The latest nail polish phenomenon for Spring 2011 is a textured finish. These special lacquers, when applied to a dried solid color leave behind a leopard print, “cracked” pattern on each nail.

First, OPI entered the arena with Black Shatter in its Katy Perry and Serena Williams collections. They also just debuted Silver Shatter, a glitter topcoat version, and are set to roll out white and red variations in May. Also, China Glaze  debuted a full line of Crackle polishes. It includes six shades to create an edgy new look on nails: Lightning Bolt (white), Black Mesh (black crackle), Broken Hearted (pink crackle), Cracked Concrete (grey crackle), Fault Line (purple crackle) and Crushed Candy (teal crackle).

Happi tested these trendy nail products over a dark blue—Ski Teal We Drop by OPI, to be specific. First, you apply a standard base coat and solid color, and then you apply the special polish. Interestingly enough, the lighter hues—such as Lightning Bolt white and Broken Hearted pink, seemed to “pop” more when the colors dried and cracked. The white almost even has a cool “airbrushed” effect, picking up pieces of the color in certain segments. The black and grey blended in with the blue, so might work better over a silver or gold metallic. 

The texture is tactual besides visual – you can feel the grooves and layers over the nails, and they shine more after adding a topcoat. From a distance, the cracked look almost has an airbrushed effect.

So, to crackle or not to crackle? If you’re looking to mix up your nails for Spring, this is an easy way to have fun with color, as you can layer the crackle over a variety of colors each week. Next time, I’m crackling over some metallic hues–or maybe some 1980s-style neon!