52 Week Challenge - Gradient Nails

This week is a gradient manicure - there are three main styles:
The first is the ombre, which I did about a month ago - a different shade on each nail creating a gradient across the hand. The other two are very similar - it involves creating a gradient on each nail. The syrup mani, which involves multiple layers of a sheer polish and the sponged or layered gradient like what I did for my Earth appreciation mani.

I decided to do a layered gradient - I tried sponging, but it didn't quite take with the nail polish I chose.
It was really hard to get a good photo of this one - I took about a dozen in different light.

I chose these colours, because I wanted to wear the manicure to a steampunk concert. I dressed up, and I figured why not have my nails match my look?

Started with Color Club Boho Mojo, 2 coats for the base - I've used this one before in a couple of manicures - obviously I like it!

I painted and sponged on OPI Shim-merry Chic from their Christmas '09 collection - I did this in two thin layers, one starting lower than the other to help the gradient along. I like this one - it's a sheer brown with red-green flakies and blue, green and orange iridescent glitter - fun! I grabbed the 'mini merries' set on sale after Christmas. I wish I had realized how pretty Shim-merry Chic was at the time so I could have picked up a full size bottle. Oh well! I'll just have to use my mini sparingly!

Then I finished off the tips with Color Club Nouveau Vintage, which is a nice shimmery bronze with some red-green in it as well.

Next week's is a Rock Star manicure ... not too sure what makes a manicure a "rock star" one ... hopefully google is my friend!

Filler Manicure

I'm still trying to figure out which flag to paint on my nails.
I'm thinking of just saying 'to hell with it' and doing the flag of Libya (it's solid green)

Anyways, my Ombre was chipping pretty badly, so I removed it and did another manicure before going to a family get-together yesterday.

2 coats of OPI Cuckoo for This Color (3 coats on a couple of nails, just because it didn't want to cooperate)

Then I chose Bundle Monster plate BM21 for the fancy filigree pattern and stamped it using Color Club Boho Mojo (seen in my very first post!)

It took a few tries, because the scraper wasn't getting all the polish off of the plate, so when I went to pick up the design, it was blobby.

I like how subtle the effect is - it's very delicate and pretty.

I'm providing two photos, because I chipped one of my nails while making dinner tonight (no, the nail polish didn't end up in the food - I'm more careful than that!), and because it was hard to get a photo.
Unfortunately, the tips are chipping already as well :(

Boho Mojo, Here We Go!

Let's get started!

Alright, now, my nails have never been in great shape - the middle finger on my left hand is the worst - it peels all the time. The others occasionally peel. I use my hands a lot - I type, paint, cook and do dishes, so I usually keep my nails short and rounded (just my preference, squared suits a lot of people, but it's not for me)

I decided to start trying to take better care of my nails.
My previous routine was to file the tips when necessary, and then once every month or so, cut, file and buff. Nothing special, and it mostly worked.
I picked up Sally Hansen's Healthy Cuticles Now! cream. It's been less than a week, so nothing much to report. I also grabbed a cuticle pusher / trimmer thing.

Here is my little collection ... there isn't a huge range of colours. I tend not to follow many fashion trends, so you won't see a lot of the latest and greatest things.
For my manicures, I generally start with an idea, and if I don't have the colour I need or want, I'll see if I can find it somewhere - usually on sale - hah!
Click the photo to see notes on flickr.

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Today's routine was: Remove last week's manicure and moisturize. Shower, then trim cuticles and apply cuticle cream. Then after I ate, I swiped my nails with remover just to get rid of any excess cream and oils, then started the nail polish application ...

Natural lighting:

With Flash:

I started with a basecoat of Revlon's Post Trauma Nail Treatment - this fills ridges and supposedly strengthens and restores nails. I figured I'd give it a shot, because of my usual problem nail. It dries quickly and has a matte finish. It would be nice to wear on it's own if you don't want it to look like you're wearing nail polish, but want that protection.

I used 2 coats of OPI's Skull and Glossbones, an off-white creme (sort of a grey-taupe shade). I wanted a pale, solid base on my nail, since I was planning on using a fairly sheer frost polish. I chose this shade, because it has similar tones to the next colour.

Then I applied 2 thin coats of Color Club's Boho Mojo, from their Back to Boho collection. I found the shimmers set for crazy cheap at Winners. I wish they had the cremes as well, but alas!
As I read in several other reviews, you get visible brushstrokes. I think because I started with an opaque basecoat, and only did a couple of thin layers, the brushstrokes aren't as bad.

Once that was all dry, I used a Claire's detail polish to draw two thin diagonal stripes on each nail. I grabbed this idea from my friend who did the same thing, but with a base of iridescent glitter.

I topped the whole thing off with Color Club's topcoat from the Back to Boho set. I usually use OPI's topcoat, but I wanted to try this one out. It's got a VERY strong smell. It's been a few hours, and I can still smell it.
However, this one dried a lot faster than the OPI.