Flashbacks

Remember back in school, when you'd paint your nails with White-Out? I did that ALL the time. Bored in History? Manicure time! I also had a tendency to draw on my hands with ball point pens. Of course, when your nails are perfectly white, it's a great base for some hi-liter action. (I was a budding lacquer-addict on a budget, ok? Don't judge.) I didn't set out to re-create the manicures or yesteryear, but by the gods, I did.

Colors Used:

Did I Dye it too Blonde by Spoiled

Alpine Snow by OPI

I decided to do a gradient with the neon...because reasons. I love gradients. They look like way more work then they actually are, and are great for days when you can't think of anything else to do to your nails. As soon as I applied the neon, I was struck with how much this looked like White-Out and hi-liter. I felt like I was 17 again.

this neon absolutely needs a white base, btw.
There isn't enough polish in the bottle to make it work without it.

I took a trip to Target, for some light holiday shopping and groceries. While wandering aimlessly around the cosmetics section (like I tend to do) I spotted NYC Crack Me Up crackle nail polish in Broadway Smash, which is a really nice cobalt blue color. The best part: it was $1. Of course, I had to bring it home to try...for science. I love crackle coats anyway, so I was happy. 

I was actually really impressed by this stuff. I have tried maybe four brands of crackle, and this is definitely second only to the Sally Hansen stuff in my book. A think coat makes fine crackles, akin to an ikat pattern. A thick coat makes large chunks that remind me of peeling paint on an old wood building. After tinkering with it a bit, I decided to attempt a lazy ikat design. (I'm also in love with ikat, if you were thinking of a Christmas gift.)

Colors Used:

Did I dye it too Blonde by Spoiled

Alpine Snow by OPI

Broadway Smash by NYC

**and a ridiculous amount of striping tape. I love/hate that stuff**

I kinda think it resembles ikat print.

 I applied the striping tape on the diagonal, to create little diamond shapes. Then I just painted the crackle on in a thin, single coat. Like all crackles, if you try to layer it, you just ruin the effect. It turned out looking like an ikat print...but also like I used a blue pen (source) to draw the design. Which reminded me even more of high school. I guess I couldn't not be nostalgic this go-round.