Crackle-mania: China Glaze vs. LaRosa Plus Hard Candy Lash Ink Review (Revisited)

So this is my attempt at rewriting the content of my crackle comparison entry that was cut short for unknown reasons to me.

I won't be rating the polishes again because I forgot what I wrote to be honest.  But I did favor the La Rosa polishes more than the China Glaze because of the color range and the thinner consistency that allows me to work with it more.

Also, my review on Hard Candy Lash Ink was not so positive.  I don't remember what I wrote for my ratings but I do remember that the overall rating was 1.75, not good at all.

So without further to do, on with the review!

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As much as I don’t want to admit it, crackle polishes are quite on trend and will be for at least through summer.  I have given in and bought a few colors in hopes that I can use them whenever occasion calls for an unorthodox manicure.  There are many brands out there but the main ones I’ve been hearing about are from OPI and China Glaze.  I will be reviewing China Glaze crackles and La Rosa crackle/ shatter which I never heard of until a couple of days ago.

Just a note, I get the bulk of my nail polishes and supplies from U.S. Nail Supply in San Jose.  This allows me to feed my addiction for a lot less than I would normally pay.  All polishes were purchased here.

Cosmetic

China Glaze:

When these came in stock I was super excited since it seemed impossible at the time to get my hands on OPI Black Shatter and I’m not a fan of Katy Perry, so much so that anything associated with her I will avoid.  I got 4 colors: Black Mesh, Fault Line, Lightening Bolt and Broken Hearted.  The formula is no thinner or thicker than the normal China Glaze colors and the dry time is really fast.  My problem with using these is that it dries too quickly and an even crackle effect was hard for me to achieve.  I was getting a bulk of vertical lines and very few horizontal breaks. 

Fault Line was the worse one in terms of crackle-effect.  It would split but it indeed looked more like a fault line than a shatter.  I was able to remedy the lack of crackle-effect/ shatter by “nicking” the polish on my nail after I applied it with the tip of the polish brush.  This would leave holes or thin spots in the application and help facilitate shrinkage of the polish.

The colors are bold and pretty well pigmented.  My only wish is that it wouldn’t dry so super fast and would crackle more.

China Glaze Crackle no flash

China Glaze Crackle with flash

La Rosa:

I got these the other day and swatched them on my nails when I got home to see how well they worked.  Maybe it’s the higher temperatures in my area, but these are awesome in terms of crackle.  I got 3 colors: Hot Yellow, Lincoln Park After Dark and Hot Purple.  Being disappointed with Fault Line, I was hoping this would work better.  Also I’m not sure if there’s some copyright going on with naming a shade Lincoln Park After Dark, but I guess we’ll let OPI and La Rosa deal with that issue.

These apply like a dream but are watery.  They also do not dry as fast as China Glaze (I’m guessing because it more watery of a formula).  When the polish dries, the crackle effect is more pronounced but the pigments in the polish can look dried out in some parts of the nail.  Another note is that the color on the Hot Yellow fades into darker colors and looked less pigmented in real life.  It looks great when photographed but in real life it’s kinda blah, like you have dried curry on your nails.  I suppose adding an opaque white would remedy this, but just a warning,  if you want the color to really pop then wear it over a light base color.  Note I got the smaller shatter pieces by layering 2 thin coats.

La Rosa Crackle / Shatter no flash

La Rosa Crackle / Shatter with flash

 On another note, I went to Wal-Mart and bought this on a whim.  I’ve seen it a couple of times but just decided to buy in order to satisfy my curiosity bug. 

Hard Candy Lash Ink:

On the package it says it’s suppose to last up to 4 days.  I think that is both cool and disgusting.  But I’m all for long wearing cosmetics so hey why not?  The formula is inky and looks like liquid eyeliner.  The brush that comes with it has a short bristle length and the bristle rows are spaced far apart (like what I expect with most thickening mascaras).  These types of brushes don’t bode well for my skimpy lashes.  I tried to brush on the formula and got blobs of color on my lashes and all over my eye.

I switched to a lash brush (MAC # 205) and while I was able to get the mascara on, it dried too quickly that I got clumps.  Once I combed these out, I had nice natural looking lashes.  Pretty and cute but way too much effort.

 By the next morning it looked as if I had no mascara on.  WTF?  While there were traces of mascara on my lashes, the result looked barely noticeable.  While the formula didn’t smudge, it didn’t last me through a shower and a face washing in which I took care not to disturb my lashes.  Another bad side effect is that my eyes seemed allergic to something in the mascara.  I’m not 100% sure of this since Hard Candy doesn’t provide any safety seal or shrink wrap for this product so I don’t know if anyone else messed with it.

But for the 4 days I tried this mascara out, my eyes were itchy and red.  I also noticed one morning that it looked like there was a black string on the inside of my lower eyelid.  When I tried to get it out I realized that it was mascara stuck in the epithelial tissue of my inner eyelid.  GROSS!  I had a red eye for most of the day waiting for the cells to shed and with it, release this irritating mass of pigment that seemed tattooed on my inner eyelid.  By the end of the day I had a weird black eye booger and that’s when I stopped.  And that’s how I’m rating this mascara.

As far as smudge-proof mascara this is good.  But if you want long-wearing, easy to apply mascara for sensitive eyes then I suggest getting Blinc mascara. 

Confection
I had some talk here about me being a quasi-hipster that somehow led to ice cream.  I really don't know what that was all about but I do remember the ice cream.

Humphry Slocombe Secret Breakfast

  

Go on, have a bite!

 This ice cream is awesome!  It's a mix of ice cream, candied corn flakes and a good splash of bourbon.  The candied cornflakes ensure that the crunch remains intact.  The bourbon is the best secret ever.

The ice cream though tends to butter up.  As in when you dig your spoon in the container enough times, a greasy saturated layer forms over the spoon.  I don't know if this is due to the alcohol or just the high fat content, but it's something to be aware of.

If you're ever in the neighborhood then stop by.  A scoop will turn into a pint that will turn into 4 pints.  There's usually a line out front but if you go in the morning or in the evening before they close there's usually no wait.