Exciting news today! This blog now resides at thenailasaurus.com! I’ve always wanted my own domain and after two years I finally decided today was the day to fix that.

For some reason, I had it in my head that it would be complicated and expensive. It wasn’t! I don’t know how it works on other platforms, but it turns out Google will pretty much do it all for you for $12.30 a year. All you have to do is go to your basic settings in dashboard and follow the steps. Easy as pie and just as satisfying!

So yesterday I hinted that I’d be elaborating on the technique I used for my gradient nails. And today, as promised, I’ve written a detailed picture tutorial for you guys. Enjoy!

UPDATE: Here’s a video version!

What You’ll Need

Before you start, make sure you have everything you need and that it’s easy to reach from wherever you’re sitting. It’s also a good idea to make a quick trip to the bathroom. There’s nothing worse than creating an awesome mani and then ruining it because you didn’t prepare ahead!

Two colour polishes and a top coat

You can choose colours that compliment or go bold and pick two that clash. Experiment with different combinations and see what works.

A sponge, a plastic sheet and toothpicks

I bought a big bathroom sponge and I just cut sections off when I need them. The sections don’t have to be perfectly cut, as long as one side is flat it will work. You can use absolutely any sponge – a make-up sponge, washing up sponge or any other kind of sponge you can find.

If you don’t have any of these plastic wallets in the house, raid the kitchen cupboards for some foil or baking paper.

How to do Gradient Nails

Step 1

Using the lightest of the two colours, paint your nails and wait for it to dry completely.



Step 2

On a flat surface, paint a generous amount of the colours right next to each other on to the plastic. Make sure they’re just about touching at the edges.

Step 3

Using a toothpick, swirl the two colours together where they meet. The area where they mix will determine the length of the graduation. So if you want a long graduation, mix a bigger section of the colours, if you want less of a fade, just mix them together a tiny bit.

Step 4

Take your sponge and dab it directly down on to the polish a few times.

Step 5

Dab the sponge directly down on to your nail. Keep dabbing lightly and moving it very slightly up and down your nail.

You can repeat this step as many times as you need to. Just make sure each layer is completely dry before sponging again otherwise you will start smudging the underneath layers and ruin the whole thing.

Step 6

Add a topcoat. Or two or three! The sponging makes this mani very bumpy so you may need a couple of topcoats just to even out the surface.

Step 7

Clean up all the excess using a brush dipped in acetone or polish remover. I use a q-tip dipped in remover for the big bits I can reach on my skin, then a small brush in pure acetone as I get closer to my nail and to make a crisp line near the cuticles.

All finished!

[pipdig_category_section category=”Gradient” number=”6″ excerpt=”4″ border=”yes” shape=”square” view_all_button=”yes” title=”More Gradients”]