Too Sexy for My Nails: Catrice Fred Said Red

I love this polish and I love this color.  I recently participated in a swap with my friend Laura in the Netherlands.  She sent me a boat load of Catrice polishes.  With my affinity for red my eyes were drawn to Fred Said Red.  I knew when I saw it in the bottles it would be the first of all the polishes she sent me to adorn my nails.



Fred Said Red is a tomato red jelly polish.  Sadly my pictures are a bit more matte than I would have liked and did not show off the jelly goodness.  And the wear of this polish is impeccable!  I wore this all day while working in the yard with minimal damage.  I loved it so much I wanted to keep wearing it for brunch with my mom for Mother’s Day.  I did some minor touch up, applied another topcoat and what you see in these pictures is the end result. 

So here is how I rate Catrice Fred Said Red:

Brand          Catrice
Name         Fred Said Red
Polish Type         Jelly
Color                    4 (it’s red, duh!) 

color scale of 1 to 4

                   1 – utter crud
                   2 – not so great
                   3 – pretty but…
                   4 – Lovin’ It
Wear                         4                 

wear scale of 1 to 4

                    1 – chippy, chip, chip
                    2 – don’t wash dishes in this
                    3 – lasted longer than my deodorant
                    4 -  Only super glue is stronger


This polish is awesome in every way.  I hated to take it off. So what do you think?  Have you tried Catrice polishes?  What is your favorite?

Guest Post: Erika from Polish Fixation

Hi all!  My name is Erika and I have a nail blog called polish fixation.  I was excited when Shannon asked if I’d like to have a guest post here at her The Kracked Kat!  Of course I couldn’t say no! I do all sorts of posts over on my blog, much like you find here.  I try to mix it up and offer swatches, stamping, and other nail art techniques like water marble, splatter, etc.

Today the post I am excited to share is Super hero themed, The Avengers, to be precise!

This mani was super fun to design.  I used lots of different polishes and stamping plates so I will just list everything at the end of the post.  For now, just enjoy the pics!

In case you are unsure, the fingers represent the following avengers:
Thumb: Hulk
Index: Captain America
Middle: Thor
Ring: Iron Man
Pinkie: Black Widow.

I know I am missing Hawkeye...but since I don't have a sixth finger, I had to choose one to leave out!  Sorry Hawkeye, no disrespect! ;)

So here is a list of all the polishes I used for this mani:
Hulk:  Kiko 278 with Cherimoya 2012 crackle in Extraterrestrial
Captain America: Sally Hansen Rapid Red, Konad Special Stamping polishes in White and Blue Pearl
Thor: Maybelline Color Show in Impeccable Greys, Sally Hansen Slick Slate, Konad Special polish White, Color Club Daisy Does It.
Iron Man:  Ozotic Pro 518, Face of Australia Molten Metallics in Gold, Sonia Kashuk Smoke & Mirrors, Sally Hansen Brisk Blue
Black Widow:  Sonia Kashuk Starry Night, Konad Special polish White, Wet N Wild Black Creme, Sally Hansen Rapid Red

Stamping Plates Used:
DRK-A, Cheeky CH4, Konad Charming Nails plate, Shany SH09, B38.



I had so much fun with this! Thank you again to Shannon the Kracked Kat for having me guest post here!

If you like what you've seen here and would like to find me, here are some useful links:

Polish Fixation
Polish Fixation on Facebook
Polish Fixation on Twitter
Polish Fixation on Pinterest!

Day Glo!: Orly Passion Fruit

I was in the mood for a little neon on my nails. Since I don’t own the China Glaze Summer 2012 Neons, yet (note the qualifier ‘yet’) I dug out the closest thing I had to a neon.  I read somewhere that the best way to show off a neon polish was to layer it over a coat of white polish.  So that is what I did.  The result?  Not my best manicure but one I will repeat once I have the time necessary to put into making it “perfect.”



I started with a double coat of China Glaze White on White.  This was my first mistake.  Two coats was a bit much and didn’t dry quite as fast as I would have liked.  Besides, is there a white polish out there that doesn’t streak?

Then I swiped on one coat of Orly Passion Fruit.  Passion Fruit is a bright bright pink crème that dries matte which is typical of most neon polishes.  The formula was a bit thin and runny so in applying it I either didn’t get enough on the nail or I got too much.  The “shadows” in the pictures are where the color applied too thickly.

Getting a good picture of this polish was the tricky part.  My area of the country has lacked sun for the last couple days not to mention the fact that Passion Fruit did not like to play nice with the camera.  The outcome being subpar photos of a rushed manicure.  Maybe next time will be better?

Fiesta on My Fingertips: Essie Ole Caliente

Today’s manicure is Ole Caliente from the Essie Navigate Her Spring Collection.  This was also the very first Essie nail polish.  It was sent to me for Easter in a Secret Bunny exchange a while.  I was so tickled to get this polish that I couldn’t wait to put it on.  Essie Ole Caliente had been on my wish list for a while. 


Ole Caliente is a hot pepper red crème polish.  Two coats covered my nails nicely and I topped it with a coat of Poshe topcoat.  I wore this manicure a day or two and then decided to try to extend the life a little by adding some cute stickers gifted to me by another friend.  Pay no attention to the boo-boo on my thumb.

I really liked this polish.  I have heard that some people have had problems with the formula of the Essie polishes.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect so I didn’t have any preconceived notions how this polish was supposed to behave.  I try to approach each polish with an open mind. And since I didn’t experience any problems I have added several new Essie polishes to my collection since. 

Brand          Essie
Name         Ole Caliente
Polish Type         Creme
Color                         4 (it’s red, duh!) 

color scale of 1 to 4

                   1 – utter crud
                   2 – not so great
                   3 – pretty but…
                   4 – Lovin’ It
Wear                         3                 

wear scale of 1 to 4

                    1 – chippy, chip, chip
                    2 – don’t wash dishes in this
                    3 – lasted longer than my deodorant
                    4 -  Only super glue is stronger

So what do you think or Essie Ole Caliente?  Does it make you want to Fiesta or Siesta?

It’s A-Peeling: Banana Egg

This is a very special polish called Banana Egg.  Banana Egg created by a wonderful polish friend.  It is a white cream polish chocked full of a multitude of glitter in various sizes and shapes. I layered two coats on my nails and topped it with a coat of Seche Vite.  This polish leaves me speechless so I will just let you look at the swatches.



On a more personal note, The Kracked Kat has hit quite a few milestones in the last month and it is all because of you.  As a result, I have a few special things planned in the coming days for you so keep checking back.

Ready for One More? Lynderella Love, Lace and Lilacs

I want to promise that this will be the last glitter manicure for a while but it is like some kind of illness with me.  My hand just gravitates toward the glitter.  Plus this is a Lynderella glitter!  That makes it okay, right? 

I layered one coat of Lynderella Love, Lace & Lilacs over two coats of Essie’s Barefoot in Blue, a pretty periwinkle on it’s own. Now I must admit I am not a fan of bar glitter. Remember my A Million Sparkles post?  Love, Lace and Lilacs has just a touch of white bar glitter but is also packed with various sizes and shapes of white and sheer glitter plus a little silver shimmer tossed in for good measure. 

I loved this mani and ironically so did my mom who is not much of a “think outside of the box” kind of person.  Of course it could be that it reminded her of a coffee pot she used to have when I was growing up. 

So are you tired of the glitter manis?  I am up for taking requests.  So tell me what you would like to see.