SPECKLE PASTEL OMBRE NAILS

Hello!

It doesn't matter what time of year it is, pastel nails are always appropriate in my books. When I first got my hands on Illamasqua's speckle polishes in Speckle and Scarce I didn't even bother doing one colour to a nail. I saw someone on instagram via their profile post an ombre look and I thought I'd give it a go.

Unlike other ombre nail looks which required sponges, white base coats and tricky top-coats without blurring the art, this technique is simple.

This ombre mani is so shockingly easy and I do apologise for not showing it broken down into steps, but the trick to it working well is to paint the second colour immediately after the first colour so you can do a little blending. The reason why this works so well is the speckle finish/texture of the nail polish and specks of glitter hide the "blend line".

I ventured into the post-Boxing Day sales today and discovered Fragile and Mottle on sale for $11! I couldn't resist. That's 50% off (I think).

So I really just winged it with this look and made up the colour combos as I went. I used Sally Hansen base coat and top coat as pictured, then decided to add another element to this look with Illamasqua top coat in Prism. This makes any colour mermaidy and pearlescent.

***** Please excuse my cuticles. I couldn't find my cuticle trimmer*****

Step 1: Apply base coat to whole nail and edge of nail. I've been using this one since I had my Japanese gel nails removed to get my nails back to their strong state. It's worked a treat!

Step 2: Apply thick coat of colour 1 (keep all bottles open so you can quickly switch between brushes) from the base of the nail about half way.

Step 3: Apply a thick coat of colour 2 starting exactly where colour 1 ends, slightly overlap if you like, but you don't have to. Add a quick swipe to the edge of the nail to seal the colour and prevent chipping.

Step 4: If the colour looks sheer, repeat steps 2 and 3, but I usually find this is where the ombre effects starts to look more like colour-blocking. That's why one thick coat works better than two thin coats with this technique. 

Alternate colours however you like. I've done all 10 fingers with pink as colour 1 and purple as colour 2, but this time I just changed it up each time.

Step 5: Wait until dry and then apply top coat to whole nail and edge of nail to seal.

Step 6: (optional) add shimmer/pearl top-coat.

I haven't tried it with any other brand of speckle polish, but if you're after a cheaper alternative, I've seen gift packs on sale in Myer and Target by ChiChi.

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into one of my favourite manicures.

Love + Lipstick,

xx Lucy