Gradient manicures are, in my opinion, the coolest new way to decorate nails. They’re fun, unique, and allow room to experiment with different colors. Upon first seeing this manicure, though, two thoughts crossed my mind. The first of these was, Wow, that looks awesome! The second thought? No way would I ever be able to do something like that. Fortunately, this second thought of mine has been proven wrong.

In my manicure-related research, I have discovered an easy way to paint my own gradient manicure. Surprisingly, it’s not as hard as I thought! With some practice, you’ll all be ready to sport this cute manicure all summer long. Below I’ve given some simple instructions. Time to break out your nail polish collection!

Has anyone tried this manicure yet, or ever wanted to? Share your thoughts!

  

Gather Your Materials: To do this, you’re going to need a small sponge (eyeshadow applicators work as well), a clear base polish, nail polish remover, Q-tips, and 2 or more nail polish colors that work in a gradient. For example, you could use hot pink/orange/yellow, blue/green, blue/purple/green, or even light blue/royal blue/dark blue. Be creative!

Apply A Base Coat: Though this may seem unimportant, base coats help protect the nail from some of nail polish’s harmful ingredients.

Paint the colors, in order of the gradient, onto the sponge: There are multiple ways to do this. You could pour a few drops of each color onto a paper plate and swirl the middle together, as shown in the top photo, and lightly dip the sponge in the polish. You could also simply brush the nail polish colors straight onto the sponge. Regardless of what you decide to do, make sure that the painted area on the sponge is small enough to fit all the desired colors on your nail! Since I have short nails, this was something I had to keep in mind.

Apply the painted sponge to each nail: Lightly press the painted sponge onto each nail. The polish may have to be re-applied to the sponge as each nail is painted. If the color is not dark enough the first time around, wait for the layer to dry and apply another coat. This may be messy; use the nail polish remover and Q-tip to clean off the excess polish.

Apply top coat, if desired: Once the gradient polish is dry, a top layer of clear nail polish will help preserve the manicure and keep it from chipping.

[Images: top photo, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]