Saturday, June 16, 2012

Jumping on the Gradient Bandwagon...(and SHXW Sun Kissed)

AKA one of the few instances of nail art you will probably ever see here, lol. I knew going into it that sponging would be difficult, but jeez :| Nail art is just not my thing. Luckily, after 3 or 4 rounds of sponging (and a thick coat of Gelous afterward), I got this result:


I used 1 coat of Essie Ole Caliente for the base, and as you can see, SHXW Sun Kissed is the other color. In retrospect, I should have sponged the orange onto the tips rather than the base, because I can see a few spots around my eponychia where Ole Caliente is still visible...I also had issues with flooding, because I put too much polish on the sponge. Cleanup was a nightmare, but I think that's kind of to be expected. I wound up just picking off the excess polish in the shower.

Despite the difficulties, I can see why gradients are so popular right now! All the flaws you can see in the macro shots aren't visible from a normal distance, so it looks really cool in person. Kinda reminds me of some sort of fruity summery drink.

I've already shown you Ole Caliente, but here's a photo of Sun Kissed that I took a while ago, under artificial light. It's actually a lot more yellow-toned than you'd think based on my photo of the gradient.


The formula is...not good. It's really thin and watery, and needs 4 coats for opacity. It is very bright and fun though, and the drying time wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

Thanks for looking and commenting, and enjoy your weekend!