Today’s nails are a smokey gradient which reminds me of my first gradient manicure. For this manicure I used Essie Waltz for the base, Sally Hansen Dorian Grey and a darker charcoal grey.

Waltz is a translucent, milky white. Three coats were needed to get even coverage, but not opacity. In my opinion that’s just fine with this particular colour because I wanted to keep some level of transparency to soften the design.

I used a makeup sponge to dab Dorian Grey by Sally Hansen onto the base colour. I started dabbing the nail at the tip and worked my way towards the centre. I had to do this four or five times to create the right blend. Then I used a darker charcoal grey and dabbed the tip of the nail. I realised that this wouldn’t make the tips as dark as I wanted them to be, so I actually painted the top millimeter of the nail with the charcoal grey and then dabbed later it with the charcoal grey a couple of times.

I couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome! Even though I expected Waltz to look whiter, the very sheer pink effect actually matches the grey really well, and the soft blend makes me think of cashmere. I applied one coat of top coat and missed a bit on one of my nails, so I applied another coat. I noticed that the second coat added a glossy shine similar to a gel manicure. So from now on, I’ll be adding two layers of top coats to my gradients.