Vacation Gradient Nails!

Howdy folks! I just got back from a gorgeous vacation in Colorado, so this is just a quick post to show what I wore on my nails on the trip! 

My original plan was the gradient you see here, but with added clouds and a sun as inspired by all the air travel and amazing view I'd have on the vacation. Once I'd done the gradient, though,  I was really satisfied with how it turned out, and I didn't want to mess it up, so I left it as is! I know almost everyone in the nail polish world knows how to do a gradient by now, but I couldn't stop myself from taking a picture of every step (plus, every person does a gradient differently, so I figured it'd be fun to show you guys which technique I like to use). Enjoy!

You'll need:
- base coat
- white polish
- dark and light blue polish
- makeup sponge
- top coat

Start off with a base coat and paint your nails white. 

China Glaze - White on White

The gradient technique I like to use is to paint three colors together, overlapping each one slightly, onto a makeup sponge. They can overlap as much or as little as you want, but make sure not to skimp on the polish. You don't want enough that the polish stops soaking into the sponge, but you want enough that you're not running out of stuff to put on your nail before you're done perfecting how it looks.

Light blue: China Glaze - Secret Peri-Wink-le
Dark blue: China Glaze - First Mate

Lightly dab the sponge up and down while making sure to apply polish on all of the nail. You can move the sponge up and down more for a smoother gradient look, or less for less combination of the three colors. It's okay to get polish on your skin!

I also like to apply my top coat one nail at a time to smooth out the gradient a bit before the polish can fully dry. I'm really not sure how well this works, though, so if you want to get it all done at the same time you can use your top coat on all the fingers at once at the end.

All that's left is cleaning your cuticles! Hooray! I prefer to use a cotton swab on the skin part and a smaller brush for the actual cuticles, but do whatever works best for you!

Aannd picture time!

And of course I had to take a picture of my nails with the clouds as my background - it's not a backdrop I get to use very often! :)

So... I hope you all enjoyed the post! I've got another one almost pulled together, so you should be seeing that later this week. And as usual, if you want to be notified whenever there's a new post, make sure to follow my blog with any of the social networking buttons on the side! See you all in a couple days!