Wednesday, May 9, 2012

NOTD: Summery Gradient Konadicure

Hi everyone!  I'm baaaaack!  My semester officially ended yesterday when I submitted my final paper.  Woo hoo!  Hello summer vacation!  The first thing I did was remove my old, chipped-up manicure and pedicure and spent the afternoon giving myself an all new mani/pedi.  I'm also fighting a case of bronchitis, so it was nice to rest and do something fun.

Today's mani is a summer inspired gradient with a flowery design stamped over it.  I started with 2 thin coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow.  Next, I used a small eyeshadow brush to dab on 1 coat of Wet n Wild Sunny Side Up about 2/3 way up my nail, starting at the cuticle.  (Sponges work great for this, but I didn't have any.)  Next, I used Sinful Colors Hazard and dabbed on more polish on the bottom 1/3 of my nail.  I love gradients because they're messy, which means my klutzy self doesn't have to be so careful. :)

Next, I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Slick Slate and Shany stamping plate SH03 for the design.  I purposely used the entire design in some places and only half of the design in others so that each nail was a little bit different.  Using the Insta-Dri polishes is great for stamping because they're highly pigmented, but they're formulated to dry fast so it's tricky to get a good design on the stamp each time.  My stamping turned out a little messy, but since it's over a gradient design I feel like it still works.  Finally, I added a little bit of gold glitter in the center of the flowers and topped if off with quick dry top coat.


What do you think? I'm really liking this design.  Maybe it's because I haven't had any fun manicures in awhile.

That's all for today.  I hope you're having a great week!  :)

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