Musings: Ombré Nails

All the cool girls in the blogosphere seem to be rocking ombré nails (see my French style terms post for more on the term). So of course I had to get in on the act. Here are a few of the lovely examples I've seen:

Symphony

Mode Bay Area has some good how-to tips as well.

After the jump, more inspiration and my first attempt.

If you like nail blogs, you should really check out my friend Ruby and her girlfriends over at You See Nail (they work at UCSF).

Kiss and Tell Beauty Blog

In addition to creating the effect with different colors on each nail, the artistically inclined can build a gradient of color on individual nails. This seems to work best with metallic and glitter polishes. 

Food For The Nails

Symphony

 I don't often do my fingernails. I keep them short and try to moisturize my cuticles frequently (Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme). In junior high and high school I used to get acrylic overlays. That  was the only way I could have a manicure last more than a day or to. Instead I focus on my pedicure. So with the Internet's constant barrage of ombré manis, I gave into peer pressure. Here are the colors I picked:

(I may have accidentally switched the Wet N' Wilds for the pic...but you get the idea)

The only nail color here bought recently (i.e since junior high) is the darkest one on the far left, it's Forever 21. They have lots of fun colors. Don't ask me what shade, since I bought it in store and it's not labeled on the bottle (a grave oversight).  I very highly recommend Seche Base and Seche Vite, they really do dry (sécher in French) very quickly (vite).  The woman at the beauty supply store aptly described Seche Vite as "Saran Wrap for your manicure".

I think it came out pretty well. I'm sure to impress the other lap swimmers at the pool. Next time I may try being artistic and mixing my own palette (starting with a dark shade and adding a light one). Or, I might use this as and excuse to by 5 more perfectly gradated polishes.  In the future, I'll also avoid mixing matte (on the big toe) and shimmery (on the rest) polishes.