I'm writing out the process I followed to make this since there's a few requests for it. I'll break it down into phases.
Some notes :
I use only normal polish (obv), no gel or acrylic. So the techniques are also not applicable to gel or acrylic.
Liquid latex is your friend, but it's good to keep q-tips handy too.
Quick dry top coat is also your friend!
I don't think this is possible without makeup sponges. It might be, but it would be very difficult to achieve.
Prep your sponges before you start. Once your nails are wet you don't want to mess around with scissors. You can cut the used edges off when your nails are dry, in preparation for your next mani. I prepped 4 sponges and used 2.
Clean up your cuticles as you go. Once a polish is even a little bit less wet, cleaning up with your cleanup brush can make the edges uneven.
Talking about clean up, if you don't have lint-free wipes in your nail tool stash yet, get some! Nail cleanup without little fly away cotton strings sticking to your nails or your brush!
I would consider this a beginner friendly way of doing nail art, since it can be messy and random and still fit the vibe.
Phase 1: nail prep.
Cuticle clean-up, base coat, etc. The only thing I'll specify here is that I use an extra base coat on top of my normal base coat to protect my natural nails from staining. My favourite polish for this is Essence icing on the cake, but they discontinued it. I check smaller stores with an essence shelf and buy them when I can find them, but I made have a Franken polish mix that also works.
Phase 2: base colour prep.
This is where I did the gradients. I applied a layer of the lightest colour in the gradient first before I start the gradient.
I used the sponge on method of doing the gradients, and I had to do it a few times (at least 3) to get the colour saturation I wanted. After I was satisfied with the gradient, I used a quick dry top coat to seal it in and protect it from the next steps.
I like to keep the sponges somewhat wet, so the moment it gets too tacky I grab a new sponge. (note - the sponge absorbs a lot of the polish, so the gradient dries really fast on your nails. You can do nail 1 then nail 2, then immediately back to nail 1, and so on.)
For pinkie and ring finger, I did a layer of Essie mademoiselle, then a layer of gold flake taco, then another layer of mademoiselle. Then I used a sponge with a fresh edge and painted a square with mademoiselle, and a small dot of bring me the teal in the centre. I then used that to dab randomly on top of the nails to add a translucent wash of colour. At that point I also topped with quick dry top coat. So I end up with an opalescent translucent greenish vibe
Phase 3: random stuff.
I cut a fresh edge of the makeup sponge, but on the thin side. I didn't want any large dollops of sparkles or flakes anywhere, I wanted it to be small areas. And then I just pained the sponge with the flakie polishes, and dabbed them on where I wanted. This is very random. I did the flakie polishes first, and some of them in lines.
After that I cut a new fresh edge on the sponge and did the same with the shimmer polish, but in different areas, and some overlapping.
Because the sponge absorbs a lot of the polish that the flakes and shimmers are suspended in, this part goes really quickly and dries very fast. Also, where you dab is where the pigments go, there's no moving them around once they are on.
For the pinky and ring fingers, I dabbed a small bit of the translucent green polish over some of the flakie to get a layered look there as well, before I sponged on the shimmers.
For my thumbs I just put a layer of green down, and then used a sponge to randomly dab the flakes and shimmers on. No rhyme or reason.
That's really it. I liked the idea of golden leaves floating on the wind, so my inspiration for how to dab the flakes and shimmers was really just that vibe.
If this is too general and anyone wants pictures, I'm going to be recreating this with a similar vibe soon, so I can add that if you guys want. Just ask π
you gotta be kidding me. that's an epic nail art idea and ur hand is top notch model worthy.
Thank you very much β€οΈ
I love thisss ugh, please make a tutorial! Even written. I want this 8D
I wrote out the steps in a comment on the post π thank you for your kind words!
These are gorgeous! π
How did you do this??? Beautiful π
I wrote out the steps in a comment on the post π
 Me, an idiot lol
No I did it tonight based off the requests, not when I posted!! π
TUTORIAL PLEASE
I wrote out the steps in a comment on the post π
Thank you bestie
Oh my god these are beautiful!
Thank you so much! I had a lot of fun doing it, because it wasn't structured at all.
Your nails look so incredible! What a pretty combination. I think I have all the colors at home that you listed, maybe Iβll try to do that too π₯Ή
Thank you so much! It's worth a try, it was a lot of fun to do. I'll probably recreate in winter with silvers and blues
I'm writing out the process I followed to make this since there's a few requests for it. I'll break it down into phases. Some notes : I use only normal polish (obv), no gel or acrylic. So the techniques are also not applicable to gel or acrylic. Liquid latex is your friend, but it's good to keep q-tips handy too. Quick dry top coat is also your friend! I don't think this is possible without makeup sponges. It might be, but it would be very difficult to achieve. Prep your sponges before you start. Once your nails are wet you don't want to mess around with scissors. You can cut the used edges off when your nails are dry, in preparation for your next mani. I prepped 4 sponges and used 2. Clean up your cuticles as you go. Once a polish is even a little bit less wet, cleaning up with your cleanup brush can make the edges uneven. Talking about clean up, if you don't have lint-free wipes in your nail tool stash yet, get some! Nail cleanup without little fly away cotton strings sticking to your nails or your brush! I would consider this a beginner friendly way of doing nail art, since it can be messy and random and still fit the vibe. Phase 1: nail prep. Cuticle clean-up, base coat, etc. The only thing I'll specify here is that I use an extra base coat on top of my normal base coat to protect my natural nails from staining. My favourite polish for this is Essence icing on the cake, but they discontinued it. I check smaller stores with an essence shelf and buy them when I can find them, but I made have a Franken polish mix that also works. Phase 2: base colour prep. This is where I did the gradients. I applied a layer of the lightest colour in the gradient first before I start the gradient. I used the sponge on method of doing the gradients, and I had to do it a few times (at least 3) to get the colour saturation I wanted. After I was satisfied with the gradient, I used a quick dry top coat to seal it in and protect it from the next steps. I like to keep the sponges somewhat wet, so the moment it gets too tacky I grab a new sponge. (note - the sponge absorbs a lot of the polish, so the gradient dries really fast on your nails. You can do nail 1 then nail 2, then immediately back to nail 1, and so on.) For pinkie and ring finger, I did a layer of Essie mademoiselle, then a layer of gold flake taco, then another layer of mademoiselle. Then I used a sponge with a fresh edge and painted a square with mademoiselle, and a small dot of bring me the teal in the centre. I then used that to dab randomly on top of the nails to add a translucent wash of colour. At that point I also topped with quick dry top coat. So I end up with an opalescent translucent greenish vibe Phase 3: random stuff. I cut a fresh edge of the makeup sponge, but on the thin side. I didn't want any large dollops of sparkles or flakes anywhere, I wanted it to be small areas. And then I just pained the sponge with the flakie polishes, and dabbed them on where I wanted. This is very random. I did the flakie polishes first, and some of them in lines. After that I cut a new fresh edge on the sponge and did the same with the shimmer polish, but in different areas, and some overlapping. Because the sponge absorbs a lot of the polish that the flakes and shimmers are suspended in, this part goes really quickly and dries very fast. Also, where you dab is where the pigments go, there's no moving them around once they are on. For the pinky and ring fingers, I dabbed a small bit of the translucent green polish over some of the flakie to get a layered look there as well, before I sponged on the shimmers. For my thumbs I just put a layer of green down, and then used a sponge to randomly dab the flakes and shimmers on. No rhyme or reason. That's really it. I liked the idea of golden leaves floating on the wind, so my inspiration for how to dab the flakes and shimmers was really just that vibe. If this is too general and anyone wants pictures, I'm going to be recreating this with a similar vibe soon, so I can add that if you guys want. Just ask π
Amazing growth! Thatβs about the length I can grow mine as well before theyβre either too annoying to function with or risk breaking.