I fell in love with gradient manis last year, when photos of Lauren Conrad sporting them started popping up all over the style interwebs. The good news: you don’t need five different bottles of polish to pull this look off. Keep reading for a simple how-to!
You’ll need:
- one nail polish in the color of your choice (I used O.P.I.’s Malaga Wine)
- white nail polish (I picked up a little bottle of nail art polish for $1.99 at the drugstore)
- a good base/top coat
- nail polish remover
- a clean polish brush (use one from an old bottle of polish or a sample, and clean with nail polish remover)
- a small orange stick or toothpick
- parchment paper
Step 1: Start with clean nails, and a thin coat of base. When the base is dry, paint both of your thumb nails with the original color.
Step 2: Drop a few large drops of the original color onto parchment paper…
… And slowly add drops of white polish until you reach your desired gradient effect. The first color you make will be the color for your pointer fingers. For a more subtle gradient, use less white; for a more drastic gradient, add more white.
Step 3: Using a small orange stick or toothpick, carefully mix the white into the original color. Do this gently, or you’ll get a lot of air bubbles in the polish.
Step 4: Using a clean polish brush (I used one from an old sample bottle of O.P.I. top coat, and cleaned it with nail polish remover before I got started) apply the new color to both of your pointer fingers. While they dry, soak the polish brush in a capful of nail polish remover to remove the color and get it clean and ready for the next finger.
Repeat steps 2-4 three more times for each set of fingers (left and right), adding more white each time to make lighter and lighter shades. Seal the entire manicure with a good top coat.
Looks cute! Nice twist from the usual all red or pink, but still subtle!
Cess O. <3 The Outfit Diaries
This is fantastic! I will be giving this a go, thanks!
Such a cute idea, will have to try this!!
Love this! Great idea. Looks lovely.
I really like this, so different but still classy!
This idea is so creative but so easy! Love it!
Ahh, I always wondered how to do this without getting several very similar colors! Such a great tutorial, thanks for sharing!!
xx Melina
Cute and Creative !
xoxo
http://www.typefashion.wordpress.com
awesome tutorial. such a fun, versatile look!
So cool ! I loved your idea !
http://universeandyou.wordpress.com/
Xoxo from Japan
Very cool! I love this and will definitely have to try it sometime soon!
So cute! Gonna try it this weekend :-)
What a fantastic idea! I like the subtley of it. I don’t paint my nails often, but I might try this on my toenails!
Wow that is awesome!I I just love fashion nails and I love this post! I’m sure you’ll like this too. Bellacures Nail Salon is offering a $15 coupon for liking them on Facebook. Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/Bellacures?sk=app_174961479209942
Studio City Promotion – Bellacures
You can win a $500 gift card to Bellacures Nail Salon by visiting their Studio City Location! See their Facebook page for more details: http://www.facebook.com/Bellacures?sk=app_208195102528120
Newport Beach Opening – Bellacures
The Bellacures Newport Beach grand opening is Jan. 12. Stop in and get $10 off your service (301 Marine Ave. Suite B – Newport Beach) ! You can also like Bellacures on FB http://www.facebook.com/Bellacures to win a free manicure a month for a year! .
I like the pics with the tutorial. Very cool. If you have more to share, we’d love to see what you have to show us about nails at Taaz.com.
Pingback: Technique: Gradient Nails | The Beauty Model
Oh I really like it! What a great idea!! :)