What is “Shatter” Polish? It’s a top coat that transforms into a really cool effect. Think of a plate falling to the floor and shattering into many pieces and that’s the the effect you get on your nails. In the photo above, Katy Perry is wearing the “Black Shatter” polish on her nails as a top coat over “Teenage Dream” (glittery pink nail polish in the line-up above). OPI launched this collection in January 2011. In May, OPI released 5 more “Shatter” nail polishes in other colors. Both “White Shatter” and “Red Shatter” were designed by Serena Williams for her “Grand Slam! France” Collection. The other three,”Blue Shatter”, “Navy Shatter”, and “Turquoise Shatter” will be released as stand-alone shades (not part of any collection). Notice how the tops on the “Shatter” polishes are different than the tops on normal (i.e. non-shatter) OPI nail polishes.

What is “Crackle” Polish? Same concept, different brand. In this case, the brand is China Glaze (my favorite nail polish brand). While OPI only released 1 Black Shatter polish in January, China Glazes released 6 Crackle polishes in February. I ordered all 6 from Amazon.com as soon as they were available for purchase and can’t stop playing with them ever since they arrived. Wherever I go, women keep stopping me to ask about my nails which is why I decided to make this post with all the info you lovelies might need.

Black Mesh: Black crackle

Lightening Bolt: White Crackle

Broken Hearted: Pink Crackle

Cracked Concrete: Gray Crackle

Crushed Candy: Teal Crackle

Fault Line: Purple Crackle

As innovative as ever, China Glaze are going to be releasing 6 more “Crackles” in metallic shades, this summer.

Tarnished Gold: Warm Honeyed Hue

Platinum Pieces: Shimmer Silver

Haute Metal: Pale Pink

Cracked Medallion: Bold Bronze

Latticed Lilac: Soft Lavender

Oxidized Aqua: Deep Aquamarine Blue

What is “Graffiiti” Polish? Again same concept, different brand. “Graffiti” is by the brand Isadora. They came out with 6 colors as shown in the above photo. Notice how the shade names tie into the whole “Graffiti” theme. I thought that was a nice touch.

Subway Green: Dark Green

Spraycan Blue: Dark Blue

Black Tag: Black

White Art: White

Masterpiece: Bright Pink

Yellow Crew: Yellow

Due to their popularity, Isadora released 4 more Graffiti Top Coat Polishes.

Pink Bite: Light Pink

Blue Burner: Light Blue

Latte Queen: Beige

All City Brown: Dark Brown

All 10 “Graffiti” nail polishes are available for purchase in Kuwait from Isadora which can be found at “Boots” and “Centrepoint”. I got “Yellow Crew” because I didn’t have anything like it in my collection and it seemed like a fun color to play with.

What is “Tiger” Nail Polish? Again same concept, different brand. The Italian brand Pupa has come out with a different approach to this trend. They are selling the special top coat polish as part of a two-piece set as seen in the photo above. The lower droplet is the shade of the normal nail polish and the upper droplet is the “special” polish. Due to the Shatter/Crackle/Graffiti effect on nails, Kuwaiti ladies have dubbed these special polishes simply as “Tiger”. I’ve overheard countless women asking the sales assistants that work at the Pupa counters about the “Tiger” polishes.

How do you use the Shatter/Crackle/Graffiti/Tiger Nail Polish? Ideally, you are supposed to have already painted your nails the color that you want to be peeking through the special polish. Let’s say a glittery gold nail polish for example. It should be completely dry. Then you choose the special polish that you want and apply it. In this example, let’s use “Black Shatter” by OPI. After you apply the “Black Shatter” to your golden colored nails, the “Black Shatter” will seperate into a beautiful unique design right in front of your eyes.

Many other brands are coming out with their own version of these special polishes. If you’re in Germany, check out the brand P2. If you’re currently in the UK then look out for Barry M. If you’re in the US, stop by Sally Hansen.

Tips&Tricks: Apply one generous (but not too thick or it will never dry) coat of these special polishes for a perfect crackle effect. Do not apply two coats of the special polish. Also make sure it’s not too thin otherwise it might not work.