First Pink Wednesday Post and Gradient Tutorial

Hey guys!

This is my first Pink Wednesday post, and I'm so excited!  If you haven't seen Mean Girls, I highly recommend it.  I wanted to do something fun in honor of Pink Wednesday, so I decided on a pink gradient mani.  I figured while I was at it, I would put together a little tutorial.  After looking at other tutorials, I noticed that I do gradients a little differently than others.  I start my gradients at the nail bed, while other people start at the tip.  My way is what works for me, but know that there are other methods out there that might work better for you. 

Let's get started!  I used the following for this manicure:

Left to right: Essie Billionails (nail treatment and base coat), OPI Bubble Bath, China Glaze Go Go Pink; OPI Teenage Dream; China Glaze Material Girl, Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat and upfront is Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Hand Cream.

Gradient Mani Tutorial

Supplies you will need:
 -nail polish remover and polish thinner if needed
 -base coat
 -top coat,
 -2 cream/shimmer polishes, 2 glitter polishes (this is what I used....but don't be afraid to play with different finishes and colors!)
 -moisturizing cream, or cuticle oil
 -cotton balls or tissue for polish remover
 (-optional: make-up sponge for blending.  You can use a sponge to blend the colors together, for this manicure I chose not to do this because the glitter will help blend the colors and hide the seams.)

1.  Use nail polish remover to remove your old mani and any oils on the nail.  Wash hands or soak nails in warm water; dry nails thoroughly.

2.  Apply a base coat, followed by the lightest cream/shimmer polish over the entire nail.  I chose OPI Bubble Bath.

3.  Apply the darker cream/shimmer polish to the nail, covering the top 2/3 of the nail. I chose China Glaze Go Go Pink.  (Don't worry about making a clean line when you start your next color, the more jagged the line is, the better it will blend.)

Step #3

4.  Apply the darker glitter polish to the tip of the nail.  I chose China Glaze Material Girl.

Step #4

5.  Apply the lighter glitter polish to the entire nail, I chose OPI Teenage Dream, followed by the top coat.  And don't forget to moisturize!

Step #5

Final results after cuticle oil and moisturizer
w/flash

no flash with artificial light

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!  It was fun to do, and I definitely plan on doing more tutorials.  If there's anything you'd like me to make a tutorial for, comment below or e-mail me and I will do my best to put one together.

Thanks for stopping by!

K