Hola todos! Today is gradient day :D I intended to do something relatively simple, but as usual, I couldn't stop adding glitter and pretty things to it. This was the final result:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihVc-YkCWHgJMQyNao7t8Le6NnFalnE0OKwA3suvwZZ-2R3M8xEO9XW71hKk1QDT_a-yqLA5uPxJBPK_BPuAEP0wpKi_AGhBpL00FmQ33HfRV0uQIQ5l9GoLtm_Wl8WUm53CwOKZMj4vE/s640/gradient1.png) |
Sweet and girly. (Taken outdoors in the lovely bright sunlight.) |
I started with a base colour of the lightest pink you see at the base of the nail, which is by
Color Club, called
She's Sooo Glam. (Love that name!) I wore that alone for a day while I thought about what to do with it. Go lighter? Darker? Gradiate to a totally different colour?
And then I saw
this post over at
The Polished Perfectionist, which is one of my very favourite nail blogs. Amy Grace does such perfect, professional-looking work, and she is such a sweetheart to boot! I adored this Valentines-esque design and decided to go for a similar look. I didn't actually intend for the manis to end up
quite so similar, but they did. Not that I am complaining :D
I used a sponge to dab on a darker pink (the middle colour),
Zoya Jolene, on the top 2/3 of the nail. When that was dry, I then sponged
Soulstice Spa's Buenos Aires onto the last third, wrapping the tip as well. Often these gradients are done using a makeup sponge, but I wanted a bit of a courser look, so I used an old washing-up sponge instead that I cut into small pieces. Atop the pink-to-red gradient I applied a coat of
OPI Pirouette My Whistle, which is such a beautiful polish--small silver microglitter with larger slightly-translucent-white hexes in a clear base. Then, while the polish was still wet, I added a few pink holographic flower-shaped glitter pieces. I got this tube of glitter from Michael's:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhJLGWIBP6nEMoUBmu_30YMt2t22g6stlNH-SKZWNKcrGcghnY_liIj_QfYrcCEaMGqhDNlR_1GcpOtPL11AQPMVPw4KP7x71ri39VjhRWktOla-tdbJtvJSlGtVunlQaRYhLKeoAUVc/s640/gradient6(princessglitter).png) |
No real brand name in sight, but the name of this mix was Princess. Pink holographic flowers and circles. And enough to last a lifetime (or three)! |
Finally, two generous coats of
Seche Vite to smooth everything over.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXK2mz9qmXpVJiBXplGWmi6OXPXwZJrU6G07_8GEeWgJsoDN47K84CVcSYzYEA1c3WemHnvv2tSIrt8u58cm__4FzeAv6Wn7Ix3iA4FB1u5FF2AUgIphD_FPQ_4ICflZLdzEVmB6l89lw/s640/gradient3.png) |
Indoors with flash. This was right after I finished--apologies for the topcoat all around my nails. I wouldn't have posted this one, but I really liked how the three colours all showed up well, as well the holographic nature of the flowers! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxvjo03AuR5g5Jeg3lJHnrPt_f9YicmCGiaGf1wnxk6wffLWtd-gbhlRIw_3-lbSXKlEZwFE2Sv2r7g1QOPUtiRlBFzoaO4OLyHMd-gjnFptMmgHwBesypHbzYgpf1g9tQO-IoF8l1dzE/s640/gradient4.png) |
Another outdoors in the sun, just because I really liked this photo. So sparkly. And yep, you guessed it... SHINY :D |
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![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdNi2Lkh1a6tx_q-wnE4i1mkS48GtFCo68Ylvdtzut4rXs2tugxrxGmB7OaQAk-mJkc2v4TSV0S1MfJUcjH3TOujDUiRQvupBIwFV25W2DJ4I6Ai9uwa5GAVqEf4-ALlwy589aZTUi3cI/s640/gradient2.png) |
Outdoors in the shade. You can see how pink the flowers are and how well they match the base colours when they aren't in direct light. :) And aren't those white glitters lovely? |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUf7b3lbjqd1G5_-kdfHbDuLpRDnR8xhrvuG6D7YAS4lRdTryQzx8czfUPTSkXaYC2R4dRVXin7LzH_wrHr-g9PWjck03BYzSQMswcuR7BHREnFODTnOqjAvyxgLyYSOluV80We4HYliY/s640/gradient5%2528flowers%2529.png) |
Bonus pic! These flowers outside my apartment are so gorgeous. They were the backdrop for my previous picture, but I thought they deserved a shot of their own. |
That wraps up this post. What do you think of these? I may be too old to wear girly cotton-candy nails, but sod it--I love these and they make me smile when I look at them.
See you next time! xoxo
Love! I really love the pink, flowers and they 60's hippy feel of the look. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! :) They do look hippie-ish! Good call :)
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