14 Days of Pink: Pink Zebra stripes

I'm digging pretty deeply now, arn't I? This is a much harder challenge than I thought it would be! lol!

So why not a pink gradient zebra? The gradient was actually some of my best work...the stripes...eh. But it was still pretty!

Sally Hansen Sweetheart, Rose Amore, Pure Ice Jamaica Me Crazy and Art Deco white

Challenge Monday: Gradient nails

Another challenge! This challenge was to do gradient nails. I'm still new to gradients, so this isn't the best...but I liked the colors together.

Gradient Nails

I did a 2 layers of Finer Paint Sketchy Character and then used a cosmetic sponge and sponged on this no name bronze. It was really pretty in real life.

Finger Paint Sketchy Character and no name bronze

Zebra stripes: Gradient: purple and silver

Weee! Another crazy zebra stripe gradient! I started off with two coats of Wet N Wild Eggplant Frost. Next, I sponged (using the edge of a cosmetic sponge) a layer of Wet N Wild Fast Dry in Gray's Anatomy, followed by the tips in Wet N Wild Fast Dry Silvivor. I LOVE Silvivor. After the job was done I used my Art Deco thin tipped brush in black and made some fun free hand zebra stripes.

Zebra stripes gradient

See? Pretty easy and WILD looking! Ha! fun fun!

Wet n Wild Fast Dry Silvivor, Gray's Anatomy, Wild Shine in Eggplant Frost, Art Deco in black

Zebra stripes: Gradient: purple and turqoise

Yesterday I decided to finally get brave and use a L.A. Color Art Deco thin brush nail polish. They can be found at practically any "Dollar" store (Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar... you name it!) for .99. I love the peacock gradient but I wanted a little something MORE on it--so this is what happened! I'd never done a zebra/tiger strip before but I like it! HERE's a tutorial on youtube if you want to see how easy it can be!

Sponge Mani: Gradient: purple and turqoise (peacock!)

Right to left: Wet n' Wild Wild Shine in Eggplant Frost and Caribbean Frost. A gnarly cosmetic sponge.

Have you ever seen those super cool gradient manicures and wondered how they did it? Thanks to YouTube.. I now know! The secret is a cosmetic sponge (or any sponge really)! I applied 2 layers of Wet n' Wild Wild Shine Caribbean Frost. I waited for mine to dry.. accidentally. I think it would blend better if you did it all in one step, really. Then, I took my Eggplant Frost (I love this color) and Caribeean Frost and tabbed a little of  both on some waxed paper and mixed them with a qtip. I'm sure a toothpick would have been more ideal. Meh. Then I cut off a corner of the sponge--to avoid a line sponged on--and gentle applied the mixed color to 2/3rds of my nail, leaving some of the Caribeean frost in view. Next, I did the same technique, but just plopped some of the Eggplant Frost to the sponge and sponged the tips. Voila! A beautiful peacock gradient is born!

Sure, it could have been blended better, but from a distance, this is a cool mani.

Thanks for stopping by! What colors for a gradient mani would you use?