Rainbow Non-Linear Gradient with Black Swirls

Hello everyone! My inspiration for today's manicure was kinda of a hodge-podge of a couple different designs I came across. First I came across this video tutorial by MySimpleLittlePleasures. Then a few days later I came across this Chalkboard Nails design with the non-linear gradient and leopard print. So, I put my own spin on it by combining the two ideas.

These are the supplies I used in creating this design: a 3oz. cup of room temperature distilled water, scotch tape, a makeup sponge, precision tip q-tips, acetone or nail polish remover, and not pictured was a drawing tool for the marbling. I used a small gauge knitting needle, but you could also use either a toothpick, dotting tool, pin, or orange stick.

 As always, I started with a basecoat to protect my natural nails and finished everything with a quick dry top coat to seal the design and extend the wearing time of the manicure.

 The colors used in the non-linear (not in a vertical or horizontal pattern) are pictured on the right. I used Sinful Colors 944 Innocent (green), Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 320 Fuchsia Power (pink), and Sinful Colors 978 Amethyst (purple).

Last but least, here are the colors used in the marbling, plus the white I used as a base color before applying the gradient. The white is PureICE 611 CP Platinum. The black is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 370 Black Out and then Sinful Colors 1064 Clear Coat.





After applying my basecoat and 1 coat of white polish I let them dry completely and then taped each finger. There is a video of how to do this on my tip and tricks post earlier this month. Then I applied the applied the polish for the circle gradient directly to the sponge. I dampened the sponge and rung it out well first, which makes it absorb less of the polish so you don't waste so much. Danielle from rocknpolish has a good photo tutorial on this, if you are a visual learner like me. You will probably need to sponge on to or three layers to get the polish opaque. Also, rotate the sponge a bit between nails so that the colors appear in different patterns. 

This is after the 1 coat of white. The polish isn't fully opaque, but it was enough coverage for what I wanted. Also, you can see that is a shimmer polish. You could also use a creme if you prefer.
The second picture is after sponging on the gradient. I did one hand at a time from start to finish, because that's just easier for me, but I did notice that doing it this way required me to use a new sponge on my second hand. If you are trying to minimize product usage and waste, then you should probably do each step for both hands before moving on.







Once the polish was complete dry, I added a protective top coat before I started the marbling. I used a 3oz Dixie cup with room temperature distilled water. I started by dropping 2 or 3 drops of black because I wanted it to be opaque. But I noticed that when I added the clear polish, it darkened the black, so I started over and only used one drop of black. I did a sequence of black, clear, black, clear, black and clear for a total of 6 rings to my bulls-eye. Then I drew from the center in all four directions: up, down, left, and right. Then I drew one big swirl starting at the inside of the cup and ending at the center. You can just do the swirl if you want, but keep in mind that the more lines you draw before the swirl, the more intricate your finished design will look. The I dipped my nail. I did one nail at a time as is my personal preference, but you can dip as many as you can comfortably fit into the cup with smudging any designs. Then use a q-tip to clean the excess polish from the surface of the water. Once the water is as clean as you can make it, slowly remove your finger. Tapping it gently on a paper towel will help prevent any pesky bubbles. Once all you nails have been dipped, you can remove the tape, wait for them to dry and then finish with your favorite quick-dry top coat. Below are picture of my finished results.

Left hand

Left hand

Right hand

Right hand

The final step is to use a q-tip and/or angled eye-liner brush dipped in acetone/remover to clean up any polish on your finger and around your cuticles. And you're finished! Enjoy your manicure and don't forget to leave comments! If you duplicate this manicure (or any part of it), post them to my facebook page cuz' I would love to see them!