Electric Gradient Goes Matte

Hey there! Nail It! Magazine has posted their latest submission prompts on their site and I have been thinking up ideas and working on manis. Obviously, today’s mani is the result of their matte prompt! I decided to tackle it by using some untried polishes!

This was a multi-step mani. To start it off, I painted one coat of Nicole by OPI – Pretty in Plum on all of my nails. I used it for the base because it is fairly thin and doesn’t come on as strong as the other polish (Nicole by OPI – Candid Cameron) in the gradient. I gave it about a minute to dry then applied both colors to a latex-free makeup sponge and began to sponge on my gradient. It took 3 passes to reach full coverage and I applied one coat of Seche Vite to help the colors blend and to preserve the gradient for my stamping. The result was pretty amazing!

I’m not afraid to say that I completely fell in love with this look. These colors go together so well and the combination is so electric. Wah! However, I started this mani off with a mission so I went ahead and covered this up.

I stamped on a lovely filigree pattern from Born Pretty Plate BPL-027 using Essie – No Place Like Chrome. I gave it about 30 seconds to set then topped it with a coat of Seche Vite. Once the Seche was dry to the touch I applied a coat of NYC – Matte Me Crazy to get to that final result.

POLISHES:

• Essie – Grow Stronger Base Coat
• Nicole by OPI – Candid Cameron
• Nicole by OPI – Pretty in Plum
• Essie – No Place Like Chrome
• Seche Vite – Dry Fast Top Coat
• NYC – Matte Me Crazy

• BPL-027

I admit, I was a bit disappointed with my final mani (which is dumb, because it turned out just how I had envisioned) but I was so in love with the original gradient that the final result left me feeling a bit meh. The matte finish dulls out the electric brilliance, which I think is the killer for me. However, as far as manis go in general, I really do like this one, though I wish my stamping was a bit straighter.