Bling without a ring

You would have to live under a rock (or any other object that would make it difficult to stay in contact with the rest of civilisation) not to have noticed the massive beauty trend of… Nail Art!

Made popular by such celebrities as Beyonce, Katy Perry and Rihanna; I personally think that having well looked after nails is a necessity. Hands are one of the first things I notice when sitting next to someone or shaking hands and well let’s be honest, dirty, yellow, uneven nails are disgusting! So; I’m going to show you a surprisingly easy way to tap into the nail art trend. So now everyone who sees your hands will be wowed!

This is a gradient design and can be done any colour you choose. I chose purple as that’s the colour I have most of.

Firstly you need to apply a base coat. This gives a smoother surface to paint on and prevents staining your nail.






I eventually chose these three

Next, choose three different shades of the same/similar colours. Trust me, this is the hardest part!

Paint the whole of your nail in the lightest shade first. I needed to apply two coats to get a greater opacity of colour as my nail varnish was quite thin. Though if your nail varnish is of better consistency then it’s not necessary to apply two coats as most of it will be covered later with the two other colours.

The next bit is where it gets fun! Take a makeup sponge, I used  a round one, as that’s all I’d got but I prefer using the more triangular ones.  If you’re using a round makeup sponge simply fold it in half to give you a more definite point.

Using the nail varnish brush, paint the next darkest colour onto the edge of the sponge. Then, dab the painted sponge onto your nail starting at the top of the nail and working down towards your finger as you want the colour to gradually fade.

  TopTip: apply less pressure the further down the nail you are. Also, if you’ve painted too much colour on, simply dab off any excess on a spare piece of paper or tissue.   

Once you’ve got something similar to above, repaint the edge of the sponge in your last and darkest colour. Repeat the dabbing action with the sponge onto your nail but don’t go as far down, concentrating on the tip of the nail

Finally, if you want to add a bit more pizzazz to your nail add a coat of glitter nail varnish. Again, apply the majority to the tip of the nail. I find adding a coat of glitter helps merge the colours, giving a more seamless gradient effect.

Last but not least seal with a topcoat.

Toptip: Clean up any mistakes with a cotton bud dipped in nail varnish remover

TopTip: You can reapply topcoat every couple of days to increase the longevity of your manicure and keep it looking fresh.