Since the middle of the last century, vintage style has come into fashion, which is now at the peak of popularity, and therefore decorators really want to age everything. The word craquelure in French means crack. Ancient paintings have cracks in the upper colorful or lacquer layer that have formed from time to time, but with the help of craquelure varnish, any surface can be artificially aged. Special craquelure nail polish appeared in 2011 at the annual international exhibition of professional cosmetics Intercharm, held in Moscow, where it made a splash.
The trendy craquelure nail polish is also called graffiti and python lacquer, since with it you can achieve the effect of snake or crocodile skin. The varnish collection initially contained eight colors, and already in the summer a new super popular collection of craquelure varnishes, including 17 shades, was released. The new collection was also released in mini-bottles, so it is very convenient to take it with you on a trip.
The new varnish has one feature - it glows under UV lighting. The colors of the varnish are selected depending on what should happen. For example, to get the effect of an ancient gzhel, you need to use blue and white colors, and to create the effect of antique porcelain you need to use white or a shade of baked milk. Craquelure nail polish in combination with ordinary will create the effect of like skin.
Craquelure varnishes are produced by various leading companies, for example, China Glase, OPI, XD, Crackle and others. The question that worries many fashionistas is where to buy craquelure varnish? Cracked varnish begins to go on sale, you can buy it in specialized stores, or in the cosmetic departments of supermarkets. In large cities, you can buy it in the transitions, or you can buy craquelure nail polish and through online stores that offer the services of managers who will advise on all issues and help you choose the right product.
Fashionable manicure made in the style of "Vintage" can be done even at home. To do this, in addition to colored varnish and the base for varnish, you will need a craquelure varnish, the application technique of which consists of three stages. First, as usual, the nail plate is coated with a base varnish. Then the nails are varnished, which will be visible through the cracks. After the color layer dries, you need to apply craquelure varnish. If the python lacquer is applied to a dry layer, then the desired effect will not work. Craquelure varnish should be applied with a thin layer so that the bottom layer is slightly visible.
If you want to get the effect of deep cracks, the colors are selected opposite, for example, black and white, purple and orange, blue and yellow. Complementary colors will not give a very textured effect and the manicure will look more natural. Using the stretching technique with the help of several python varnishes, you can create a unique pattern for each nail. When the craquelure varnish dries, cracks gradually appear and a pattern is obtained.
Now a few small secrets of the competent use of spectacular varnish. For some reason, manufacturing companies are bashfully silent about this, and the suggested tips are based only on practical application.
After applying a layer of colored varnish, it must be thoroughly dried, otherwise the craquelure layer will turn tuberous. The craquelure itself must be shaken for a long time before use. The fact is that this type of varnish is very liquid, and during storage many solid components and pigments simply settle to the bottom. Therefore, a long agitation is needed. And the varnish itself, despite its liquid consistency, dries very quickly after application to the nails - just instantly. This means that you need to apply it with one thick smear, and not in the way that varnishes are usually applied. If he has time to dry out a bit and at the same time continue to drive with a brush over it for evenness or to add smears, then the cracks will turn out to be too regular in shape and too smooth and dull.
Varnishes of different companies give their own unique pattern - some cracks are smaller, while others have large ones.
If desired, a universal transparent coating can be applied over the resulting pattern as a finish. In this case, the manicure will receive additional shine and will last longer.