“Ombré” seems to be the trendiest word of the summer. From hair color to maxi dresses, the gradient color style is everywhere, and has now trickled down to the world of fingernail fashion.
To achieve the much-desired ombré manicure, one could easily pay big bucks for a salon job. Or just use the products and tools that you already have in your makeup bag to pull off this look at home.
Below see everything you need to recreate this fresh salon style in a snap.
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you'll need two polishes and a top coat. the polish remover, cotton balls and Q-tips are my clean-up crew.[/caption]
Just pick two of your favorite polishes and grab an old makeup sponge. Does anyone really use those to apply makeup anymore? I don’t think so. But I’m willing to bet that you have two or three stashed away in a drawer in the bathroom.
Start by applying one of your polishes all over your nails. I did two coats of my lighter polish (Crewed Interest, by Essie) for my base coat.
Once those are done, wet your makeup sponge and then wring it out until it’s only slightly damp. This moisture will prevent the sponge from soaking up all of the polish you’re about to paint onto it.
Using your other polish color, (I used Tarte Deco, again by Essie), paint an area along the edge of the sponge. Two or three heavy coats will absorb into the sponge and be the perfect consistency to be pressed onto your nail.
Carefully fold the sponge in half (I say “carefully” because your nails will still be wet from the basecoat!) and blot it along the top half of each nail. You can make your two-toned effect as dramatic as you’d like. Your sponge will probably need a re-up of polish along the way, but less is always more in any beauty experiment; in other words, be gentle and deliberate with your sponging.
As soon as all nail tips have been blotted, paint over with a clear top coat to further assist in blending.
Voila! Easy-peasey ombré nails, on the cheap. I went for a less dramatic color combo, but I can’t wait to try a more funky mix.
Share your own experimental nail projects, as well as any other thoughts or questions, by finding Hello Luvvy on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. And email us at helloluvvy@gmail.com.
Now enjoy your Monday. Oh and go put on some lipstick.
