Tutorial: Gradient Nails

Whenever I wear this style of nail, I always have people saying "how do you do that?!", so I figured I would show you all! I originally saw this technique in Amarixe's video. It's actually pretty easy and can be done with 2 or more colours. I find that 2 colours works fine for me. You may want to put some tape around the edges of your nails to make clean up easier as this can get quite messy!

I start with getting all my equipment ready, you will need a triangular make-up sponge, which can be found in any drugstore, a pair of scissors and your nail polish colours. I'm using Essie - Rock the Boat and Full Steam Ahead.

Cut the sponge to a size that will fit your biggest nail.

Barry M - Matt White

Start by painting your nails white, or the lightest colour if you have more than 2 colours. (optional)

Paint stripes of the polish on to the sponge, be sure not to use too much polish or it will just pull the bottom layer up.

Line the sponge up with the side of your nail and roll across. Dab around the nail and slightly up and down to create the blended gradient. Repeat until you are happy with the opacity. It took me about 4 coats.

After clean up:

Hope you like this nail look! I'd love to see your attempts! 

What else would you like to see?

Tutorial: Hawaiian style flower

I recently purchased a Dotter Duo tool from Orly and was so excited to use it to create nail art, something I've always wanted to try. I attempted to create flowers using dots for the petals with a yellow dot in the middle, but it turned out looking like a fried egg!

So I tried to figure out a way to use this tool to create flowers (because, lets face it, who doesn't love a flower!).

Start by painting your nails any colour you want. I've chosen Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Guava. This nail art works on any colour. My only advice would be; if you're using a dark base then use a lighter colour to create the flower and, similarly, if you use a light base use a dark colour to create the flower.

You then get your dotter duo (which can be found for £1 or so on eBay!) and draw 5 dots, with the larger end of the duo, close together but not too close that they run into each other.

Lastly, get the small end of the duo, and starting from the centre of one dot drag into the middle of the 5 dots. This creates a petal. Repeat this for all 5 dots and your flower should look something like this:

Additionaly, I sometimes put a tiny dot of silver polish over the centre of the flower.

You can use this flower for an accent on a nail, or cover the nail completely. 

If you don't have a dotter tool there are many household items you could use such as the head of a pin (carefully!) and a toothpick which would create the same effect!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial. I'd love to see your attempts at this look!!

What would you like to see next?