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!! :)

Welcome!!! Gradient + Tutorial

Hey everyone! This is my first post. I wanted to try something for Valentine's Day, so for this mani, I used Revlon Sheer Cotton, Sally Hansen Pink Petal, China Glaze Fuchsia, and some scotch tape.

Sorry I don't have pictures of the steps I did when I did this mani, but I will try and explain as best as I could.

Okay, so the 1st step is to do a good base coat. Then, use Revlon Sheer Cotton all over the nails. I used 3 layers. After that dries for a little, do a top coat. (The top coat will help it dry faster.)
Let it dry COMPLETELY. Get a piece of scotch tape and stick it to your palm to remove some of the stickiness. Then, cover 2/3 of the nail. Make sure the tape is pressed down so that no polish gets under the tape. Using Sally Hansen Pink Petal, paint one or two layers over the open area of the nail (place without the tape) and quickly remove the tape before the new coat dries. (If the new coat dries and the tape is still on, it will come off the nail with the tape when the tape is removed.) Do another top coat.
Again, let it dry completely. Take another piece of tape, stick it to your palm a few times, and cover 1/3 of the nail (over half of the Sally Hansen Pink Petal; and then over the rest of what's left of Sheer Cotton). Then, to finish the pink gradient, paint the small area with China Glaze Fuchsia, and remove the tape. 
Top it off with some top coat and you're ready to go!
(Sorry if this seems confusing!)

The effect is kind of hard to see because of the glare, so I tried taking a pic under direct sunlight:

Hope you try this out & enjoy it!!! :)