and ring finger, Orly Country Club Khaki on middle finger and pinky.
Compared to Nude Beige the Orly looks positively grey which isn't the case at all if you see it on it's own.

Samenvattend: deze kleuren zijn niets voor mij en ik ben blij dat ik daar achter ben gekomen met nagellak van €1,99 in plaats van Essies van €14,-. Ach, ik kan ze altijd nog frankenen.

Bovendien is het best raar dat ze een kleur als koraalroze er wél in stoppen maar dat er geen nude voor donkere mensen in zit. Niemand is koraalroze Catrice! Maar meer dan de helft van deze wereld heeft een andere kleur dan deze lichte kleuren.
Dus ja, baggercollectie.

English: All in all, these colours are not for me and I'm glad I found that out with €1,99 polishes instead of €14,- Essies. I guess I could always franken the lot.

To top that off it's pretty strange that they do add a colour like coral but not a nude for dark-skinned people. Nobody's skin is coral Catrice! But more than half the population of this world has a different colour that these pasty polishes.
So yeah, sucky collection.