Depend Crackle Effect - Red

This'll just be a quick post to show you the last of the four crackle effects I bought last week, made by the Scandinavian brand Depend :)

Crackle Effect polishes from Depend

The bright red crackle effect is the one I decided to wear as a full manicure when I was having fun with these.

While the thought of a red crackle intrigues me, the red effect from Depend is not the most opaque crackle.

While you can certainly make this work on black base colour, you will need a topcoat to pull it off - without it it will look like dried blood (brown red), and IMO that just doesn't look great. 

I took a comparison picture, and mind you - it looks redder/more orange-ish in the picture than in real life. I'm not exaggerating; I really think it looks like dried blood without top coat.

In general, this crackle was a bit fickle to get a good picture of - at least for me. 

Either the crackles wouldn't show up at all or the colour would be really off, so I used the best results for both with and without topcoat. I hope they're use-able ;)

I used one coat of base coat, one coat of Wet'n'Wild Black Creme and one coat of crackle for the shot on the left and added a coat of China Glaze Fast Forward before the right picture.

Red Crackle Effect from Depend, natual sunlight on the left (no topcoat) & flash on the right (with topcoat).

While I wish this crackle would've been more opaque and more visible from afar, I'm pleased with the result and will be using it every now and then. I just need some good red colour combinations - any ideas? And how do you like the red crackle? I know many people were excited about the red version (as was I, since it's quite a bold colour), did it disappoint or are you still psyched about it?

♥ Vetten

Depend Crackle Effect - swatches (blue, purple and pink crackle)

Crackle polishes are really in this season. Isadora and Barry M released crackle polishes Fall/Winther 2010 and this spring we are seeing crackle polishes from many companies - such as OPI, China Glaze, Isadora and Depend. 

Depend Crackle Polish

Today I'll be showing you three of four crackles I got my hands on last week from Depend - I went to a store carrying the brand and when I saw the display it was already half empty. 

White and black crackle was gone, there was one pink left but oddly - the most interesting colours were still there! I already have a black crackle from Barry M and plan on getting the entire collection from China Glaze when it releases, so I can honestly say I was super psyched about getting a pink, red, purple and blue effect crackle ♥ 

While crackle is not something I'd wear every day, I'm sure I'll be using the lighter shades (and pair the darker ones with lighter shades) this summer - I think it really stands out in the sun. I was lucky enough to catch a few sunbeams today, so I can show you these in their full glory.

I wanted you to see them on both a dark base and a light, so I used Wet'n'Wild Black Creme for the first swatch and GOSH Gypsy Blue, Depend purple and Depend white for the last swatch.

Depend crackle polishes - left is on dark base without topcoat, right is on light base with China Glaze Fast Forward. Natural sunlight.

As you can see, they are quite different on dark/light base colours! 

Blue Crackle

The blue crackle is packed with gorgeous shimmer that really glows with a topcoat. Unlike the P2 silver shimmer crackle polish I bought in Germany (which was a pain to work with), this one has a great formula and it was easy to apply in an even layer. It looks amazing on both light and dark base colours - and it's quite a unique shatter since it's got shimmer. If you must pick out one of these, this one's definitely the most unique.

Purple Crackle

Purple is the most opaque creme of the ones I have, and again the formula was great. I love how subtle the purple is on black - it's definitely a combination I'll be using for an entire manicure, and the pale purple/dark purple combination? Perfect for a sunny day this Spring!

Pink Crackle

I don't like how the pink crackle looks on white, so I will have to try out a few other colour combinations for that one. It's a bit more sheer than the rest and the formula is a bit thinner too, making it is a bit see-through on black (but still looks great if you ask me). Even though it has a thinner formula, I still find it easy to work with.

In general I am very happy I got a chance to buy these before they sold out. Best 5-6$ I've spent on mini polishes (each) for a while! If I find the white one I will pick it up, as Depend makes some great opaque whites.

What is your opinion on crackle polishes - and what do you think about the colours from Depend? :)

♥ Vetten

Mint Mojito, cupcake and strawberries!

This manicure is inspired by a beautiful green creme I got recently, perfect for spring - Orly's Mint Mojito. I love this colour so much, it's bold for a pastel shade, it's green and it's just... wow. This is as flashy as a glitter! Does that make sense? LOL

I had a few difficulties capturing the true shade of the colour.. It's a bit more bold than my flash would allow.

Here's 2-3 coats of Mint Mojito. It's a bit sheer, but the colour is worth the 2 thick or 3 thin coats it takes.

Orly Mint Mojito w/ topcoat & flash

Mint Mojito is gorgeous on it's own, but I wanted more. I couldn't help myself, I needed something cute on my fingertips!

Orly Mint Mojito.. with strawberries! Picture taken with flash

This picture shows the true colour of Mint Mojito a little bit better;

Strawberry cupcake made with nail polish & steel beads

Besides my basecoat, NailTek II, I used Mint Mojito as base colour - 2-3 coats.

I then added a coat of Seche to speed up drying time, then I painted the cupcake and strawberries using OPI Feelin' Hot Hot Hot!, Essie Pretty Edgy, white Depend polish and finished the cupcake with some steel beads from Ebay in green and pink. 

I gently pushed them into the wet polish, and added a coat of Seche Vite to finish the manicure. I've worn this for three days now, and none of them have fallen off :)

I hope you like it! I think it's pretty cute, even if a bit sloppy, and will def. do something similar when Spring comes!

♥ Vetten

New Year's Eve manicure - 230 reasons to wear unicorn pee on your nails!

I'm extremely excited about sharing this manicure with you! Some of you might find me crazy, and I'll be the first to admit that I am crazy, LOL. I bought a certain #230 as a christmas present for myself. I've been lusting for it ever since I saw a brilliant - and funny - post about it right HERE :) I decided it was worth the price tag, and used the rest of my hard-saved cash from the Germany trip to get it.

It's Clarins #230! I rather like it's nickname, though - Unicorn pee. Doesn't it sound a lot more exciting? LOL!

Clarins #230

It's a sheer polish, so I decided to use a dark purple as base. I have a dark creme from Depend, which I decided to use. You can see it in one of the pictures. It applies really nice, and dries to a glossy finish. 2 coats purple base, one #230. I used one coat of Seche above to prolong it's life :)

I've spend at least 30 minutes total trying to capture all the colours this little wonder has in the bottle. It acts different, depending on your lightsource - so some of these pics are inside with artificial light, some are sunlight. All colours are visible on the nail except the blue (I haven't seen it yet), unlike a holo the entire shimmer changes colour almost instantly, depending on which angle you hold your nail... It's amazing ♥

Now for the interesting part... pictures! I cut my nails shorter a few days ago, they were starting to curve a little and I don't want them to break, either. I think this is my preferred length :)

Clarins #230... How it looks most of the time

Clarins #230 - showing it's orange and yellow undertones..

Clarins #230 - showing off yellow with a slight green hue..

Clarins #230 - going green!

Clarins #230... Beautiful in all angles ♥

(I forgot to wrap the tips! argh!)

One might ask me, if it was worth the pricetag... I'd still buy it, having tried it and everything! Needless to say, I am not disappointed :)

♥ Vettelicious

small nail polish haul + homemade bracelets

Hey! I want to show you what I got today!

My new polishes from Depend, BarryM, Models Own & ASOS Paint

All polishes except the one from Depend is from ASOS - I have another package coming from them, including a few very popular brands I'm excited to try out! My wallet isn't pleased, LOL! I couldn't help but buy they cute yellow shimmer when I was shopping today - along with this set from H&M ~

I should've taken it out of the plastic box, LOL! Glare ohoy!

I tested the cuticle cream today, and it has a great consistence.. but if you don't like the smell of perfume pear, it's not for you. I do like it, though!

I also wanted to show you something I've made - bracelets! I've made bracelets like these for a long time, I love doing anything creative and fun - so making jewellery is very me ;) These past weeks I have been focusing on getting and making bracelets that go well with my fav nail polish shades - mint green, aqua and ...that purple grey? Paradoxal colour, lol. My english isn't that great.

Homemade bracelets made to suit my fav polish shades!

It takes quite a while to find the perfect beads, as I'm very picky - I use a blend of stone, glass, plastic beads. I hope you like them!

Not as fancy, but they work great with a casual outfit!

And I had to try out Models Own Purple Grey today. It was dark before I could take pictures, so the colour is off on these pics. I just know my nails are chipped when I get home from work tomorrow, so I can't take any better pics :( The picture featuring bracelets shows the colour pretty accurate.

Models Own Purple Grey

Models Own Purple Grey

That's all for today!

~Vettelicious