I’m addicted to crack….polishes! But are they everything they’re cracked up to be? Is crack whack? Should I just get cracking on this review and stop making cheesy puns? Okay, fine, buzz kill!

Now, I’m sure everyone, their mother, and their cat, Rumpelstiltskin, has heard about the crackle trend.

OPI caused a frenzy with Black Shatter even though it was really CoverGirl who brought crackle nail polish into the mainstream years ago.

Since I’m always up for trying new colors and nail art, the China Glaze Crackle Glaze Collection was a must-have. Pre-ordered every single color…yet for some reason I’m only trying one of them now!

China Glaze Broken Hearted is the pink version. You can create a poop-load of funky color combinations!

I layered it over a fun yellow because I wanted something offbeat and in-your-face. Did I like it? How was China Glaze’s crackle formula? There’s only one way to find out.

China Glaze Broken Hearted Pictures

China Glaze Broken Hearted Swatches

All swatches have:

• 1 coat of Orly Bonder Rubberized Basecoat
• 2 coats of Orly Spark
• 1 coat of China Glaze Broken Hearted
• 1 coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (unless stated otherwise)

Click here to check out my Orly Spark swatches & review

Claim: TRUSTED

√ Creates a deconstructed crackle design over any other nail lacquer for an edgy effect

Key Notes

• Name: China Glaze Broken Hearted
• Collection: Crackle Glaze 2011
• China Glaze Crackle Glaze Collection Colors Available: Broken Hearted, Black Mesh, Crushed Candy, Fault Line, Cracked Concrete & Lightning Bolt
• Amount: 14 mL (0.5 fl.oz.)
• What I Paid: $3.68 USD
• Where to Buy: Trans Design (currently out of stock, but they may restock) & some Sally Beauty Supply stores

China Glaze Broken Hearted Crackle Glaze Review

First of all, let me just say that I messed up 3 of my nails on my left hand – they didn’t crackle as rectangularly as the rest. Sooo…I was forced to photograph my right hand, and being right-handed, this was really challenging. Even when I use my dominant hand, I’m not the steadiest, so photographing with my left hand was a nightmare.

Since I was wearing an Eastery yellow, I thought it would add some zing with a coat of the China Glaze Crackle Glaze, Broken Hearted.  Yellow and pink go together…at least in my mind.

Color

Although my swatches with flash show Broken Hearted by China Glaze as being a medium pink, when I layered it over Orly Spark, the contrast made the pink crackle polish appear more like coral. There was definitely a reddish tone. And because it looks reddish, it reminded me of blood or y’know those muscle-anatomy photos in science books? Yeah…those! Don’t like it.

Perhaps if I layered this over a different (and darker) color, it would remind me less of gruesome and more of awesome.

It would be neat if you use this over white or an anemic base color for Hallowe’en. It would look like bloody fingernails – perfect if you’re going as a serial-killer nurse, a zombie, or some other character from the horror genre.

Application, Formula & Brush

China Glaze Broken Hearted was thinner than OPI Black Shatter. It goes on smoothly, dries matte, and dries quickly. However, because the brush is so thin, I found it tricky to apply a complete coat on each nail without re-dipping it into the bottle to get more polish.

Finish

Since the pink China Glaze crackle polish dries matte, you’ll need to use a top coat not just for a shiny finish, but also so the shattered pieces don’t flake off.

Ingredients

Its Big-3-free formula wins points for those who are ingredient-conscious. No formaldehyde, toluene, or DBP here, folks!

Tips for Applying Crackle Polish

The trick to applying crackle polishes is to use thin coats for the best effect. If you want your cracked pieces to be larger, use thicker coats.

The direction of the cracks can be changed based on how you apply the polish. I used conventional cuticle-to-nail-tip brushstrokes for a linear-crackle effect. Experiment with left-to-right brushstrokes or even zigzags for something different and interesting

Pros Pretty pink/coral color instead of your standard black Affordable Dries quickly Easy-to-use Creates a cool shattered effect when layered over any polishes you already own

Cons Dries matte & requires top coat (but you should be using a top coat always anyway) Can be hard-to-find

Final Verdict: 9/10

I do like this pink crackle polish a lot even though my color-combination choice wasn’t ideal. It was easy to apply and crackled well for the most part. If you’re looking for a colorful crackle that isn’t your standard black, I recommend you try this.

Do you (dis)like the crackle trend? What are some crackle polishes you’ve tried? If you could create your own crackle polish, what color would it be?

Other Crackle Polishes I’ve Reviewed & Swatched:

• OPI Black Shatter
• OPI Silver Shatter
• OPI White Shatter
• OPI Red Shatter