Materials I used:
Base coat - INM Ridge Free
Gradient colors - Lucky Lacquer 'Forget Me Not,' 'Mint Daisy,' & 'Teal We Meet Again'
Make up sponge
Mani mask - Ellagee 'Lickity Split Mani Mask'
Glitter topper: Color Club 'Concrete Jungle'
Image plate - Pueen 15
Silver stamping polish from Mundo de Unas
Stamper and scrapper from Fab Ur Nails
Top coat - Rica 'Glossy Glam'
To give my gradient something to stick to I started off with one coat of the lightest color used in the gradient.
I prepped my fingers with a mani masks, because I am very messy I also apply the mask to the tips of my fingers too.
Using a slightly damp make up sponge I applied my gradient. It took about four applications to achieve the desired opacity. I don't always mention this but I typically dampen the sponge I'm using for gradients because it smooths out the colors and help to create a better blended gradient.
With the gradient complete, I took a moment and removed the mani mask and did a brief clean up.
I really love the way this gradient turned out and I almost left it there but then I remembered a sparkly top coat that I have had in my stash for a while that I thought would compliment this nicely. So I went ahead and applied said top coat...
The iridescent shimmer and the blue made me think of the ocean, and what lives in the ocean? Well mermaids, of course. I thought this would be an ideal time to try out some stamping. Sadly, I don't have a mermaid or simple scale image. However, I found this fancy scallop print that almost reminds me of a mermaid scale so I thought it would work just fine for this nail art. Using the image from Pueen plate 15, silver stamping polish from Mundo de Unas, and my new favorite XL squishy stamper from Fab Ur Nails, I stamped the scallop print on all my nails.
The image transferred perfectly except for a couple areas where my aim was a little off, yay! I finished up this nail art by cleaning up with acetone and a brush, and apply a glossy top coat.
For a spur of the moment, completely unplanned, thrown together nail art I think this turned out very well. I do want to practice stamping a bit more and there are lots of images that I have that are inspiring so many different nail art ideas.
I think I would like to try my hand at reverse stamping again. I've tried it once before, but was frustrated because I couldn't pick up a crisp image but that doesn't seem to be a problem with my new stamping supplies.
I really am in love with this design. I hope it lasts a while because I'm not going to have much time for nail art the rest of this week, plus it's really pretty. I hope you too enjoyed this nail art, thanks for stopping by, see you next time.
Your Fellow Plebe,
