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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Tutorial - Gradient

Here it is, the long overdue tutorial for the gradient nails from challenge day 10. A reminder what what the manicure looked like...


Supplies:
- Nail polishes - Black, dark gray, gray, white, and glittery silver
(I used Wet n Wild Black Cream, Zoya Kelly, Petites Color Fever Vintage Gray, Wet n Wild French White Cream, Sinful Colors Out of This World)
- Sponge - different types will work for this, but I used an artificial sea foam sponge
- Q-tip for clean up
- Tweezers for holding the sponge (if you use a small piece)
Step 1:
- Cut off a few pieces of the sponge
Step 2:
- Apply a base coat and
- Apply desired number of base color coats
- Shown here is 1 coat of WnW Black Cream
Step 3:
- Put a few drops of the dark gray on a piece of paper (or other work surface) and work the color into the sponge by dabbing it.
Step 4:
- Lightly tap the sponge on the nail from tip towards the base, leaving about 1/4 of the base unsponged.
- Add in small amounts until satisfied with the look
Step 5:
- Work the lighter gray color into another side of the sponge (or a clean sponge piece)
Step 6:
- Lightly tap on the nail starting from tip and going about half way down.
- Add a little bit at a time to get the desired effect
Step 7:
- Work the white polish into the sponge as before
Step 8:
- Tap the white on the tip of the nail
Step 9:
- This step is optional, but to give the gradient some glitter and sparkle, work a silvery color into the sponge.
Step 10:
- VERY LIGHTLY tap on the nail.
- I put a little bit too much and ended up muting the black and the dark gray out (compare to to original manicure to see what it should have looked like :))
Step 11:
- With a Q-tip or a brush dipped in nail polish remover/acetone, clean up the cuticles
All Done!
- Add a top coat and you are done!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! As always I would love comments and feedback so that I can improve :)

Thanks for looking!
Anutka :)

13 comments:

  1. Amazing.. thanks for sharing :)

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  2. Wow! The result is beautiful! Thanks for sharing this tutorial! :)

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  3. I have to give sponge manis a try someday.

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  4. I love gradients! Yours looks great! I have found that the best way to add sparkle is to just brush a glitter polish on, which also blends everything a little more and adds to the gradient effect, but that's just my opinion.

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  5. these look super cool... sponging rocks!

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  6. Thanks for sharing this tutorial! I really liked this manicure!

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  7. This is a fantastic tutorial!! Thank you for sharing this~:D

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  8. I'm glad you found this useful! I love making tutorials :)

    @ScarsLikeLace, I will have to try that for sure! Thank you :)

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  9. the result is amazing...when I tried this it was just awfull:(

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  10. Don't give up! My 1st few times were awful also.
    Just add color a little bit at a time. Too much will ruin the whole thing :(

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  11. As usual, you make it look sooo easy. Great tutorial. I tried sponging once and got carried away and it didn't look too gradient-like in the end. Haha!

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  12. Yes, my 1st few times were awful as well, but I tend to be stubborn :D

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