I can’t say that I’ve been a big fan of the crackle effect (or shatter, fracture or this effect by any other name). But when I saw the Crocodile effect from Dior, I kinda had to get it. Really, how often does a high end polish indulge in fad finishes?

Let’s talk about Golden Light first. Dior and Chanel seem to love coming out with one gold polish after another. And quite honestly, when I saw the Crocodile effects packaged with Golden Light, I think my eyes did a little roll.

But I have to say that this color is actually a step up. If you take a good look, you’ll see that this is just a little beyond the standard gold shimmer. There are small gold flakes scattered in the polish that make this a little different. And while this is a pretty sheer color, three coats (shown) will take you to a decent level of opacity.

Crocodile effects was a bit of a surprise. I didn’t expect to like this. And while I’m still not a huge fan of this type of effect, I rather like Dior’s interpretation. It seems a little more delicate than other crackle colors I’ve played with. And I think Dior truly captured the effect of crocodile leather. When I put it on, the effect took longer to appear than OPI. I actually thought it wasn’t working for the first minute. You can tell from the swatch that the coat on the index finger was a bit thinner than the other fingers. I like that more than the thicker coats.