China Glaze – Crackle Metals (swatches & review)

For Summer 2011, China Glaze is rocking it out with Crackle Metals! This is a collection of six metallic textured polishes that just ooze urban mod appeal. In order to best showcase the glimmering finish of these beauties, I opted to layer each shade over a deep onyx base, in this case a-england’s ‘Camelot’ (reviewed here) and like magic, the metallic crackles that began appearing were nothing short of brilliant. All swatches are with a-england’s ‘The Knight’ base coat and ‘The Shield’ top coat, two coats of ‘Camelot’ as a base and one layer of each Crackle Metal polish.

As soon as I layered ‘Tarnished Gold’ over the base, the image that was brought to mind was the look of lush brocade fabric. This is more of an old gold, with myriad glimmering specks in its base, giving it an added depth. The formula flowed well and with China Glaze’s excellent brush, it was easy to control how much to apply. Love this contrast!

What I really liked about ‘Latticed Lilac’ was how soft this shade appears, even as a metallic finish. A beautiful yet delicate-looking dusty mauve, this has both silver and pink tones in its base which gives it a cooler look, yet comes so alive in the sunlight.

‘Oxidized Aqua’ quite literally stunned me with its oceanic mystery. A silvery aqua hue, it just seems to pop against a darker base with neither one overpowering the other. With a slight nod to teal, this combo will look amazing against lightly tanned skin…perfection!

Only when I layered ‘Cracked Medallion’ over the base, did I see what colour it truly was: rose gold. I absolutely love the stunning finish of this effect and could not stop staring at the prismatic effect on my nails in the sunlight. Even the name brings to mind some precious artifact glinting in the sun…much like the finish of this lacquer!

Somewhat deeper in tone, and certainly more densely coloured than OPI’s Silver Shatter (reviewed here and here), ‘Platinum Pieces’ still manages to perfectly marry an edgy vibe with a lacy femininity. It has such an earthy yet cool look to it, like piles of antique silver coins strewn across your fingertips.

For those wanting to channel their inner bad babe, but with a more girly vibe, ‘Haute Metal’ expertly fits that bill. A dusty mauve-rose tone but done in a modern metallic finish takes this shade from tea-time to party-time, but always with a sophisticated finale.

Final thoughts: We have all seen textured polishes by now and have become basically experts at applying them; this collection of Crackle Metals takes this trend to a whole new level by somehow managing to mature the look with the addition of this new gleaming finish. The shades themselves are an oxymoron; visually varied yet muted at the same time…amazing! What makes this finish unique is not only the multitude of multi-coloured shimmer deep within, but by how great the formula is….in a word, goof-proof. Just remember to let your base shade completely dry prior to applying the crackle. Available for a limited time wherever China Glaze products are sold, for more information please feel free to visit the company’s site here.