Essie: Absolutely Shore + Burst Crackle: Four Rolling Hills

If Eisenbrat weren't soundly snoring in her bed right now she'd probably want to kill me for posting Absolutely Shore.  However this polish fiend got it first and it happens to be the perfect undie coat for my new favorite crackle brand.  I'm sorry, OPI, but Burst has shocked me with their great formula.  It just doesn't get thick like the others.  It covers in 3 perfect swipes and even if you use 2 coats it shatters pretty darn well.  I'm getting ahead of myself, back to Essie.

2 coats Absolutely Shore, no top coat + artificial light

Absolutely Shore is from this Summer's collection and is quickly becoming hard to find.  All Essie's are 3 Free these days and tend to have a squishy jelly-creme hybrid texture.  This minty green is no exception and is opaque in 2 coats.  The bottle and brush need no introduction at this point.  If you have any questions I will gladly answer them!  Be aware that the photo makes this look like it leans blue way more than it does.  It is definitely a good bit greener IRL.

Now for what you were really interested in, the crackle effect.

1 coat Four Rolling Hills over Absolutely Shore, naturally matte/no top coat + artificial light

The bottle shape for these seems to be almost identical to a Seche Vite bottle.  The top is just about half an inch taller.  It actually makes it easier to hold.  As far as I can tell these are 3 Free.  They are available for $3.75 at both TransDesign and Victoria's Nail Supply!  They even beat the other brands in price.  My guess is Color Club's upcoming collection of crackles will be in this price range, but I'm not optimistic on the ability of any other brand to compete with this.  WARNING: your base polish needs to be completely dry.  I know other brands tell you that it needs to be dry, but realistically it just needs to be mostly dry.  I thought my black polish on my wheel was totally dry, but I was wrong and the polish pulled apart intensely. Bonus - they work over top coat.  I have not really had much of an issue with this in other brands, but there is a dirty blog rumor saying no crackles over top coat. 

1 coat Four Rolling Hills over Absolutely Shore + Seche Vite top coat + artificial light

As you can see 2 pics up, the crackle dries matte.  It is also really lovely with a top coat on it as shown right above.  It looks like its patchy almost/has uneven application, BUT this is just something that shows up under my super bright artificial light.  I also am aware that I have plastic stuck on my thumb...I'm a mess!

Verdict? This afternoon I placed an order for 5 more of these!  I also already got a pink and will show you soon :)  Can you tell what I think?  I know I hide it really well haha.

Check back tomorrow for info about our 100 follower giveaway!  Hint: It's NEVER in stock these days!  Any guesses?

-Shbecky

P.S.  @DailyNail - you need this!