If you follow me on Instagram you will know that for the last few weeks I really have been getting into my nail art. I have been considering doing a nail art post for a while. When I saw the money smart nail art competition I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to give it a go. I chose this look as I think it really gives a professional look but can be achieved using bits and pieces from around the house. Even if you did need to buy all the items listed it would only cost you a couple of pounds. So here it is….
What you will need:
Base colour, two colours that you wish to blend, top coat, cuticle stick (or cocktail stick/toothpick), a plastic sheet (I used a plastic wallet) and a sponge.
Step one:
Start off with clean, filed finger nails. First you need to create your base layer. I chose white to really make the faded colours stand out but you can use the lighter colour of your two colours that you wish to blend if you prefer. You need to wait until your base layer is completely dry before you start the next step.
Step two:
Lay out your plastic sheet, I used a plastic wallet for this but you could use foil or cling film if you don’t have one to hand. Make a 5p sized blob of each of your chosen nail colour on the plastic right next to each other. The colours need to be touching.
Step three:
Use your tooth pick/cocktail stick/cuticle stick to blend the two colours together. The length of the fade will be determined by how much you mix together. The longer you want the fade the more you should mix together.
Step four:
Take your sponge. I picked up this bag of sponges from my local 99p shop but you could use any sponge you have lying around, a bath sponge or make up sponge. Remember if you are using a bigger sponge to cut it down to the right size first. These were already the perfect size so I dabbed it in the polish a few times.
Step five:
Dab the colour onto your nail. I did a thin layer on each nail. But then repeated this three times to get a the colour strength I wanted. You can do this as many times as you like, just make sure each layer is dry before you start the next.
Step six:
The BIG clean up. This takes a while and is the most important part. It’s worth spending time on this section to ensure you don’t take off any polish on the nail. I used my cuticle stick dipped in acetone for most of it and then used a cotton bud dipped in acetone for the stubborn bits.
Step seven:
Once your all tidied up you can apply the top coat. I did two layers to make sure the sponge bumps were all smoothed out. Well Ahh!!
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