Howdy! I'm a little late posting this, but oh well. I figure the manicure was worn the whole day of Day 10, so it counts, even if I'm posting it 10 minutes after midnight ;) Today is Gradient Nails and here's my version:
I started with 2 coats of Ulta's Magnetic polish in Put a Ring on It, a dusty rose polish with blue iridescent glitter. Then, I taped off my nails in the middle and did a gradient from tip to cuticle using China Glaze Magnetix in Instant Chemistry, a dark maroon. I reversed the gradient for the other half of the nail and then used a coat of non-fast drying top coat to reactivate the magnetic polish to create the diagonal lines. This didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped it would, but I'll give it an "A" for effort.
Next up is polka dots so check out tomorrow's post! Thanks for reading :)
Howdy, everyone! The weekend is just about here (well it IS here for me, as I have today off). Any big Labor Day plans? I'll be headed out of the city with my girlfriends to go pick some apples on Monday. I love apple-picking and I really can't tell you why. It's probably more my love of road trips and hanging out with my friends more than anything, but it's definitely something fun to do.
On to my latest manicure!
This is a gradient manicure done with magnetic polishes. I had no idea such a thing could be done, but it's actually surprisingly simple and I thought the results were pretty good for my first effort. I only
had 2 nails that were problematic and fortunately neither was on my
photographed hand :)
I started with one thick coat of Ulta's Polar Opposites*, a teal sparkle magnetic polish. Then I applied my gradient of Ulta's Opposites Attract* (a deep purple magnetic polish with a silver sparkle), sponging it on just as I would for a normal gradient. Then, one nail at a time, I applied one coat of non-fast drying top coat. This will reactivate the polish already on the nail, thus allowing you to use your magnet! While the top coat was still wet, I used the striped magnet that came with Ulta's kit to do alternating diagonal lines on top of the gradient. I did this one nail at a time so the top coat wouldn't dry before I used the magnet. I let everything set for a bit and then applied a coat of my beloved Seche Vite. To my surprise, having the non-fast drying top coat on underneath the Seche seems to have given this manicure a bit more shine than usual. I'm going to have to try this technique on another mani and see if it holds true. It's one more step, but, hey I'm already putting 5 coats of polish on, what's one more?
I love learning new techniques and I'm thrilled to learn that magnetic polishes are much more versatile than I thought at first. I mean, once you've used a magnetic polish, it's cool at first but if it only does the one thing it gets a bit boring. It's good to know that I can use them more like regular polishes...I have a few ideas churning in my brain for some new manis now!
I hope everyone has a great Friday and, as always, thanks for reading!
*These two polishes came in a set with 2 others, I got the whole set at Ulta for $4.99.
