Glittertastic!

So, you'd think I'd be sick of glitter after having just finished up Focus On Glitter, right? Well, no. I do love glitter. Okay, here's the thing. I suck at almost every form of nail art. I'm not good at glitter gradients. But I tried this, and I like it - I might get better one day. It doesn't look effortless and smooth, but I still like it.
Jessika sent me a little RAOK package recently, with the OCC neon I've already shown you, and with a P2 polish. This one is one of the Color Signals, Bombastic Turquoise. It's lovely. Almost a metallic, very bright turquoise. I decided it needed to be spiced up, so I sort of patted on a layer of China Glaze Atlantis, taking it about 3/4 of the way down my nail. On top of that, I patted on China Glaze Medallion, towards the tips. The result? Glitter-encrusted nails! I love this. Like I said, one day I may get better at making gradients look smooth and effortless in transition. I'm still very pleased with the results of this!

Last picture in direct sunlight, for full on effect. :) You should really click to enlarge these!

P2 Summer Rain and Golden Rush Crackling

I mentioned the other day that I got an awesome care package from Jeanette of The Swatchaholic. She had sent me a couple of the P2 crackle top coats, and I decided to use the gold, Golden Rush, over this gorgeous neutral from the P2 Sun Love collection, Summer Rain. Summer Rain is a light brown with gold shimmer throughout! Looking at the macro I snagged, it also seems to have some copper shimmer interspersed - I really didn't notice it on the nail, but it shows up in photos. What an awesome neutral, one of my favorites. The shimmer didn't get lost on my nail, and it looked fantastic with the Crackling top coat.

Ahh, you can totally see the gold and copper shimmer in that macro! Cool. I think because these were photographed in overcast conditions (we haven't had a lot of sun lately!) it doesn't show the true beauty of this combo - the gold and neutral together was really eye-catching.

Revlon Black With Envy LE and P2 Crackling Silver Blast

Revlon came out with another LE Chanel copy recently, Black With Envy. If you hadn't already heard, Black With Envy is supposed to be a dupe for Black Pearl - see Mary of Body & Soul Beauty's awesome comparison! It seems the Chanel leans more green, and has more of a metallic finish. I don't have the Chanel and this has not made me want to go seek it out - but I do like that strong undercurrent of green. I do love the finish of the Revlon version. I used two coats here for my swatch, the pigmentation and application is excellent.
It also slightly reminds me of Deborah Lippmann's Hit Me With Your Best Shot. I sold that off, so I cannot do a comparison, but the finish and color is similar in my opinion.
I recently received a care package (RAOK!) from Jeanette of The Swatchaholic. (!!!!!) She sent along so many squee-goodies, I have some swatches for you coming up. She sent me two of the P2 Crackling top coats, Silver Blast and Gold Rush. These are both lovely. I decided to top my Black With Envy mani with Silver Blast, and I thought it was awesome!
I just picked up a couple of the new Sally Hansen Crackle overcoats, one of them being the silver - Fractured Foil - and it's more glittery/shimmery and crackles a bit better than P2. Being a silver addict and a big fan of crackle top coats, I feel like I need them both, because they're definitely different!  Obviously, I haven't posted any swatches of these yet, but I will - in case anyone's wondering, the Sally Hansen Crackles are AWESOME.

As you can see, on my ring and pinkie fingers I applied the crackle a bit thicker. It's kind of a cool effect!