Hi Goddesses
Today is an awesome day in the blogging world. For the past month, a host of bloggers have been in possession of 3 piCture pOlish shades and the following mission - create some nail art using these 3 colours AND create a tutorial. For any nail art fan, that is amazing news, so enjoy all the tutorials you're going to see today. Oh and as piCture pOlish will be picking the next 3 bloggers to make Collaboration shades with, there may also be voting involved!
I was sent Beige, Wisteria and Honeydew to play with, and I think I did really well combowise as the colours play nicely together. However, I've had the journey from hell to get to today's mani and you'll see that unfold over the week. Let's just say that you're going to be treated to these 3 colours every day this week lol.
What I came up with is a spin on the reciprocal gradient, which you've seen on the blog a couple of times, and which was first created by Emma at Globe and Nail. When I did my last one, someone commented that it would be interesting to see how it worked with 3 colours ... and that's what we have here.
I really like the subtlety of the striped nails here, and a lot of the credit for that has to go to Beige, which is just so deliciously creamy. Also, I think you have to be pretty careful on your colour choice if you're going to use 3.
Ready to see how this was put together? Today I'm just going to show you how to the reciprocal gradient - I'll run you through the rose pattern later in the week.
Tools
- 3 polishes
- sponge
-thin striping tape
- scissors
- tweezers
Step 1
Paint your nails with your base colour. I used 3 coats of Beige for opacity.
Step 2
Once this is dry, apply your gradient.
When I did my hand, I used a blobbing mat for this part, but for the tutorial, it was easier to paint the sponge. Either method will work.
TIP - when I do my gradients, I apply it once, and then go back and do it again with a loose bouncy hand. You want the sponge to bounce on and off your nail to get the full blend effect.
Step 3
Wait for your nails to be completely dry before you start this step.
We're now going to apply my tape. My preferred method is to cut all my tape first. I have long strands of it hanging off the desk, which I then apply to my nail. I usually get 3 nail lengths out of each long strip.
You want to press the tape down firmly, and leave a free edge for when we come to take it off.
Step 4
Apply your reciprocal gradient.
If you were doing the "normal" reciprocal gradient, you just use your original 2 colours at this point, but reversed. As I was adding in a 3rd colour, all I had to do was make sure that the 1 common colour (Beige) was at the opposite end of the sponge to the first time.
Again, apply your sponge with bounce!
Now, because the Beige was less opaque than the Honeydew, I had to revert to cheating here. To get the opacity of the Beige that I needed, I ended up painting it directly onto the nail, bouncing, painting, and bouncing, until I had the desired opacity. Often when I am doing a gradient, I will paint and bounce the tip, to make sure I have the highest colour saturation possible.
Step 5
Ok, so now we're ready to take off our tape.
TIPS - steady hand, steady motion. I always pull towards me. And thanks to The Nailasaurus, I always use tweezers - I find it gives a crisper pull.
My tweezers are nothing special but they do have sharp tips - they came free with a pack of sequins, and I use them for tape and for applying bling.
Step 6
Keep stripping!
Step 7
Top coat - I always use Poshe.
What I find really interesting with gradients is how much the top coat smooths the colour. It really works here, but if you don't like that effect, leave it uncoated, or apply a matte TC.
So there you have it. NOW, the important stuff. There is a competion, and the winner gets to make a polish with piCture pOlish. Do I need to tell you how exciting a Crumpet polish would be??
There are 3 awards that will be voted and chosen as follows via the piCture pOlish special Pinterest Blog Fest 2013 board :
1 x Award - as voted by PP friends and fans
1 x Award - as voted by the participants of Blog Fest 2013
1 x Award - as voted by Jules & Megs of piCture pOlish
There are 3 awards that will be voted and chosen as follows via the piCture pOlish special Pinterest Blog Fest 2013 board :
1 x Award - as voted by PP friends and fans
1 x Award - as voted by the participants of Blog Fest 2013
1 x Award - as voted by Jules & Megs of piCture pOlish
To vote for ME, please head to the piCture pOlish Pinterest board HERE, and LIKE my mani. As soon as I have the direct link, I will update this post.
So, now the official stuff, which is just as important. Obviously, these 3 polishes were sent to me for review. You can find out everything you need to know about piCture pOlish on these links - Shipping, Network and Everyday Deals pages - and you can also follow them on the social media links below. [Network is the important one, it tells you where you can buy].
Ok Crumpeteers, I love you - the rest is in your hands :) xx