Glitter Gradient Nail Tutorial

Okay, I'll admit it--I'm a complete and total magpie. If something comes in glitter, I will always buy the sparkly version. Which is exactly why these nails are right up my alley! They're a little bit more demure than some sparkly nails I've worn, a little more grown up. They're also great for the holidays--I think a red and gold variant would be marvelous. Anyway, read on to see how I did it! The current version I have on my nails is a base of Essie Marshmallow with Sinful Colors Gilded as the glitter.

So, you'll need to start off with a solid colored base--this one is Essie Devil's Advocate, a deep purple. The dark base photographs against the glitter better, and actually looks quite striking, I think.

Now you're going to need a little puddle of glitter nail polish, I'm using a Sinful Colors polish in Gilded, both here and above. It's a really fine gold shimmer with small pink glitter mixed in, and I absolutely love it! You can use whatever polish you would like, however. I used a nail art brush, although you could use the regular brush if it was wiped pretty clean. Now, brush a very thin layer of the glitter onto the nail, starting about 1/4 of the way down from the top. 

Moving down another quarter of the nail, brush on another thin layer of glitter, building up the gradient. 

Keep moving down in smallish increments, and brushing on thin layers of glitter. The thin layers are what make the gradient! If you start glopping on thick layers of polish from the get-go, you lose the slow fade from base color to glitter, which is what makes this look, in my opinion. 

Once you've done as many layers as you would like, you get something that looks like this! Add a layer of topcoat and you're ready to go!

I can't wait to see y'all rocking your sparkly nails!
XOXO, Kenzie