Tip Top Swatches & Review

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday! Today I have several polishes to show you. A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Joan Kahn (Director of Tip Top Nails CC and Founder of Tip Top Products) after she saw my Facebook page. She offered to let me try Tip Top polishes. Honestly, I had not heard of the brand before. But after seeing the Facebook page and website, I knew I definitely had to try them.

Tip Top was founded in 1981 in South Africa. The products were originally exclusively for professional nail technicians and is now available to everyone. All the polishes are vegan, containing no formaldehyde, toluene, DBP (dibuthyl phthalate) or camphor. So they are Big 4 Free, in addition to being cruelty free (no animal testing).

I received five polishes from the NailChic line, two crackles (not pictured above), base coat, and a top coat to try. My immediate reaction upon opening the box and unwrapping these bottles was how gorgeous they look. Believe it or not, they look even better on the nail.

For all of my swatches, I used the Toughen Up Maxi Growth Base Coat and Top Coat (for dry, brittle, and damaged nails). The base coat goes on very smooth, as does the top coat. I will let you all know later if they increase growth. All of the polishes come in a 10mL/0.33 fl oz bottle and contain vitamin E for extra moisturization.

Meringue Surprise is a light pink creme, a tad dustier than most pale pink polishes. The application is smooth and opaque in two coats. Its a gorgeous neutral shade and honestly different than the other pale pinks I own because of the slight dustiness. 

Rough Melon is a dusty melon orange frost like shimmer. The name fits this polish perfectly. It leans toward being a frost, but with minimal visible stroke lines. The application is good and opaque in one coat, though I used two for good measure. Its a beautiful color though I'm still on the fence about whether or not its a good color for me.

Decked Out is a bright red toned orange jelly filled with gold shimmer. Its a bit sheer with slight visible nail line after three coats. The VNL is not nearly as noticeable as it seems in the first picture, much more subtle like the second. I had a hard time capturing just how much shimmer this polish has. Its simply gorgeous. The application is a dream.

Chocolate Truffle is a deep red toned brown jelly. The application is smooth and glides on like a dream, opaque in two coats. I honestly thought this was a simple brown creme when I saw the bottle. I was blown away to see how amazing it looks on the nail. Its absolutely gorgeous! Smooth and glossy even before top coat.

Jeepers Creepers is a darkened teal with green and blue flecks. The application is perfection and opaque in two coats. I love the shimmer in this one. Very aquatic. Its stands apart from the other darkened teals I own.

White Confetti is a white crackle creme. A basic crackle color. However, the application and crackle effect are much better than the most of the whites I have tried. Gold is a gold shimmer crackle. I expected it to be sheer, since shimmer crackles tend to be sheer. It went beyond my expectations and applied opaque with a gorgeous shimmer.

The application on all of these polishes is perfect, with the exception of Rough Melon. It was not bad, just not up to par with the rest. Let's not forget the brush. The brushes on these was very easy to work with. Flat, flexible, and just the right width.

After trying all of these polishes, I have to say I am very impressed with the brand. Honestly. If I have a bad experience, I let others know because I hate for people to buy something when its not worth purchasing.

Make sure you check out Tip Top's Facebook page. They hold nail art contests on a regular basis.

Disclosure: The product in this post were provided to me for consideration. All opinions are mine and honest.

Maybelline Magenta Mirage over Essence Grey-t To Be Here

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday! I have a nice combination to show you today. Hopefully you are not over crackle. 

Maybelline Magenta Mirage is a bright magenta shimmer crackle with a bit of a blue flash. The crackle effect is not very strong. I tried thick and thin coats. It still is a pretty polish though. I layered it over Essence Grey-t To Be Here, light gray creme with pink shimmer that shifts to rose gold at the right angle.

OPI Shatter the Scales

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday! I know most are over the crackle fad. I still like them. Shatter the Scales has been sitting in my wishlist since swatches of the OPI Spiderman Collection first started popping up. I received it in a birthday gift recently and immediately wanted to wear it.

OPI Shatter the Scales is a dark blue toned green with silver flecks. Even if crackle is not your cup of tea, you have to attempt the polish itself is gorgeous. It shattered very well on all of my fingers with minimal effort. It really pops over white. While debating what polish to wear underneath, I tried gold which is gorgeous as well.

Shatter the Scales is part of the OPI Spiderman Collection and retails for $8.50 at Dillard’s, JCPenney, Trade Secret, and Ulta along with various websites.

Creatively Using Crackle

I hope you are enjoying your Thursday! Today I have a manicure to show you that happened as a sort of accident.

I wanted to prolong my time between polish changes, so I decided to add a pretty crackle over my existing polish, Cosmetic Arts In Bloom. So I dug out Funky Fingers Teal Scales. However, it did not crack on the first finger. So I scratched at it. Odd thing to do, but it gave an interesting effect. Not exactly cracks, but more like odd shaped holes. Kind of reminds me of bleach splattered jeans.

China Glaze Broken Hearted over Mahogany Magic

I hope everyone is enjoying their Thursday! I also hope you are not tired of crackle yet. I cannot help but like the texture, despite how I felt about it when the trend first started.

I started off with two coats of China Glaze Mahogany Magic, a milk chocolate creme. For my crackle, I used Broken Hearted, a hot pink creme. I wish the pink had popped a little more, but I do like this combination. The application on both of these is very good. Both went on very well. And so far this crackle has not thickened up.

China Glaze Crackle Glaze retail for $3-6; they are on clearance, so the prices and availability vary. Mahogany Magic is part of the China Glaze Capitol Colours Collection and retails for $5-7. Both can be found at various stores and websites (including Sally's Beauty Supply, Ulta, Head2Toe Beauty, and Amazon. 

Everything Blue

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday! Today, I have a layering combination to show you with nothing but blue polishes.

I am really enjoying wearing this combo! I started off with two coats of Ulta Mint Condition. Next, I did a layer of Finger Paints Motley. You can see some of the flakies peeking out behind the crackle. Finally, I did a coat of Funky Fingers Teal Scales. It is a gorgeous crackle with tons of shimmer. The application on all of these is wonderful.

Ulta Nail Lacquer retails for $6 at Ulta. Motley is part of the Finger Paints Special Effects Collection and retails for $5 exclusive at Sally Beauty Supply. Most stores are sold out (given it is Limited Edition)  though some sites online will have them. Funky Fingers Crackle retails for $4 at Five Below.

Color Club Poptastic and My Franken Shatter Shock

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday! I have a cute manicure to show you that's been sitting on my computer since earlier this month. On PAA, there was a Monday Nail Art Challenge with the theme "Pets". Any manicure was fine as long as you featured your pet (or stuffed animal) in the picture.

I painted all of my nails with two coats of Color Club Poptastic, a bright pink creme. The application is perfect. Then I layered my franken crackle on every other nail. Bridget Benike (a lovely lady I know from PAA) named my franken Shatter Shock. Its a black holo crackle. In the pictures, it appears to be a scattered holo. But in person, its linear; similar to Revvvolution. The last picture was taken with a flash to really show the holo.

As I mentioned before, I did this combination for the Pets theme. So I took a picture with my chihuahua Butterscotch. Not a very good nail shot, but I was more focused on having her stay still. Most of the pictures were blurry because she was moving.

Poptastic is part of the Color Club Poptastic Collection. It retails for $4-8 various places online.

Nightmare Before Christmas

I hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday! I have a Nightmare Before Christmas inspired manicure to show you today. If you haven't seen the movie, its a must. How can anyone turn down an animated movie from the mind of Tim Burton?

I painted all of my fingers (except for my ring finger) with two coats of Disney Jack Skellington Red. Its a pretty red shimmer in the cutest bottle, shaped like Jack Skellington's head. I got it in a set of three from Claire's. On my thumbs and pinkys, I layered on one coat of Fabulous Nails Midnight Black Crackle. On my index fingers, I did polka dots with Sinful Colors Black on Black and a dotting tool. Finally on my ring fingers, I used nail art stickers I got in a set from Claire's. On my left hand, I have Sally, and on the right, I have Jack and Sally.

Jack Skellington Red (the set did not come with names, but its Jack's head and red) applied very well. I was honestly surprised with how pretty it is. The nail art stickers, however, were a pain. They seemed to stay on well for a few minutes before they became to curl up near my cuticle. Maybe its just me. I know adhesives react differently to everyone. I do plan on trying them again before I make up my mind on them.

Both the Jack Skellington polish set and the Nightmare Before Christmas nail art stickers are on clearance at Claire's. If they are still available, they retail for $1-4. Sinful Colors retail for $2 at Walgreens (online/in store) and Target (in store). They're also available for $2.50 at Cherry Culture. Fabulous Nails retail for $15 on their website.

China Glaze Crushed Candy

I hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday! I'm still fond of crackle, so I have a Spring colored combination to show you today.

I layered one coat of China Glaze Crushed Candy over three thin coats of Sinful Colors Unicorn, which you can see by itself here. I had to thin out Crushed Candy a bit halfway through my mani. I noticed it thick enough not to crack well. From what I've heard, crackles are notorious for needing thinner. Worth it though.

I liked how my right hand cracked, so I took a picture of it too. I know rightie isn't seen much.

Sinful Colors retail for $2 at Walgreens (online/in store) and Target (in store). They're also available for $2.50 at Cherry Culture. China Glaze Crackle Glaze retail for $3-6 at various stores and websites (including Sally's Beauty Supply, Ulta, Head2Toe Beauty, and Amazon . They are on clearance at most places, so the prices vary. 

Shattered Hearts

I hope everyone is enjoying their Monday! This week's Monday Nail Art Challenge on PAA is "Love Me, Love Me Not" or Valentine's Day/Anti Valentine's Day. I've done a few cute Valentine's manis, so I thought Anti Valentine's Day was in order.

In the top two pictures, you get to see rightie make an appearance. Since I'm right handed, I generally take pictures of my left hand. However, I liked the heart on my right hand better, so I had to get a picture.

On my index fingers, I used two coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White then layered Sally Hansen Cherry Smash using a heart stencil I cut out. I wanted little shattered hearts. On the rest of my fingers, I used two coats of Wet n Wild Red Tape then China Glaze Lightning Bolt.