Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Tropical Sunset

Today I woke up and again it was raining and it has been raining for the past 2 days and I'm tired of it Boston  weather is crazy! We had snow like 3 days ago and its Spring. I need a vacation to a warm state or country. So I decided to cheer myself up by doing a tropical mani. I've wanted to do a gradient for a while but never had the time and I don't like how they usually come out because I can never bled the color very well. This time I did a little practice on a nail and liked how it came out.

Here is everything I used:
Wet N Wild White creme
China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy
China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot
China Glaze Sunworshiper
Sally Hansen Diamonds
Cosmetic sponge and a CD

Started off by painting my nails white so that The colors would really pop then started with the yellow and started working my way up. I got a tip by another blogger that you should work from the tip then start blending the colors as you go up and lighter dabs is better because you can always go back and make it darker and here's what I got.



I felt like it needed something else and I was going to add so crackle to but I remembered I had a image plate that had a palm tree with the word California across it and that just happens to be where I want to go for vacation. So I busted out my konad supplies and got to stamping.

M42 got it on EBay with a set of 30 image plates for $17
Click here to check it out on eBay

Stamped with Konad Black

Closer look

I liked how it looked by then I thought the other nails look a little plain so I took out my favorite and a lot of peoples favorite Konad plate M57 and stamped some tropical like flowers on all the other nails.

Konad M57


Damn Scraper got my pinkie!


I am really happy with my first gradient mani even tho it took me awhile to be happy with it and still kinda see where I started with each color. Have any of you tried a gradient manicure before? Any tips on how to get it to transition from color to the other smoother? 
Posted by Shadow at 11:02 PM
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12 comments:

  1. LianeApril 6, 2011 at 4:23 AM

    Wow. I love this mani on you; it suits your complexion. This is a perfect way to cheer yourself up on a gloomy day x

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  2. LemonyEmilyApril 6, 2011 at 5:49 AM

    this is a perfect gradient, don't be so har don yourself haha! this looks awesome, was definitely planning on doing almost this exact mani myself!
    x

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  3. rebeccaApril 6, 2011 at 6:14 AM

    yeah, you did a really good job with the gradient!
    i pride myself on being pretty good with gradients (i posted one just a few days ago if you want to check it out) and my tip is that you should paint your entire nail in the lightest color, and then start sponging the next color from the top down. and then your next color from the top down. the trick to getting the gradient to blend well, in my opinion, is not just putting lines of each color and trying to blend them, but to actually build new layers on top of the other colors.

    that was a bit hard to explain!
    maybe i'll work on doing a tutorial soon.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 6, 2011 at 7:27 AM

    wow great job! it kind of looks like one of those mood polishes. the cali stamp works really well with the colors. ..i love the orange! i have been wanting a good neon orange for a while now.

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  5. KenzieApril 6, 2011 at 8:38 AM

    I love gradient manicures! This is so fun, it really makes me want to go on a tropical trip haha.

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  6. AnonymousApril 6, 2011 at 9:01 AM

    so pretty!

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  7. NatalieApril 6, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    Cute design, and I really like the gradient by itself! I've never done a gradient before, I need to try this sometime! :)

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  8. ShadowApril 6, 2011 at 10:28 AM

    Thank Ladies.

    rebecca: Thanks for the tips I will deff check it out. Yes please do I would love to see so I can get better!

    Amanda: I love China Glaze Sunworshiper it is the best neon orange in my collection.

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  9. FreshieApril 6, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    These colors rock! I really like how you implemented the stamping too~

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  10. AunieApril 6, 2011 at 1:16 PM

    This looks sooo awesome!

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  11. CatApril 6, 2011 at 5:32 PM

    So gorgeous. It looks fantastic, and thats a great job for your first attempt. I'm up to my tenth attempt and still doesn't look anything like that.

    ReplyDelete
  12. VERMILION ARTApril 7, 2011 at 5:22 AM

    Whoa!! gorgeous first attempt and I love the stamping on top.. :) Aloha!!

    ReplyDelete

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