Wild and Crazy: my entire collection!

If you take the time to peruse this blog, you'll quickly find that one of my all-time favorite nail polish brands is Wild and Crazy. For the uninitiated, Wild and Crazy was an offshoot of Mirage Cosmetics, the same company behind Sinful Colors. While I am unsure as to the extent of their range, they did produce makeup in addition to nail polish. To the best of my knowledge, W&C was born sometime in the late '90s/early '00s and saw its end roughly a decade later. The reason for its demise is surprising, but not totally unexpected: Markwins, the parent company of good ol' Wet n Wild, took Mirage to court in July of 2005. A quick search for "mirage cosmetics lawsuit" will yield the juicy details, but the long and short of it is that Markwins felt that the names were too similar, not to mention their competitive price points. While it appears that the case was dropped, this would ultimately spell the end of Wild and Crazy, which would cease production sometime in the late '00s or early '10s. 

History lesson aside, I adore this brand for a number of reasons:

1. Wild and Crazy = Sinful Colors. Mirage did not develop unique colors for the W&C line. All they did was change the names. Seriously. Even the numbers were left intact (for example, W&C w231 Roselyn is Sinful 231 Auriga). While there are occasionally slight formula variations between the brands, the general rule of thumb is that they are the same. Wild and Crazy spans the first 400 of Sinful Colors' shades, and because W&C is in much lower demand than Sinful, it's often a cheaper way to access Sinful shades of yore. However...
2. It's hard to find. Why would this be a good thing? Because I love the hunt! Vintage polish collecting is an extraordinarily patient hobby, and there's nothing more satisfying than scoring something you've been after for months or years. It's not so elusive as to become frustrating, but it's definitely a challenge to locate people with bottles they're looking to part with. My Facebook groups have been a great help!
3. Fun colors! And not the type of multichrome-holo-flakie-crelly-magnetic-thermal fun you'll find on Etsy. There's something very endearing about older polish in wacky colors. Yeah, a blue metallic might be a bit pedestrian by today's standards, but that was enough to stand out back in the day. Maybe even enough to get you in trouble at school or with your parents! You also get to see finishes that have fallen to the wayside in recent times, like frosts!
4. Strange names. Sinful is guilty of this on occasion, too, but the names that they dreamt up for W&C often made no sense. Remember "Popped Out Belly"? Other gems I'll be showing in this post include "Heavenly Handsome", "Chunky Chow", and "Ticklish Toes".
5. Great packaging. As you'll see, the majority of my collection consists of two different bottle shapes, both of which are very unique and quite cute. I also love the logo!

Alright, enough of my rambling... ONTO THE POLISH!!!!!

Just one note: I apologize for the exposure on some of these photos. I had to play around with it quite a bit to achieve the most accurate representation of color.

And without further ado, here is the entirety of my Wild and Crazy collection!

L-R: Whatever, Whatever, Paradise, Egyptian Ruby

Sagittarius, Wild Vision, Costa Rica, Granada

St. Helena, Red Carpet, Vogue, Angelica

Renatka, Shocking Pink (the shock is that it's orange!), Neon Light, Charming Charm

Forte, Roselyn, Kermit, Gypsy Girl

Erie, Vampire, Fancy Dream, Beloved Child

Pinky Promise, Amnesia, Amnesia, UR My Baby

Carnival, Pink Sherbet, U-Rock, Alaskan

Flying Kite, Feliciana, Concia, Tutu

Go Anywhere, Sioux Falls, Bermuda, Ticklish Toes

Sand Turtle, Twinkle Beat, Wasabi

Vivianna, Neon Shower, Pilar

Popped Out Belly, Giggalo, Madriel

Crunch, Charming Charm, Lonesome Road

Super Star, Kilimanjaro, Hard Ball

Hard Ball (slightly different formula), Crush on You, Lazarine

Suzammi, Cyber, Pink Bikini

Beloved Child, Chunky Chow, Jealousy

Summer Neon, Sylva, Heavenly Handsome

NYM, Color Hazard, Rose Petal (um...)

Anchorage, Eleena, Banger

Blueberry, Yenis, Midori Sour

1st generation original bottles – same shape as original Sinful bottles

Ticklish Toes, Heart Bit

And there you have it: all 77 bottles in my Wild and Crazy hoard! A few quick notes:

• Lazarine, Suzammi, and Sylva all share a formula that I've never seen anywhere else. I don't know if I can put it into words... it's buttery smooth but has a tendency to pull if it doesn't dry completely between coats. It dries to this incredible finish... it's somewhere it between a frost, a pearl, and a chrome. It is AMAZING. It reminds me of satin... not satin finish nail polish, but actual satin fabric. I'd kill to have a green or bright blue with this finish!
• There are some major differences between my duplicate bottles of Charming Charm and Ticklish Toes. Evidence suggests that some early Sinful colors went through drastic changes in color and finish throughout their life span. This would explain these differences.
• For the most part, Wild and Crazy polishes need at least three coats. Some of the dark reds are manageable in two, but the majority are on the sheer side and will need more.
• The first two bottle styles are both 0.4 oz. You'd never guess it by looking at them!
• Some of my favorite shades include Renatka, Roselyn, Amnesia, Neon Shower, Hard Ball, Cyber, Chunky Chow, Jealousy, and Sylva... but I love them all!

I had such a fun time taking these pictures and compiling them all for this post! Thanks so much for looking! I'll be back soon with more cool polish to share! 

And until next time... peace out!