How to: rock mock-croc

The mock-croc trend is BIG right now but surprisingly it's not something I'm a big fan of. I have a feeling it's one of those things that'll grow on me so I thought I'd try and warm myself up to it. I wasn't quite prepared to go all out and spend £35 on a pair of mock-croc shoes so I compromised and experimented with creating a mock-croc manicure instead. By the way I never realised how hard 'mock-croc' was to type, I keep putting 'mokc-croc' so my spell check is working over time. The nails are quite simple and only require two different nail varnishes; a standard black one (I've used Rimmel, lasting finish in 080 Black cab) and a black crack-effect one (I've used Barry M in 311 Nail Effects 132).

Start by painting your nails with the black polish (try and do it a lot neater than I managed to). I only needed 2 coats but do enough so the colour is even and thick - some nail polishes may need 3 or only 1 if you're lucky).

 

Then apply a coat of the crack-effect polish - make sure you only ever apply one coat or it won't crack properly. Also if you put it on too thickly then you'll only get a couple of cracks rather than an effect over the whole nail so make sure to wipe the excess off the brush against the neck of the bottle before applying it. FYI, getting a good photo of the finished look was really hard because my iPhone camera just wasn't up to capturing the texture and detail - someone pass me my Fujifilm camera with the macro setting turned on! Normally when I use this crack-effect nail varnish, I apply a clear coat over the top because it's a matte finish and so it scratches easily. However, because this manicure is all about the texture rather than the colour, a top coat would've just ruined it. Okay so I'm easing myself into the trend and I figure if I do a couple more mock-croc manicures and maybe a mock-croc pedicure or two then I'll be ready to start buying mock-croc shoes and mock-croc bags and mock-croc purses; the mock-croc possibilities are endless!