ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – BK Cracking Jade Green Crackle Nail Polish
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
I’m sure you are tired of me saying, over and over again, that I’m not a big fan of crackle manicures. One of the main reasons I don’t like it is the way the new generation shatters. I loved the old school CoverGirl Crackle Lacquer with its subtle multi-directional veining. Not the thick, chunky shards that we’re currently seeing. Now last summer when I first wrote about crackle nail polish, I mentioned an etailer that sold another type of crackle called BK Cracking. I ordered a bunch but when I received them, the polish flaked off so I thought they were duds and threw them to the wayside. THEN, the clouds parted, birds sang and I saw the light thanks to Styrch from Pretty In Dayton. She posted about a crackle polish called Kelier and thanks to her application tips I was able to get the BK Cracking to work. Check it out! |
Formula & Application: The website where I purchased BK Cracking does not list the ingredients. All they state is that the polish is “Water based & nontoxic” so take that as you will. The rounded triangular shaped bottles contain a thin, round brush with stiff bristles. The brush isn’t the best but it hasn’t caused any dragging, from what I can tell, so it certainly gets the job done.
The polish itself is really thin and easy to apply. It flows on so nice and smooth and, in the case of the Jade Green color I used, it applies semi-sheer, so if you use a glitter/shimmer underneath it will become part of the finish.
Application Tips: Throw out everything you’ve learned about working with crackle/shatter nail polishes. This is a totally different animal. The only tip that still applies is: Thin coats = more crackling
- Apply over WET nail polish. By the time you finish polishing all the nails on one hand, you can start applying BK Crackling.
- Applying over dry nail polish will cause it to flake off in shards like metallic particles repelling a magnet.
- Allow 3-5 minutes of dry time for the crackles to appear. It can take even longer depending on how thick you apply it.
- You can apply a second coat immediately after the first to intensify the color
- Apply top coat to prevent the crackle polish from flaking off.
BK Cracking Jade Green had me a hello. This emerald green stunner is so vibrant, pictures don’t do it justice. I applied it over China Glaze Cheers To You, a silver foil, and Jade Green took its metallic texture in the finished product. It looks as though I used flakes of green nail foil. Love, love, love this look!
Bottom Line: Now that I actually know how to use the BK Cracking polishes I can honestly say I’m in love with crackle nails. But only this type of crackle. The thicker, shatter style still isn’t really me though the metallic versions aren’t bad.
365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: No one is getting their hands on my BK Cracking. STASH!
BK Cracking nail polish is available online from Trendin Cosmetics. The nail polishes retail for $6/ea for a 10ml bottle. They also sell Gradient Nail kits and FT Cosmetics Shatter but that appears to break like OPI Shatter.
Thoughts on the BK Cracking polishes? Does this style of crackle appeal to you or are you more of a shatter fan? What other brands do you know of that work like BK Cracking? I see that Kelier is no longer available from Born Pretty Store. Are there any other sellers?
Disclosure: I purchased this nail polish. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
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Spa pediccure chairs
The Kleancolor crack polish is similar to this, but not in metallic – just creamy colors. I prefer this look, too!
Thanks for the heads up. Jade Green is a creme as well but as I mentioned in the post, because it is semi-sheer, the foil shows through and becomes part of the finish.
I LOVE this! It’s exactly what I always wanted crackle polish to look like. I’d love to see swatches of more of their crackle colors.
I love this! Any news on UK availability?
I love this look! much better than the chucky crakles, as you said! It seems to be a foil!
Finally a green crackle nail polish. I think this is the firts one I’ve seen. I like that it’s metallic too. I hope there are more green crackle nail polishes coming out and other colors besides black, blue, red, silver, gold,and white. There almost all dupable.
Just so you know, it is not a metallic crackle. In the Formula & Application section I mentioned that it applies semi-sheer so it takes on the finish of the polish below, which is a foil. If you apply it over a creme, it will be creamy.
I bought these too – and was honestly just about ready to throw them away – I have black, red, and pink… I actually like the new gen of crackles, though I prefer them when applied in a cheveron pattern.
Now that I know how they at least WORK I may have to swap them.
Thanks for clarifying that the metallic finish is more a result of the foundation colour’s finish. I like that it can appear either creme or metallic- very versatile!
I LOVE THIS! The crackle effect is different than the OPI ones too!
I hope you swatch the other colors you bought!
With ya on liking ONLY this kind of crackle – thin like I wish they all were. It does not have the thick looks like rubber tire tread was left on your fingers look to it. Now if this company can do it – how come the others have got the rubber tire look? I like this – but it will take me some time looking at it and in different colors too before I really can say I am a convert to the trend. Like the green over the silver metallic. But my first thought was with the green it reminded me of pop art drawing of a turtle’s shell!!!
I wonder what this would look like if you did not brush it up and down vertically on the nail but did a swirl? Since it’s not thick I could see it might come out looking really cool. – Just a suggestion for you to try. I have seen another blogger do her crackles in a non linear pattern and I like the look when it cracks despite I am not a shatter/crackle fan.
Hmm, sounds interesting. By swirl, do you mean like how I applied the China Glaze Turquoise crackle from different directions to create a turquoise stone type effect?
I really like this crackle. I’m on the fence about the crackle finish. It seems like everyone is making them. I just wish every company wanted to make holos!
now this is a crackle i can get behind! i’ve actually kind of hated the other crackles, but this is so cool, especially over the metallic!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one that longs for the Cover Girl 90′s style crackle with this new class, it was the best and I am so glad to see that there is at lease one company doing it right!!!
Beautiful! Thanks for the post!
I really like this combination and the way the polish cracks. So far I own OPI and P2 metallic shatters and their texture is very similar: very thick, clumps easily, dries way too fast for my liking. Hope I can find this brand somewhere over here!
I love this! I agree with you about the CoverGirl crackles. The smaller veiny cracks were more visually appealing than the earthquake gaps we see today.
I love the old style crackle much better too, more like glass less like dried cake mix.
Let us know how removal goes if you can. It looks like it should be no problem but half of the old glass shatters I have remove well and the other half act as large impervious pieces of glitter that will cling like Leonardo DiCaprio to a piece of driftwood.
I love the look of this crackle too…subtle and edgy. does that make sense? I love how it take the finish of the polish beneath!!! I really would like to find something like this in an actual store!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this look! This looks so much cleaner than the chunky crackle polishes I’ve been seeing lately. I think you’ve inspired me to review them for my blog
I prefer the subtle veining of this type of crackle polishes too! I have been trying to find this type of crackles that is reminiscent of the old school cover girl’s crackle polishes. I will have to check these out.
I’m another who is still kind of on-the-fence about crackles. I’ve used a couple of the China Glazes and a couple of the Pure Ice and prefer them to the OPIs and others I’ve seen as those look exactly as you described…like someone left tire tread on your nails! Tried the Sephora Burst on one nail the other day at the store and it didn’t even crack! This one, tho, I like!
I’m with you. I have a hard time with the new crackle look. I like the old school crackle too. I’m tempted to try this one out. It looks great on you. Did you use two coats?
I love this style of crackle. I always apply the shatter polishes really thick to get this type of effect. I’m definitely going to get doing a little eBay shopping! X
This is a gorgeous color, but still not a fan o f the crackle trend :-/
I really like it too and I ordered a purple bottle from the same etailer in januari but I never recieved it.. I emailed with them a couple of times and they were talking abuot sending me a new one but then they stopped answering the emails.. so.. I will have to live without it I
Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that. That’s terrible. Is there any way you can dispute the charge?
No I don
These are kinda like the Barry M Croc effects, they’re made to look like this, but better cracks.