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

Water Marble Magic

My first water marble

Hi guys! For today I've got something different from usual: a water marble. My first one actually! Well.. the first one I didn't immediately want to wipe off ;). It's still not how I wanted it to look, and it's nothing compared to others', but I wanted to share anyway! If you're not familiar with this technique: water marbling is putting drops of nail polish into water, creating patterns with a stick and dipping your finger in it. There are many tutorials on this crafty business but definitely get inspired by Colette from My Simple Little Pleasures, because she's got super duper water marble skills!

The polishes I used were Nox Twilight Beauty Crush - a very bright pink - and It's You! by Misa - a duochrome-y dark shade! Not all polishes will work for water marbling but the well pigmented ones are usually fine. There are several ways to avoid getting those dirty fingers, taping and vaseline for example. Vaseline (or unpetroleum jelly in my case) worked really well for me, you apply it on your skin and cuticles and after you're done, you can wipe the polish off - just like that! I got this tip from Michelle from The Lacquer Files, thanks girl!

I hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for stopping by!
- With love, Michèle

Misa - What I Like About You! Swatches & Review

What I like about you

Hi guys! Today I have swatches of Misa's latest collection for you. I actually swatched all these polishes twice, I just wasn't happy with the photos, but it was really time to post them..
Misa has made one of my all time favorites "Toxic Seduction" and I'm never disappointed in their formula. For this fall Misa has created six new shades that are all shimmers, unlike previous collections which consisted mostly out of cremes. I absolutely love this theme and the title of the collection instantly reminded me of one my favorite songs by The Romantics, or Poison, ever!
So yeah, this collection is all about romance, let's explore my feelings for these polishes..

Misa - Spinning out of control

Spinning out of control is gorgeous. I own a lot of blueish purples, but this one is something else. It's very dark and glowy, with pink and blue shimmer. This is one hella classy purple.

Misa - It's you!

It's you! is one of my favorites from this collection, I don't have anything like it. It has a very subtle duochrome effect, it changes from a greenish gunmetal to a dark bronze. This is quite a mysterious color, mhmm.

Misa - Quirky smile

Quirky smile, what an odd name, is a really nice teal shimmer. I love how glowy this one is, and since teal is one of my favorite colors I'm very happy to have this one.

Misa - Perfect kiss

Perfect Kiss is much much much prettier in real life, but so hard to capture, trust me on this one. Perfect Kiss is a bright fuchsia/magenta with a lot of shimmer, not totally unique though.

Misa - When U say my name

Well now, I was surprised by this one! I'm not big on browns AT ALL but when I tried this one, I fell in love with it almost immediately. It really stole my heart. This is a perfect color for fall, and the warm copper shimmer takes brown to a whole new level.

Misa - Like it like that

Like it like that is a metallic frosty kinda green. It's quite vibrant, which makes it totally awesome. In the bottle it also flashes a bit of blue, but this won't show on your nails. I love this color but I don't like the visible brush strokes that much.

Overall

This is one pretty collection. I really liked the formula on these: they're b3f and all of these were two coaters except It's You and Perfect Kiss - they needed three coats. Misa polishes always apply well for me, they've got exactly the right thickness, not too thick, not too thin. And this collection is no exception. They're easy to apply and control, I don't need much cleanup when I paint my nails with them.
I've worn three of these as a full manicure, and the wear is absolutely perfect. I know wear depends on a lot of things and can be different for everyone, but "It's You" lasted 6 six days without chips or tip wear, call me impressed, I just had to mention it. And who knows how long it could've lasted, I had to take it off so I could swatch all of these.
The first time I wore one of these colors I used Nubar Diamont as a top coat and it just wouldn't dry. Nubar Diamont is acting really strange lately so I decided to give it a shot with some other top coats. Drying time was great when I used OPI RapiDry and China Glaze Fast Forward, so I definitely think it's Nubar to blame!

You can order these at www.misacosmetics.com (by phone) or at etailers like Head2Toe Beauty. Also: SOON available at Boozyshop!

The product(s) in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for review. For more information please read my disclaimer.

ManGlaze - Fuggen Ugly

Fuggen Ugly

Hi guys! After all the bling bling and gloss sometimes you just want to take it down a notch. Personally, I love my mattes, they just seem to add that little extra attitude when glossy nail polish just doesn't cut it. My favorite brand in mattes is ManGlaze, and I've showed some of their products already, but today it is Fuggen Ugly that gets all the attention. Don't you just love the name?

This grey matte nail polish with its pretty shimmer, dries in a heartbeat, but still allows several brushstrokes without causing a big streakfest. I applied 3 coats and it all dried pretty smoothly. Fuggen Ugly's finish isn't as matte as Matte Is Murder's, but it still remains far from being satin. Another great thing I keep mentioning is their fab artwork, every bottle is a little piece of art!

Sold out

At the moment Fuggen Ugly is sold out, but ManGlaze is bringing back a new and improved (more matte!) Fuggen Ugly, so keep an eye on their Twitter for more updates!

Fuggen Ugly costs $6.66 (\m/) online or $13 in stores.

H&M - You Rock My World

Hi everyone! It's friday again, yay! Since I pretty much blinded everyone the other day with the Nfu Oh holo, I'm going for something really subtle today. HM - You Rock My World. That's just its name but for me, this is so true! H&M nail polish is definitely in my top 5 brands, they have a great and every changing color selection, the formula is pretty good and their prices are reasonable. It just sucks that not every H&M is selling cosmetics! You Rock My World is a really fine and subtle holo, the holo effect is there, but it is kinda shy. Silver is SO not my color, but this one isn't that bad, since it's leaning a bit towards gun metal grey. I don't have anything negative to say about the formula, 2, quick drying, coats did the trick. Of course I wouldn't be me if I didn't show you the color in regular lighting, I think I'd prefer wearing this one on sunny days only, because it's a bit lifeless without the sun, just like me haha. So we're at the end of this post again, thanks for stopping by and take care! -Michèle