Review: Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat

With both OPI and China Glaze coming out with their own versions of crackle/shatter, it was only a matter of time before a more accessible brand came out with one of their own. I really had my money on Cover Girl re-debuting their original 90's line. I miss my Cover Girl Crackle. Mine dried out after about 7 yrs of living in my nail polish drawer. But it was more than half way gone so it served it's purpose. I still kick myself for not buying backups.

The Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat collection includes eight different shades:

Antiqued Gold (Gold Shimmer/foil)
Snow Blast (White)
Vintage Violet (Purple Duochrome)
Fuchsia Shock (Hot Pink)
Distressed Denim (Blue)
Cherry Smash (Red)
Ink Splatter (Black)
Fractured Foil (Silver Shimmer/foil)

Since I already have a black, white and silver crackle, I purchased the following five:

I was really excited about these until I swatched them. First off, the brushes were REALLY thin. And the formula seemed to work better when you really glopped on the product. Had the brushes been thicker to apply a think layer of crackle then I might have been pleased.

Second, the formula on ALL colors was not opaque at all (almost sheer).  The colors would alter depending on the base color that you choose. AND even with a topcoat, most had a very chunky finish.

  I swatched each color twice with both black and white as base colors to see the difference in hues.

Cherry Splash: Don't let the awesome crackle finish fool you. For some reason this one looks better in pictures than it did in person (It was not opaque at all over black). This one had to be GLOOPED onto the nail swatch. This was almost like a jelly crackle (is that a oxymoron?). When swatched over the white base coat, the red took on a more orange hue.

 

Distressed Denim: I really didn't like this one. Over white, it was really sheer (again I had to GLOOP it on). And over black it was a complete FAIL. You could hardly see the blue and it left your nails looking chunky and messy and gross.



Antiqued Gold: I actually liked this one and it was added to my collection. Antiqued Gold reminded me of OPI's Silver Shatter...just in gold. I still had to gloop this one on but this one came with a decent sized brush. I wonder if all came with different sized brushes...or it was just my luck to get wonky brushes. Over black it was beautiful and over white it did this weird more dramatic crackle. I still liked it. My only issue was that it seemed to drag the white polish ever so slightly and created visible bald spots. Both black and white were completely dry before I applied the crackle so I don't know why it would drag the color like that.

Fuchsia Shock: The black base photo more clearly shows what I experienced with Cherry Splash. Very uneven sheer crackle.  But I have to admit that this one looks really awesome over white. Same issues with this one, thin brush, GLOOP on swatch.

Vintage Violet: MY FAVORITE!! Let me start by saying this had to same issues as the others...BUT I DON'T CARE! Its a slight duochrome with blue shimmer. I've never seen a crackle like this one ever. You can definitely see the blue shimmer over the black (click on picture to see shimmer closer). When I swatched it over the white (because of the thin brush) , it applied a little thinner in the right-hand corner. So when it crackled, the thinner corner turned a hot pink ombre look. LOVE IT.

Here's a blurry picture showing the shimmer awesomeness.

Overall, this collection definitely had its issues with formula, opaqueness, and brushes. Or maybe I'm just spoiled by OPI and China Glaze? I would recommend Antiqued Gold, Fractured Foil and Vintage Violet. And if you do want the others, I would recommend layering them over pastel or light colors and apply at least two coats of Seche Vite to get a smoother finish. These can be purchased at Walgreens for $6.99.

Disclaimer: Theses products were purchased with my own money. I did not receive any monetary compensation. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.