Tag Archives: gradient

Beauty Tips for Women: Mermaid Tale Inspired Manicure

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I recently picked up some neon and glitter polish from Milani that called an ocean / mermaid feel to them when placed in combination.  The colors are Milani Neon Fresh Teal, Milani Neon Blue Dude, and Milani Teal (glitter polish).  I decided I wanted to try a Mermaid Tale or Mermaid Scales manicure.

I totally forgot to take pictures of the polish and plates involved.  It simply has been just one of those weeks.

Since the two polishes are neon colors I decided to do a basecoat of white polish.  I did a gradient using Fresh Teal and Blue Dude on thumb, index, and pinky. Middle finger got a coat of Fresh Teal and ring finger got a coat of Blue Dude.  I did this because I wanted to see if there would be a difference in the way the glitter polish would look on each color (there was no difference at all).  I was a bit torn between the two images I had for scales.  I could either use Winstonia W111, which has a large scales image, or Cheeky plate B, which has a smaller scales image.  I decided to try the look out on my left hand before committing to a final look.

I wasn’t thrilled the way Winstonia W111 looked when compared to Cheeky’s image.  The scales effect I was looking for was achieved more with the image from Cheeky.

Below is a series of photos of the completed manicure.  Unfortunately the gradient effect was lost under the stamping.  I only did two coats of the gradient thinking that would be enough but clearly to make it pop under the stamping I would have needed more coats.

Overall I loved the final results.  I’m totally in love with Milani Teal; it is an amazing glitter polish.  The way it shifts under light between the teal, blue and silver glitters is beautiful.  I’m still on the fence with Fresh Teal and Blue Dude.  When compared to other neon colors they just don’t pop.  Another con is that they both stained my nails horribly. Setting aside those two things, it turned out great.

 

Beauty Tips for Women: Gradient Manicure Technique

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I have been in the mood to do a gradient manicure after seeing a different technique than the one I use.

I started off by painting all my nails one coat of Milani – White On The Spot. 

The other color in my gradient is Milani – Jiffy Orange. The gradient technique I wanted to try involved placing dots of the polish on a surface and mixing the area where they would meet to make the gradient.  In essence giving you more control of the gradient effect.

Once you have it mixed to your liking you pick it up with your sponge.  I use a make up sponge cut to fit my nail.

I struggled with this technique cause my nails are nubs and I didn’t feel like I got that gradient transition effect all the way through my nail.

My next move was to stamp with Sally Hansen Insta-Dry – Fast Fuchsia using Cheeky Jumbo Plate 7 – Home Sweet Home.  I topped it with Poshe fast drying topcoat.

Over all I was happy how the manicure turned out.  I wasn’t too thrilled about this gradient technique.  Perhaps I will try it again when my nails grow.

Beauty tips for Women: Halloween Nail Art 2

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Here is my second Halloween nail art manicure.  My girls have been going crazy asking for candy corn and I finally purchased some.  This was inspiration for my festive candy corn Halloween nail art manicure.

Here is a picture of the polishes I used for the manicure:

Konad Special Polish – Black
Seche Vite – Dry Fast Top Coat
Sally Hansen – Yellow Kitty
Sally Hansen – Parrot
Wet n’ Wild – Sunny Side
Wet n’ Wild – French White Crème
Essence – Wake Up
Color Club – Clear Coat

I started off by doing a gradient using the French White Crème, Sunny Side and Yellow Kitty.  I did three coats of the gradient because the yellow and orange colors where just two light and I wanted it a bit more richer in color.  Once I got the colors the way I wanted, I applied a clear coat to blend the colors.  I waited for it to dry then started applying random dots in Parrot, Wake Up, and French White Crème.  Once that dried up, I thought some stamping would be cute.  I used Bundle Monster – BM225 Skull image on the thumb.  The cat and witch used on the index and middle finger are from Shany – SH02.  The ring finger skull is Bundle Monster – BM211 and pinky finger is Bundle Monster – BM222.  Topped everything off with Sech Vite.

Here are the pictures of my festive candy corn Halloween manicure: