Monday, October 29, 2012

31DC Day 10: Gradient (Ombre + Tutorial)

The prompt for day 10 of the 31 day challenge is gradient. I was having trouble trying to decide what exactly I was going to do for this mani, but I remembered Sarah's (at Chalkboard Nails) gradient mani she did last year, and I loved it! It's an ombre gradient using all 5 nails.

I only used one base color for this look: OPI From A To Z-urich from the Germany collection. It's a pretty dusty red.
(This shot was taken after a few days of chipping and peeling!) With flash
Supplies to use:
  • Piece of blank white paper
  • Cotton swabs (Q-tips)
  • Base color (From A To Z-urich)
  • Mix-ins in black and white (Wet N Wild Black Creme and NYC French White Tip)
  • Acetone/polish remover
Note: I used the same brush (base color brush) to mix the different colors, but you have to be careful to thoroughly clean it several times throughout the process if you choose to do it this way. Using a clean, separate brush is recommended. Also, try not to ever get any acetone in your polish bottles, because it can ruin polish!

Now let's begin!

Start with a nice base coat. I usually use the Seche Vite base coat, but I tried one I got from Claire's, it worked pretty well!

Paint both of your middle fingers the base color of your choice. (For this manicure, make sure to do both hands at the same time.)

Drop some base color onto the paper, and mix in only ONE DROP of black. The color gets dark very quickly so start with one drop and take it from there. Mix it in and paint onto the nail next to your middle finger. Repeat by adding about another drop of black and paint onto the next nail.

Clean off your brush, as we are going to mix lighter colors now.

Pour some more of the base color onto the paper, this time mixing in white. You need a lot more white to make the color lighter than you needed black to make it darker. Mix in enough white to make the base color a tint lighter. When you are happy with the color, paint it on the other nail next to your middle finger.

Repeat by adding more white to your already-lighter mix, and paint on your final finger.

Top with your favorite topcoat! (Seche Vite is mine ☺ )

(No flash)
Hope you like it & try it out!! :)

1 comment:

  1. beautiful ombre nail art! and by the way I love your blog, I'm officially your Ninth follower

    ReplyDelete