Gradient mani using China Glaze Off Shore Collection

China Glaze gradient Sun Upon My Skin, If In Doubt, Surf It Out and Float On

For the gradient I used China Glaze Sun Upon My Skin (yellow), If In Doubt, Surf It Out (orange) and Float On (pink). I first began with two coats of China Glaze White On White (my favourite white right now) and then top coated using a fast dry top coat. To start the gradient I painted a line of each polish next to each other on a piece of baking paper. Then I used an orange wood stick to mix the colours together where they met, this makes the gradient more seamless. Then picked up the polish with the makeup sponge and dabbed the colours onto my nail 5 to 8 times. I repeated this process on each nail, each time with more polish. Once that layer was dry, I went back over with the same technique. It took 4 rounds of this to get the above look. Then I used a fast dry top coat, this helps to blend the colours.

I really love the colours together but I class the end product as a nail fail, I seem to be doing a lot of those lately. For some reason my sponge was leaving little pieces on my nail with each dab and I couldn’t get them off. Even two coats of topcoat didn’t cover all the little bumps. I have asked around and there are various reasons why this could have happened, it could be that I didn’t wet my sponge before hand, that my sponge was just dodgy, that I didn’t use enough polish each time or that I “overworked” the sponge. I won’t know which one it was until I have another go but it is a learning experience and next time I will do better.

I am really loving the China Glaze Off Shore Collection, they are perfect for our upcoming Aussie summer. I hope to do another gradient soon using some other polishes from that collection and maybe I’ll try a water marble again – maybe. What are your tips for doing a great gradient or water marble?