Gradient Friday : All wrapped up

Using saran wrap to make this gradient was a lot of fun. I read about this on pinterest and could not wait to try it myself. I used Layla CE 84 as my basecoat. It is a creamy bright yellow that was opaque in 2 but slightly streaky if you do not use enough polish on your brush. It applied pretty smoothly and the color stays on well. Next I used a ball of saran wrap and dapped on Joe Watermelon. I sealed this fun summery gradient nail look off with my favorite top coat and voila!

 Layla CE 84 was given to me for review. All opinions are my own.

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Gradient Friday : Foil

Ciaté has been releasing a number of very fun and creative textured nail polish sets and now that they are being carried by Sephora in Canada, I can finally get my hands on them. I had previously tried their velvet manicure set (seen here) and this time around, I was intrigued to try their colourful nail foil set. They have a variety of different color combinations; the one I chose is called Kaleidoscopic Klash. Each set comes with a nail polish color, mine came with pepperminty – a mint green cream, foil fix glue, and 30 pieces of multicolored foil. After you apply your nail polish color, you add some glue on spots you want the foil color, and then push the foil down – shiny side up. I attempted a gradient with mine using red Blaze, pink Babe, and silver Brill. All in all, I really enjoyed using this set as I have always found package foil in nails stores a bit intimidating. One slight criticism is the choice of color polish they included in the pack as it did not really mix well with the coloured foil. Have an amazing weekend.

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Gradient Friday : Happy Easter

Good Friday is a day to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for all of us on the cross...a time of reflection and thanks.

For this Easter-y gradient, I painted my nails with a coat of Sally Hansen White On. Next, I painted 3 lines using the three polishes I chose on a sponge and sponged only 1 layer on because I wanted a lighter whimsical effect. I used Joe Blueberry, Joe Lavender, and Joe Buttercup.

Wishing you a wonderful Easter weekend.

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Gradient Friday : Irish Luck

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day here in Canada, I did a green gradient in commemoration. I used 3 coats of NCLA AM:Beauty Sleep PM: Shopping Spree as my base coat. This is my first time using this 5 free brand (Formaldehyde, DBP, Toulene, Camphor and Animal Testing) and I found this polish to be quite hard to work with and needed a thick coat in order for it to be smooth. I sponged on Joe Mojito Mix, a deeper minty green, near the tips. I blended the gradient using nails inc The Wyndham, a flaky green special top coat effect. Finally, I used Milani Gold as my accent nail and drew a shamrock using Milani nail art in green. 

I am going on a short vacation, so I will blog when I am back!

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Gradient Friday : Jammed Packed

It has been crazy hectic with trying to juggle everything in my life right now, so I thought it would be fitting to do a gradient that kind of reflects all the different parts of my life coming together. I started out with 2 coats of Essence nude glam café olé, a light beige cream, as my base. Next, I sponged on joe Periwinkle, a cream blue, on the top half of my nails. Following that, I stamped on the cracked lines from a BM plate using purple Konad polish. I finished this mani off with a coat of Seche Vite.  

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Gradient Friday : Anti-Bullying Edition

Anti-bullying day is coming up this week so I decided to do a pink gradient in honor of it. I used Joe Cherry Blossom, a pale creamy pink, as my base color. Next, I used a sponge and painted two stripes of color to create my sponge gradient. I used Joe Watermelon, a bright fuchsia pink, and Lacoste Hermine Pink Lemonade, a bright lemonade pink, for this mani. Spread the message that bullying in all forms is unacceptable and stand up against it. Have a nice weekend. 

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Gradient Friday : CNY Edition

Wishing you all a very happy Chinese New Year filled with happiness and joy. May it bring prosperity and good fortune to all of you.

Zoya Carmen / Dr.s Remedy Glee Gold / OPI The Man with The Golden Gun

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Gradient Friday: I Theodore You & Which is Witch?

Here are 2 other colors for OPI Oz The Great and Powerful collection that is coming out. They were a perfect pair for this weeks gradient Friday. First up, I used a coat of Sally Hansen White On as OPI I Theodore You is on the sheer side. Next I used 2 coats of OPI I Theodore You, a sheer baby pink, as my base color. Finally, I used OPI Which is Witch?, a stunning clear based bar, circle, hexagonal glitter mix, on my tips for the gradient fading effect. I sealed this off with a coat of Seche Vite. I think Which Is Witch? Is one of the must haves of this collection, there are a few other ones I want to try as well…

Polishes were sent to me for review. All opinions are my own.

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Gradient Friday : Tranzitions

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you know how excited I was when I heard that China Glaze was coming out with a line of polishes that changes color with the addition of top coat. China Glaze's Tranzition line opens up a door of opportunities for lots of cute designs without having the bulky layers and worrying about matching colors. 

First up is a gradient tip design I did but did not fully capture well. I found that the more layers of top coat you added, the darker the color turned, so I tried a 2 layer tip gradient which is a bit hard to see in the pictures for which I apologize. I cannot wait to show you more cute designs from these polishes. I used China Glaze Modify Me for this gradient, which turns to a darker blue with top coat.

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Gradient Friday : Bottom up Sparkle

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Past year of gradients...

2012 has come to a close and 2013 has just begun…Here are some of my favorite gradients for the past year. Here is wishing for a great 2013.

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Sneaking up to Christmas...

Christmas is nearing and decorating the tree is one of my favorite Christmas activities. This mani was inspired by all the silver glitter and decorations on the tree, and since it is Christmas, I thought it would be fitting to use holographic polishes for that extra sparkle. For my base color I used OPI DS Coronation, a sparkly holographic silver polish, which is opaque in 3 thin coats. Next I used Butter Trustafarian, a sparkly sage green polish. I painted it directly on the tips and used a sponge just lightly on the intersecting area because holographic polishes are so easy to blend.  For an added festive look, I stamped on a cute holiday image using BM plate 213. More festive looks to come!

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Gradient Friday : Breaking Dawn

If you are a follower on my instagram and twitter, you know that I was extremely excited to find the essence Twilight: Break Dawn part 2 line at my local Shoppers. I picked up all 4 colors so it's only fitting that I used one for this week's gradient Friday. I decided to use Jacob’s protection, a deep blue jelly polish with blue, silver and purple fine glitter, as my base. The formulation on this polish was a bit goopy and was a bit hard to apply. I added a few drops of my nail thinner (Seche Restore) and then it applied better. This polish takes a while to dry, so you need to be patient and not move around too much. I used China Glaze Angel Wings on my accent finger and also for my sponge gradient. Happy Friday! 

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Gradient Friday : Fading Gradient

I started this fading gradient by using essie chinchilly, a cream granite grey with a hint of purple, at the tips of my nails. I let it dry a bit and then used a clear polish to drag out the bottom color towards my cuticles. Next, I used nails inc. special effects sugar house lane, a beige cupcake sprinkle effect, and applied it in the middle of my nails. After letting it dry for a bit, I used the clear polish to drag it down towards my cuticles for a gradient fading look. For my accent finger, I used China Glaze Glistening Snow which is a beautiful silver sparkle polish with holographic bits scattered throughout. 

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Gradient Friday : 2 way gradient

I decided to do a 2 way subtle gradient this week to share with y'all. First, I started off with a light to dark gradient from pinky to my thumb. Then I shifted the polish colors down and sponged them lightly on the tips. I wanted a more raw looking gradient, so I did not use a top coat to blend.

Base color from pinky to thumb: GOSH Bright Idea / Essie Chinchilly / Sally Hansen Greige Gardens / Essie Merino Cool / Essie Mink Muffs

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Gradient Friday : Glitter on Dark Navy

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Gradient Friday : Changing leaves

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Gradient Friday : Shades of Blue

Essie Lapis of Luxury / Essie Mesmerize / Gosh Attitude / Essence Edward

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Gradient Friday : Studded Purple

OPI Parlez-Vous OPI? / China Glaze Jungle Queen / China Glaze Purr-fect Plum / CND Raspberry Sparkle / Martha Stewart metallic glass microbeads

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Gradient Friday : Chrome

I am totally loving these chrome polishes. They are so pretty and not that streaky at all compared to past chrome polishes. I used 3 coats China Glaze No Plain Jane, a chrome deep purple, for my base coat. Next, I used China Glaze Want My Bawdy, a chrome royal blue, to sponge on my tips. I finished this manicure off with some white dots and a coat of Seche Vite.

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