Gradient Nail Art with Konad Stamping Nail Art

HEY HI HEY HI HEEEY :D

Three days ago, on our trip to CDO, I saw this awesome rainbow. (I just love rainbows) Because of that, I thought about doing gradient nails! I have these really cute pastel colours that I rarely get to use and I thought that this would be the perfect time to use them since summer is almost at its end and when school comes, I'm not going to be able to wear nail polish T_T (But I'm still going to wear them on weekends though)

[Please forgive the lack of photos and detailed steps ... again, I was alone the time I did my nails and I had no one to help me take photos T_T]

Here are the stuff I used: (You can click on the images for a bigger version of them)

L-R:

*The Face Shop 02 (Base Coat)

*TFC WH002

*TFC PP401

*TFC GR501

*TFC YL701

*TFC BL601

*Konad Special NP Black

*Konad Top Coat

*Stamp

*Scraper (I don't use the Konad scraper because it damages the plates. I use discarded gift cards or whatever is strong enough to swipe away extra nail polish)

*Sponge (I tried using the gradient sponge I got from Etude [the one I used in my Galaxy Nail Art] but it had big holes and it showed when you dab it on your nails so I used a regular sponge instead -- the one you use for make-up.)

*Konad Image Plate m57 (Leopard)

First and foremost, remove any nail polish you have on your nails 

(I had my nail water slide decals on) It was a handful to take off with just a cotton ball and some acetone T_T I had to do a lot of rubbing, sooo .... I decided to use the foil method (which I'm going to make a post about soon). After 5 minutes, it all came off nice and easy <3 YAY FOR THE FOIL METHOD :D 

Do your nail care routine -- apply your nail nourishers, trim and file your nails but don't push or cut your cuticles! (I'm going to make a post about that too) 

Here's what I always use to harden my nails:

I got it from Etude.

Brush on your base coat and let it dry. Apply one or two coats of white nail polish. It doesn't have to be perfect, nor does it have to be completely opaque. It'll just help bring out the colour of the nail polishes you're going to be putting on as a gradient since it's going to be really sheer.

On a tissue, palette, paper or anywhere you want -- put two to three drops of your nail polishes.

Grab your sponge (Use tweezers for better gripping) and dab it on your first colour (the one that's going to be placed near your cuticles). Mine's purple. 

Then, dab it lightly on the base of your nails. You don't want to dab to hard, it'll become very opaque. work your way to the middle of your nail and while you do, dab lighter and lighter to create that fading effect.

Next, dab you sponge on your second colour that'll be placed in the middle of your nail. Mine's going to be a greenish-blue. Like before, dab it lightly on the middle part of your nails and work your way slowly to the tip of your nail.

Repeat with your third colour. Mine, obviously, is yellow.

You can apply some shimmer if you want to. If not, then lightly apply a very thin coat of top coat to even out the nail polish. (It'll bulge all around because of the dabbing technique)

If you want to keep it that way, then brush on some top coat and you're done (if you added some shimmer), but if you didn't add some shimmer and instead added some top coat, then you're done just like that. If you want to proceed to the stamping nail art part, then don't brush on some top coat.

[Again, I'm so sorry about not having much more detailed pictures to show you]

With your Konad image plate m57, stamp and scraper, apply the Leopard print on your nails. Remove the excess nail polish on the sides of your nails and on your cuticles. Then, lightly apply some top coat so as not to smudge your nail art design.

And voila! You're done. It's so easy but it does leave a mess though. xD

That's all for now, check back for a post on my nail care routine and about the foil method :D