New 31DC: Silver

Today and tomorrow are kind of disappointing challenges for me, mainly because I don't have a lot of gold and silver polish and used the ones I do have extensively in my holiday manis (silver, gold and gold here).  Then the Halo Hues I ordered came in the mail, so I got excited again!  Until I unwrapped this silver disaster:

 

Sadness!  On a side note, I ordered these through Crowd Cut, which is kinda shady.  I don't really recommend the program and have had no luck finding out how to track packages or speak with someone about this.  Any advice you have on getting a replacement?  Or is this just a rough lesson?

 

So, onto what I ended up with.  I didn't want to just repeat a silver mani I already posted, and my 2 silvers are pretty sheer, so they don't make for great art.  I decided to try out a new tip I saw on Pinterest instead.

 

*1 coat Hard As Nails Hardener

*3 coats Essie Pink-a-boo

*Silver Sharpie (medium point)

 

Pink-a-boo is just one of the many pretties my momma gave me for Christmas.  It's a really sheer light pink.  I used 3 coats but, if I hadn't just cut my nails, I would have either gone for 4 or layered it over another pink.  It's a really pretty baby pink packed with iridescent/blue shimmer.  The shimmer actually shows up really well on the nail and is a gorgeous, feminine color that is subtle enough to wear any time.
My mom found a pin that talked about using a silver Sharpie marker for accents on nails.  When I found the pin and followed it back to its source, it is actually for something totally different, but I tried it out anyway.  I used the marker to draw on French tips and add polka dots to an accent.  I learned 2 things: 1) this actually works really well.  2) When the nail is TOTALLY dry.

 

Remember how I mentioned being more patient yesterday?  Yeah, well, neither did I.  The polish was dry enough to paint over, but not draw on.  You can see the dents in some dots and on my index and middle fingers.  I tried to smooth them out, and considered not posting this because I really want to up my game this year, but I like girls who are honest about their polish adventures, so I want to be too.  That's part of a challenge, learning lessons.  If I have a stroke of genius and some time tomorrow night I might try another silver look.

Have you found a new technique to try out?   Learned how to do it better the next time?  What other cool tools are there to try like Sharpies, that you don't think of for nails?