Showing posts with label gradient nails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gradient nails. Show all posts

21.4.14

Swatch, Review & Nail Art! Powder Perfect Troubador Collection

Hello again!
I hope you all had a great Easter break and are slowly emerging from your chocolate induced sugar comas! 

I recently had the pleasure of swatching some new shades from Powder Perfect (read that post here). Today, I'll be showing you some creme shades released in February from the Troubador Collection as well as some nail art that features all 4 shades!


About Powder Perfect
Powder Perfect is an Australian owned, handmade, vegan cosmetics company run by the lovely Jacinta. As well as a huge range of 5-free nail polish shades, Jacinta also creates lipsticks, cuticle balms and other skin care products. Powder Perfect also offers mobile makeup services for weddings and special occasions.



The Troubador Collection

The Troubador Collection

Inspired by songs of chivalrous love sung by bards of old called troubadours, this collection features romantic pinks and dreamy pastels. This is a rolling collection, with more colours to be added in the future. You can view the entire collection here at the Powder Perfect website.

Meaning 'love letter', this crelly is a pastel plum/pink-toned mauve and applies like a dream. It is self leveling and needs 3 coats to build opacity and it dries quickly to a glossy finish. 
My swatches show 3 coats with topcoat.







One half of the ill-fated couple Tristan and Isolde. Before King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot there was King Mark, Isolde and Tristan. This shade is a gorgeous blue-leaning mint green creme. The first coat does apply a little streaky but that's to be expected from pastels. You need to be careful when applying it to get a smooth, even coat but your patience will be rewarded as this is a truly beautiful colour.
My swatches show 3 coats with top coat.







Isodle
Married to the Irish King, Isolde conducts an ongoing affair with his nephew named Tristan which eventually leads to their demise. This polish is a pastel pink creme with silver holographic micro glitter. As pretty as this shade looks in the bottle, it doesn't really translate onto the nail because of the opaque creme formula. The glitter is for the most part lost beneath the pastel base when applied. Although it does look quite different on the nail, it is still a pretty shade of pink and the glitter effect is subtle. I think this shade would have worked better with the glitter in a crelly base like Salut D'Amor. It applies nicely and dries to a slightly textured finish so top coat is a must.
My swatches show 3 coats with top coat.








Aquitaine is the birthplace of the troubadour. This polish is a yellow-tone bone/creme/nude creme. I was pleasantly surprised by this shade as it actually compliments my skin tone! I tend to have very red toned fingers and most nudes look awful on me but the yellow undertones in this shade really work for me! 
The formula is very similar to Tristan and you do need to apply it carefully to avoid streakiness or dragging. It was actually opaque in two coats but I decided to do an third coat to even it out completely. 
My swatches show 3 coats with top coat.








And now for some nail art! When I first saw these shades all lined up next to each other, I thought that they complimented each other so well and would work together in a gradient! I started with a thin coat of Aquataine then blended the other colour onto a damp makeup sponge (see my gradient tutorials here and here) and dabbed it on my nails. For the accent nail, I applied 3 coats of Aquataine and added some lace water decals from the Born Pretty Store.










Availability
The Troubador Collection is available now from the PowderPefect.com.au website as well as some international stockists. Each 13ml bottle is $10.00 or you can buy the whole collection for $36.00.
Caitlin, xo



17.9.13

Nail Art: Glitter Gradient

Hey ladies!

Why am I so drawn to pink/purple/blue gradients?! I seem to favour this colour combo every time I do a gradient!

For the base gradient I used Savvy 'Cosmic' and Smooch 'Lazuire'. Cosmic is one of the new Savvy's and it's so beautiful! I love the blue shimmer through it.



The glitter gradient is Revlon 'Heavenly'. I bought the Revlon last week because it was 50% off because I refuse to buy Revlon full price because they all seem to go horrible and gloopy! But I thought that since now I have polish thinner it won't be such a big deal if it does thicken on me (plus it was kinda thick to begin with!). I'll put up with it though because look at those iridescent glitters!

I topped it all off with one coat of Essence 'Gel Look Top Coat' and Seche Vite.


Caitlin, xo


3.9.13

Nail Art Tutorial: Pastel Rainbow Gradient


Hey everyone!

So, a while ago (just over 6 months I think) I did a nail design which I guess I would describe as a 'diagonal rainbow gradient' and got a huge positive response from it. I was featured on a few big Instagram fashion/nailart accounts and gained a huge amount of followers from it. Tons of people asked me to do a tutorial for these nails and I've only just gotten around to doing it!

These are the only (filtered to death) photos that I could find of the original design. I'm so proud of how far I've come in terms of the length and shape of my nails as well as my clean up skills.


Here are some photos of my recreation of the original mani...





Slight improvement, right? :P

andddd, now, on to the tutorial! (**PIC HEAVY** click through below to view it)


4.7.13

Nail Art: Pastel Gradient with Neon Tips (mini-tutorial)

Gradients are my favourite go-to nail art technique because they're so easy (besides the cleanup!) and look so effective. I recently picked up Sally Hansen's 'Mint Sorbet' and I had originally planned on doing a green/blue pastel mani but then I came across Sinful Colors 'Pink' and came up with this:


I'm so happy with how they turned out! I think this is my most successful gradient mani yet :) (and I seem to say that every time I do a new gradient so I guess practice is key!)


These are the polishes I used; Sally Hansen 'Mint Sorbet', Essie 'Bikini So Teeny', and Sinful Colors 'Pink'.


I'm planning on making a proper gradient tutorial sometime soon so until then, here's a mini-tutorial!
~~~
To help with the nightmare that is post-gradient cleanup, I applied a thick layer of Essence 'Peel Off Base Coat' onto the skin around my nails. You could use PVA glue and have the same effect but the peel off base coat does the same thing. 

To create the gradient, I painted my nails with one coat of 'Mint Sorbet' and let that dry. Next, I got a makeup sponge (dampened with water) and applied all three polishes to it so that the colours where overlapping slightly. Then I gently dabbed the sponge on the nails, reapplying polish to the sponge when needed.


Once I was happy with the gradient, I apply one coat of Northern Lights 'Holographic Topcoat'. Before adding a final topcoat, I cleaned the nail close to the cuticle with an angled brush and acetone. I then sealed it with Seche Vite 'Ultra V Top Coat'. Because I protected my skin from polish with the peel off base coat earlier, I was able to simply peel off the messy aftermath of sponging with very minimal cleanup required.




My nails under the light from my UV lamp! I love how the neon tips glow :)
Thanks for reading,
Caitlin, xo