31 Day Challenge (v.2!) Day 10: Gradient Nails!

**Quick FYI - Ladies please update your links. I had to remove one person from the challenge list since they have not participated at all**

Hiya Ladies! Welcome to Day 10 of the 31 Day Challenge! Today's challenge mani is Gradient Nails!

This is a challenge I can get behind. I adore gradients in all forms, and I had an idea of what I was going to do for this one from day 1. Although I did change it up a bit at the last minute, because I just can't leave things alone!

For this mani I started with a base of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Bubblegum Pink. Then I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Pacific Blue to add a diagonal gradient. Lemme tell ya, Pacific Blue is a gorgeous Blue, but it stains skin, so doing a gradient with this was a PITA! Once I had the gradient finished and top coated, I decided that it looked a bit naked, so I grabbed Bundle Monster plate 208 and added a gradient Butterfly stamp using China Glaze Urban-Night and VIII. Gradient over Gradient! Is that overkill? Either way, it created a cool effect. It kind of reminds me of an airbrushed mani. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, considering I had no idea if the gradient stamping would look good. And by the time I finished this (around 2am) there was no way I was going to re-do it.

Of course when I went to take pics, the battery on my camera dies, and my backup camera was already charging, so I was camera-less! Hence my later than usual posting. My camera battery takes forever to charge, and mornings are pretty busy since I have to feed, bathe and play with my son. hopefully my posts won't be this late again!

Now that I'm done babbling, I give you...dun dun dun! Double Gradient Nails!!

I really like how these turned out. The gradient is pretty bright and it really did look naked with the diagonal gradient by itself. Pacific Blue really was a bit dark to use with this pink, but in the end it worked out okay. I think the stamping really pulled it together and gave it some extra zing. I also love pink, blue, and purple together, so this mani makes me all sorts of happy. IRL it really does look airbrushed. Another mani that I'm going to hate to take off!

What do you think of the double gradient idea?

Be sure to check out the Varnished Vixens' gradient manis!

Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles  

It's been awhile - Pink Water Marble!

Hi guys! Happy Friday!

I'm actually a little embarrassed to post these pics. I am in desperate need of some cuticle remover, but since my cuticles have been waaaaay less swollen, sore and sensitive since I've started using Solar Oil and Burt's Bees to moistuize and cut back on the cuticle remover to once a week, I didn't want to tempt fate by using it before my 7 days are up. I'm actually at day 6 today, hence the ugly cuticle growth. Blech! As a bonus, since I don't actually "edit" my photos past cropping and watermarking, you can also see some Burt's Bees hanging out in my cuticle area. I thought I had rubbed it all in, but macro shots don't lie! But I digress....let's get to the mani!

For this mani I started with 2 coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Bubblegum Pink. This is the polish that made me really want to wear pink again. I love a good bubblegum pink creme, and once I pulled this girl out of my unused stash while organizing, I just knew I had to give her some love. I had planned on using BP for a water marble originally, and I decided to stick to the plan. I grabbed Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Grey Area and Essie's Cocktail Bling and voila! Water Marble goodness!! It's not perfect - I'm a bit out of practice - but it's pretty nifty and I really like the color combo. Now that I'm past the uber nubbin stage, I foresee more marbling in my future.

I had so much fun doing this mani. I love to marble, and I can't believe I went so long without a single water marble mani! I think one of the reasons I love this mani so much is that I used all Cremes this time around. Usually I marble with shimmers, since they ring-out so well and I just love the way they look marbled. But lately I have been just head over heels for Cremes, which is bad timing since most of my new (to me) polishes are Shimmers! I do wish my index finger had come out better, but I didn't hate it enough to spend the time on re-doing it.

Bubblegum Pink, although a really awesome pink, was a bit of a PITA. Very thick and gooey, yet still able to flood a couple cuticles. Not only was it too gooey to really apply well in one shot, but it also dries so fast that it clumps up if you have to double dip to cover the nail. Thank God for SV!! It was an uneven mess before I added a good coat of SV, but looked absolutely gorgeous afterward.  In fact, it was so pretty that I wore it alone for half a day before I marbled. Grey Area, being an Xtreme Wear, is wonderful for marbling. It rings out fast and dark, and no issues getting a good, quick drop off the brush. Cocktail Bling marbled much better than I had anticipated. I thought it may be too light to use over BP, but the coverage was just fine. It also rings out well, but takes a bit of wiggling to get the drop off the brush. CB is one of my very fave polishes, and I really want to use it as a base for a water marble soon!

Hope you all are enjoying the start to your weekend! I plan on hitting the cuticle remover and playing with yet another pink polish.

Happy Polishing!
-Kimber