P2 pearl crack ling top coats - a closer look

P2 crackle polishes are a no-brainer, they are cheap and they work, end of story. Hurrah for p2! :-)

P2 pearl crack ling top coats

P2 has enriched their crackle nail polish collection by three beautiful colours: 010 violet fusion (violet-golden shimmer), 020 blue thunder (blue-silver shimmer) and 030 red volcano (reddish-rusty shimmer) in addition to 010 black explosion, 020 silver blast, 030 golden rush. They are all 1,75 EUR and only availble in Germany, DM.

p2 crack ling pic

Crackle polishes' battle

This a perfect opportunity to compare all of mine and borrowed crackling top coats. I used Essence I love Berlin in 02 I'm a Berliner as a base for all of them.

p2 030 golden rush, p2 020 silver blast, p2 010 black explosion, Essence 02 crack me! white, Essence 01 crack me! black, claire's crackle polish

Thumb: Essence crack me! black, index: Essence crack me! white, middle: p2 black explosion, ring: p2 silver blast, little finger: p2 golden rush

 

claire's crackle polish

Essence nail art cracking top coat 02 crack me! white review

Well, I did not really like this nail polish the first time round, I can not say I like it any better now, I applied a nice thick layer on, but no real cracking happened...

 

Essence nail art cracking top coat vs p2 crack link vs Claire's crackle polish

Seeing is believe and I believe that p2 crack ling is not only the cheapest, but also the best option for crackling effect. See for yourselves:

 

 

 

 

p2 crackle pictures

 

P2 crack ling black top coat picture

A no-name polish of blue lagoon colour and a black top coat.

P2 crack ling top coat 010 black explosion

It is my pleasure to report that P2 crack ling black top coat is equally effective as its silver and gold variants! At the price of 1,75 EUR, there is not much to think about...LOVE!

 

I applied it over one layer of Essence What do you think? nail varnish and I was really happy with the result.
And the other hand:

Here you can compare it with Claire's crackle nail polish, see how different the patterns are?

And the final picture is the confirmation of just how great P2 crack ling top coats are:

P2 crack ling and Essence no 22 pictures

Here is my golden-orange variation.

Catrice 490 Iron Mermaiden with crackle top coats

So, today is the day, and crackle is the word! I finally tested this lovely nail varnish together with all the crackle top coats that I have: Claire's, P2 crackling top coat in 030 golden rush and 020 silver blast.

 I really like all of them, I even gave it a long thought as to which one I actually preferred, but I simply could not choose! I guess they are all just pretty and it also depends on what effect you want to achieve and what you are wearing...

Crackling p2 top coat - silver on black and red

P2 crack ling top coat / Claire's crackle pictures

Once you get a hold of these cute top coats, you will want to explore ALL of your options:

From the left:Manhattan lotus effect 45P, Essence 020 I'm a Berliner, Essence 02 Copper rulez, Essence 002 stamp me! black, Essence 76 Cool and the gang

From the left: Essence 01 I love this city, Manhattan 11A, Catrice 490 Iron Mermaiden, Essence What do you think?, Dermacol 1

Black and golden top coats...beautiful! The golden colour really stands out on a darker base coat.

Can you say CRACKLE?

Soft pastel colours with a silver top coat, equally beautiful, albeit to a different effect.

Sorry for the messy bit, I was just too excited :-)

P2 crack ling top coat review

Some things in life never cease to amaze me, like, for example shopping trips to Germany. For many months, I have been dreaming about crackling nail polish and then, a single trip to Aachen answers all my beauty dreams: golden and silver crackling top coats: (they also sell a black one, all are 11 ml)

020 silver blast and 030 golden rush, both p2 cosmetics

Initially, I was sceptical: I mean how good can it be, golden and silver, I simply could not twist my brain around it. Then, my sister put on Essence multi dimention xxxlshine nail polish in 76 cool and the gang (8 ml) and the miracle happened:

Essence multi dimension 76 cool and the gang, p2 020  silver blast top coat crack ling

Ladies: this nail polish DOES crackle BIG TIME and within SECONDS. I was really happy with Claire's crackle nail polish, but this one really surpassed all of my expectations! It lasts for days and trust me, you will not regret buying this nail polish! Don't be afraid of putting a really thick layer on, it will still crackle like crazy!

Claire's crackle polish pictures

It has been such a lovely day today that it inspired me for a colourful test of Claire's crackle polish and here are the results (the more I test it, the more I like it). My personal favourites are combinations with silver base, any neon colour and violet.

p2 color victim 010 glamour, claire's crackle polish

Claire's cracle polish

A miracle happend today! After two fruitless trips to Kruidvat, I happened to be looking through Claire's accessories shop (there is one at Porte de Namur) and my friend found a little surprise for me! Give it up for Zuzka, who spotted the cracle nail polish - 4,50 EUR, 9 ml!

I bought two polishes, so I got a nail buffer for free, how good is that?

Immediately, I wanted to try it out, so I applied it over my red nail varnish - Manhattan - lotus effect, in 45P (BTW excellent long lasting nail polish). And I love the result!

More crackle nail polishes

So, a quick google search will direct you to various options, say, on eBay you can buy Mia secret crackle polish or browse to my favourite Boozyshop for Crack Nail Art Lacquer, on offer in 7 amazing colours, 7,95 EUR per bottle. Moreover, there is Essence cracking top coat, Claire's cracking top coat...A wonderful China Glaze ad:

Essence nail art cracking top coat review

Oh yes, today is the day! Zuzka kindly lent me these top coats (bought in Aachen, DrogerieMarkt). The excellent news is that the base coat can be anything you already have at home, all you really need is the cracking top coat. (they cost 1,75 EUR!) Essence offers two of them, 01 crack me! black and 02 crack me! white (8 ml).

UPDATE 03. JULY 2011 - I applied a thick layer, as recommended and here are much better results:

p2 Color victim nail polish 010 glamour, Essence nail art cracking top coat 01 crack me! black

You need to apply a really thick layer of the cracking polish to achieve the result, I had a number of unsuccessful attempts before I got this lovely result.

However, the white crack polish does not seem to as effective:

Catrice 030 Meet Me At Coral Island, Essence nail art cracking top coat 02 crack me! white

Katy Perry for OPI Shatter

Planet Parfum is selling these, but be ready to cough up 13,95 EUR per varnish.