this gradient is sunsational!

Hellooooooo lovelies, hope you are all swell.

I teased this post on my Instagram, and here is the finished product!

I love neon and I love gradients and I love leopard and I love pink & purple.
But you may notice I'm holding a blue bottle... Because I did this with a blue polish!

The blue polish from the new China Glaze Sunsational Collection is a super sheer jelly, and I said to myself, "self, do you think this would work for a layering gradient?"
And yes, it sure did!

To create this gradient effect, I did not use a sponge! I just used the polish brushes. Here's how you do it:

Start with a solid base - I used China Glaze - You Drive Me Coconuts, a neon barbie pink. (LOVE that name.)
You should let the base dry so you can easily paint on your gradient without smearing the color below.

To create the gradient, you use a jelly polish in successive coats to build up the color. I used China Glaze - Isle See You Later, a sheer blue.
You start your first coat close to the cuticle, and then the next coats start further and further up so that the color is most concentrated at the tip. 

The above photo gives a rough idea of where you should start your coats.
After doing the three coats, I added more jelly in short strokes where I felt I needed it to build up the color properly. It is easy to do this because the jelly is so sheer, it really blends well.

And don't forget your topcoat, that helps to blend the overall look.

I love it soooooo much and it was so easy. It only takes a couple of minutes!

And then of course I had to stamp over it with one of my favorite images! Konad Q1.

Why does my hand look extra claw-like in that photo? I don't know...
I am just smitten with this manicure. And now I can't wait to try this with some of the other colors from the collection!

I promise I'm working on swatches of the whole 12-piece set... I'm just taking my damn time because every time I put one on, I can't take it off!! They're amazing. F'reals.