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)

Tutorial: Easy Polka Dot Nails!

Today I've got a tutorial for polka dot nails! This technique is really easy and is nice and simple for matching an outfit.


You will need:

• A top and base coat
• At least 2 different colour nail polish
• a dotting tool (if you don't have one of these, a pearl head pin is a great replacement for larger dots)
• A small angled brush and acetone for clean-up

Start with a protective base coat, wait for that to dry and then apply your base colour.

Get your dotting tool! You can buy a set of these really cheap from eBay. Alternatively, you can make a DIY dotting tool using a pearl head pin and a rubber-tipped pencil (tutorial here).

Drop a blob of polish onto some paper and dip your dotting tool into it.

Gently dab your dotting tool, starting in the center at the base of your nail. Continue adding dots (evenly spaced) towards the tip of your nail.

TIP: Depending on how fast drying your polish is, you may need to re-dip your dotting tool after each application of a dot. This will ensure that all of your dots are the same size. You should also be cleaning your tool regularly to get rid of any dried up polish.

Repeat this process again, but to the side of the center line of dots. This second line of dots should be evenly spaced like the first line but adjacent to the gaps left by the first line.

Continue this process on the other side of the center line.

Continue making lines of dots until you have reached the edge of your nail. Don't worry if the dots on the edge go off the edge slightly, you can clean this up with acetone and a small brush.

Fill in and gaps around the edges if you think there should be a dot there. Wait for it to dry completely and add your top coat. It's best to use a generous coat of a fast drying top coat to avoid smudging. 

Here's some photos of a full polka dot mani by me!

If you decide to give these a try, upload your photo to Instagram and use the tag #inspiredbycaitnails so that I can see!

Caitlin, xo

Tutorial: Turquoise Stone Nails (with step-by-step photos!)

I've been seeing turquoise stone nails floating around Instagram and Pintrest recently and I wanted to give them a go! Most tutorials out there suggest that you use the waterspotting technique to get the black speckled effect. After failing miserably at this technique, I decided that I would just use the really easy cling wrap method. 

This is what I ended up with:

Do you like them? I love them! I was so happy with them I thought I would make a tutorial so you ladies can give these nails a try. :)

Please keep in mind that this is the first tutorial I've written so I hope that I've explained the steps will enough!

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You will need the following polish colours:

• White (I used Sally Hansen 'White On')
• Black (I used M.U.D 'Dark Room')
• Metallic gold (I used Ulta3 (Gold Rush Fever)
• Turquoise (I used China Glaze 'Turned Up Turquoise)
• Sky blue (I used Sally Hansen 'The Sky's the Limit')
• Pastel (ish) blue (I used China Glaze 'Bahamian Escape')
• Greenish blue (I used BYS 'Colour Change Blue')
• Plus a base and top coat of course!

You will also need the following tools:

• Cling wrap
• Makeup sponge
• Orange stick (or anything you can use to mix polish together on some paper)
• Acetone 
• a small angled brush for clean-up

Start with a white base. It doesn't have to be perfect because you'll be painting over it with the turquoise. Using white as a base will help make the turquoise looking really bright.

Next, apply your turquoise polish until it reach opacity (I used two coats).

Take your makeup sponge (dampened slightly with water) and apply the sky blue polish directly to the sponge. Dab the sponge on a piece of paper a few times if you think you've put too much polish on it. Next, dab the sponge randomly on the nail, allowing the turquoise coat to still show through.

On a clean area of the makeup sponge, apply the pastel blue polish and dab it on the nail sporadically, focusing more on the edges of the nail.

Repeat this sponging process with the greenish blue polish.

Cut your cling wrap into small pieces and scrunch it up.

On a piece of paper, drip a small drop of black polish and a bigger drop of turquoise polish.

Mix them together with an orange stick (or whatever you can find!)

Take your cling wrap bunch and dab it onto the polish. Then dab the cling wrap onto the paper a few times until only a very small amount of polish is left on it.

Dab your cling wrap bunch on the nail once. You don't need too much of the black.

Repeat the cling wrap method with the turquoise polish to help blend the black.

Repeat the cling wrap method with the metallic gold polish until you're happy with the amount of gold that you have.

Dip your small angled brush in acetone, dab it on some paper then slowly clean away any polish you have on your skin/cuticles. Add a nice glossy top coat and you're done!

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Good luck with creating your own turquoise nails! Remember that the idea is that they look natural like the stone so don't be too fussy with your sponging/cling-wrapping, let it happen organically!

If you have any questions or comments about this tutorial please let me know :)

Caitlin, xo