OPI Mermaid's Tears + Silver Shatter

I love living close to lot of beauty supply stores because it means I get to buy the OPI Silver Shatter early :D I contemplated buying the rest of the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection but I managed some self control and bought only Mermaid's Tears. I paid $6 for the silver crackle and $4 for Mermaid's Tears.

These are really color accurate.

This is my first experience with shatter polishes but from my experience it doesn't seem as finicky as people made it seem. I experimented with applying the Silver Shatter over Seche Vite versus no Seche Vite and I didn't find a difference with the crackling effect. Just be sure that your nail polish is completely dry.

I apologize ahead of time for my cuticles!

I think silver crackle looks better when applied a little thicker. I found that it made the silver glitter a little more opaque and it makes for a nicer contrast against Mermaid's Tears. When I applied it a little lighter it looked too much like a glitter topcoat versus a shatter in my opinion.

Here's my left hand with the thinner crackle. I also experimented a little with application techniques. With the pointer finger I applied the crackle in dabs, the middle finger had it applied diagonally and the ring and pinky were applied like normal nail polish. Try to go as fast as you can.

Here's my seldom seen right hand with the thicker crackle.

Are you going to invest in the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection?