Pink and Purple Brushed Gradient Nail Art

*Polishes used in this post were provided to me as a PR sample*

Hey everyone! I posted very very little last month... I shall definitely change that and get back to posting regularly this month! I have been feeling very lazy and I have procrastinated A LOT in showing you this manicure and some others that will be posted during this week!

As you may have guessed from the post title... I used the pinks and purples from the new Essie Neon 2013 Collection! You can check out my swatches and reviews of the entire collection here.

This isn't your usual gradient with a sponge... since neons are usually sheer and very jelly-like I used a thin paint brush to create a gradient. To create this look:

• I started with a coat all in one base coat by essie followed by a coat of blanc by essie as the base colour to make sure the neons really popped
• I then added a coat of boom boom room by essie... this is the colour you see in the middle of each nail, a bubblegum pink!
• Using a thin paint brush, I randomly added brush strokes in bottle service by essie from the cuticle towards the centre of the nail bed... similarly I added random brush strokes of DJ play that song by essie from the nail edge towards the middle. I made sure that the brush strokes were random and layered to create depth... I also made sure they two colours did not meet in the middle so you could see the bubblegum pink underneath. 
• I sealed the nail art and smoothed the design with 2 coats of good to go top coat by essie.

I really love how it's not "perfect" - mistakes can easily be covered up! I also love how you can use some of your sheer shades to create a unique look using this layering technique. I have seen swatches and reviews of the new China Glaze neon jellies and they look really sheer... so I would imagine you can use this technique to use some of those super sheer shades to create a beautiful "Brushed Gradient".

I have a second look using the same technique using the blue and green from the Essie Neon 2013 Collection paired with white! Check back later this week for a new look using this "Brushed Gradient" technique.

- Hetal