A manicure with a gradient or ombre has been at the top of the popularity lists for a long time and is not going to give up its positions. These techniques leave us a huge field of activity, because not only the color scheme can vary, but also the direction of the color transition.
Today we will try together to create a spectacular ombre manicure at home.
Gradient or ombre?
At first glance, it seems that these are exactly the same concepts, but there is still a slight difference.
Ombre manicure is a nail coloring using a color transition. As a rule, the lightest shade is applied at the base of the nail plate, which gradually turns into the dark tips of the nails. To create such an effect, varnishes from two to several colors can be used, and the color transition, depending on your desire, can be either smooth or quite sharp. Color solutions for such a manicure can be completely different, and the number of variations is infinite. You can absolutely trust your imagination and you will not lose. Moreover, both related and contrasting colors will look original.
Gradient manicure also implies a color transition, but it can be performed not only from the tips of the nails to the base, but also diagonally, and from nail to nail. As a rule, no more than two colors are used for such a manicure, which may or may not belong to the same color scheme.
Training
You can easily perform a gradient manicure or ombre at home using a sponge or a piece of sponge. We will also need a standard manicure set for processing handles.
You should already get into the habit of not applying varnish “as you have to.” The beauty of nails, first of all, consists in their grooming. It will not be superfluous to recall that well-groomed hands look attractive even without varnish.
As always, we start with a bath, then we remove any existing burrs (we hope you don’t have any) and get rid of the cuticle.
We polish the nails, apply and dry the base. Now you can choose a varnish to create a manicure (if this has not been done by you before).
ombre
This style is one of the types of gradient manicure. Made in one scale, it will be very handy at any time of the day and in any situation. Bright shades and unusual combinations of tones will surely not go unnoticed and draw attention to your pens.
We tried and prepared several lessons for you that will definitely help you master the ombre style nail art technique.
So what do we need?
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- Firstly, a set of different varnishes, among which there must be a transparent, white and flesh-colored varnish. You will also need colored varnishes belonging to the same scale, the tonality of which is up to you.
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- Secondly, we just need cotton pads or sticks and nail polish remover. Do not be surprised about the liquid – some ways to create such a manicure inevitably stain the skin around the nail plate, so one of the final steps is to eliminate these errors.
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- Thirdly, we will need some consumables: a cosmetic sponge and a piece of foil. Instead, many successfully use a piece of an ordinary dishwashing sponge, cardboard pasted over with tape, or even a CD that can no longer be used for its intended purpose.
Method one
We cover the nails with the main tone, which in no case should shine through. For this, it is best to use white. Why white, you ask? The fact is that with such a coating, the gradient layer is the deepest. You can use a skin tone, but in this case, the end result will not please you with a rich rainbow effect.
After the nails are dry, apply any oily cream to the area around the nail plate. Some cover these areas with tape. Do not be surprised – these tricks will help you get rid of possible errors faster in the future.
We will use a piece of foil prepared in advance or another improvised tool as a palette. We apply two or more strips of varnish of various shades to our palette and mix the colors a little with a needle to get a smooth color transition. Colors are usually arranged in the following sequence: the lightest shade “lies” on the base of the nail, behind it the shades are arranged according to the principle of increasing tonality, the darkest tone falls on the tip of the nail plate.
The next step is to apply a sponge to the palette and transfer the varnish to the nails with point movements. Sponge needs to be moistened a little in advance, and in the process of work, do not press it too hard. Otherwise, the varnish will simply be absorbed into the porous layer and there will be nothing to transfer to the nails.
From above, as usual, cover the nails with a transparent varnish. Moreover, in this case, you do not need to wait for the colored layer to dry, as you risk getting a rough surface of the nails as a result.
And the final stage is the elimination of errors. After all, you probably touched the area around the nails with a sponge and now an unnecessary rainbow “flaunts” on it. If at the preparatory stage you used adhesive tape, just remove it. If not, we take nail polish remover and carefully eliminate all the shortcomings. For the greatest accuracy of this process, many use a flat brush instead of cotton swabs.
Method two
To many, it seems easier, and they advise it, as a rule, to beginners. Just keep in mind that the borders in this case will be less blurry.
We apply the base color varnish on the nails. Only in this case, it will no longer be white or flesh-colored, but the lightest of those shades that you are going to use to create the ombre effect.
Using the same sponge, apply the varnish of the next shade to the middle of the nail. In the same way, we transfer the darkest tone to the edge of the nail plate.
We fix the result with a transparent varnish and eliminate all the errors of our manicure.
Gradient
Performing a manicure using the gradient technique is very similar to the ombre effect. The classic version involves the use of only two shades of varnish. Color transitions can be created both vertically and horizontally, or even diagonally. We use the same tools for such nail art as when creating a manicure using the ombre technique.
Option one
We cover the nails with a base shade of varnish. Subsequent colors are alternately transferred to the nail plate using a sponge or sponge. The technique here will be the same as when performing the second method of ombre manicure.
Option two
In this case, we immediately apply all shades of varnishes to the sponge and transfer the rainbow to the nail with patting movements.
Another way is to apply all shades of varnish on the film, mix the borders and attach the film to the nail.
Option three
Here the varnish is applied directly to the nail plate. Take the darkest shade and apply it to the tip of the nail. Without waiting for drying, cover the middle part of the nail with a varnish of a lighter color and shade the border of the flowers with any sharp object. Then cover the base of the nail with the lightest shade of polish and blend the borders again. In this case, a layer of transparent varnish is applied after the color has dried.
Option four
The last version of the gradient manicure is the alternation of colors from nail to nail. At the same time, we don’t need any sponges or sponges, and we don’t have to shade the borders of flowers.
To perform such a manicure, you first need to decide which fingernail of which finger we will have the final (that is, the darkest). Let’s say it’s the little finger. We cover the nail of this finger with the darkest shade of varnish. Next, go to the nail on the ring finger and paint it a tone lighter. Gradually paint the nails on all fingers, while the lightest varnish will cover the thumbnail.
The same can be done in reverse alternation. Then the nail plate of the thumb will be covered with the darkest varnish, and the little finger nail will be the lightest.
A manicure performed using gradient or ombre techniques can be considered the most expensive in terms of varnish consumption. After all, for each finger, you have to apply varnish again on the palette (or directly on the sponge). But we believe that the result is worth it.
