Gradient Manicure: My First - Champagne Toast

A champagne colored nail polish is what got me back into polish, so it stands to reason that I like the color. It's warm, it's classic and elegant.

I've seen people do some amazing nail art! I thought I'd try something a beginner like me can pull off.
I'm documenting it so I can remember what I did. It was pretty exciting and a lot of fun! I did this outside in the morning.
:D

I've been reading about these "funky french" and "gradient" manicures for a while, it's neat to see how skilled people are with nail polish! I'm lucky to get it all on the nail.

I chose the following polishes:

1) Borghese Perfetto - this is key for a gradient, it stretches the polish along the top of the nail without adding bulk. I found this at, guess where?, Ross for $1.99. I didn't know what to do with it, well, it's found a purpose!

2) Base: Diamond Cosmetics Party Hearty, a warm peachy/pinky champagne, a flashy foil that kicks butt!

3) Dark edge: WnW Craze Shield. A darker, cooler bronze. This collection rocks (as an aside, I wore a hot pink shimmer that I didn't photograph, it was bursting with color), this is from fall 2009, a tasty collection, I'm glad I got them all, every time I try one I'm so pleased (aside 2, morbide and nocturn are great for frankening)

4) Blend1: Colorama 150 Toffee Twinkle. Full of warmth. A mix of light and dark with a dash of holographic zazzle

5) Blend2: LDL gold glitter. This is a sparse glitter. I think it's a dupe of an older Chanel, I can't find the name of, but I've seen it on eBay.

OK. Here is the result:

What follows is a stepwise process for how I did it, as well as a better look at each polish as I layered it.

Base coat:

Diamond Cosmetics Party Hearty

A warm, peachy pink foil.

You can see that the foil is a mix of light and darker pieces.

Dark edge: WetnWild Shield. A cooler bronze, darker, but subtle. 

When I applied it, I put it on with a thin coat and then took some Borghese Perfetto to blend it down into a more diffuse and thinner layer.

Blend 1: Maybelline Colorama 150 Twinkling Toffee. pretty and perfect for this, I'd say halfway between the WnW and DC polishes!

Blend 2: Elle Elle or LDL glitter. This is a pretty delicate glitter.

I will say that the last step is almost invisible.  ( I later added a touch of Sinful Paris before I removed this, it, though, was a bit heavy)

Thanks for taking the time to read this entire entry!