Blue to Red Gradient Stamped Mani

Fun rock-type mani for you with a blue to red gradient stamped and nail vinyl'd.  Lol, read more for info and many mani pics.  :-p  (Click the Read More link down below)

**Warning: Pic Heavy Post**

I started out with taking a pic of my healthier nekkid nails.

Well, I lied, not completely nekkid.  They have a coat of Nail Envy on.

One coat of OPI Nail Envy

Freshly cleaned, freshly filed, fresh coat of Nail Envy.  Freshy fresh fresh.

L-R: OPI Nail Envy, Color Club Williamsburg, OPI Midnight in Moscow,
Cult Cosmetics Coachella, Essie Jiggle Hi Jiggle Lo, Seche Vite

I had this idea a few days before and it was on my mind every day until I was able to find time to do this mani.  Seriously, I was foaming at the mouth to get this done.

Colored polishes used in my mani

I only hoped I could make it as awesome as it felt in my head.  Lol

Cici&Sisi jumbo set 1 stamping plate 05

Once again, I pulled out my Cici&Sisi stamping plates.  I used one from the Jumbo Set 1 for the stamps on my index and pinky fingers.  Even the finer lined images from these plates stamp perfectly.

I started out by painting the bottom half of my nail with Color Club Williamsburg and the top half with OPI Midnight in Moscow.

Color Club Williamsburg and OPI Midnight In Moscow Gradient Mani

Then I used a latex sponge to mesh the two polishes.  I painted the sponge with a stripe of CC Williamsburg and a stripe of OPI Midnight in Moscow, then lightly sponged it over top to blend them and create the gradient.  Then I topped it with a coat of Seche Vite quick dry topcoat.  The sparkly blue in Color Club Williamsburg is stunning, by the way.  I wish I would have swatched it first.

Glam My Mani Lightning Bolt Nail Vinyls

Once my nails were dry I placed my nail vinyls where I wanted my gradient to show through.  I pressed them down around the edges so no polish would creep under them.

Lightning Bolt nail vinyls from Glam My Mani

These nail vinyls are from Glam My Mani (website linked below) and they are so easy to use and not so sticky that they pull up your base polish.

One thick coat of Cult Coachella

I put a thick coat of Cult Cosmetics Coachella holo topper on my nails, then immediately peeled off my nail vinyls, creating a lightning bolt effect.

Removed nail vinyl immediately while polish was still wet

Lightning Bolt nail vinyl result

As my assistant at work (who is also a dear friend of mine) said, I made "N's" for Nikki!!  (that's her name).  Well yes, it seems I did!

Stamping with Essie Jiggle Hi Jiggle Lo before cleanup

Next I stamped my index and pinky fingers with Essie Jiggle Hi Jiggle Lo from their new winter collection.  Beware of glitter herpes from cleaning up this polish!!

GLITTER HERPES!!!

I was thrilled with how well it stamped.  It's a beautiful champagne shimmer polish, not quite a metallic formula like No Place Like Chrome or Penny Talk, which I thought it would be.  But still pretty easy to stamp with.

So now, brace yourself for my pic spam.  I tried to capture the gradient among all the other effects in this mani, but it definitely got lost in there.  I can pick up the effect IRL (in real life) but it's so hard to capture on camera.  I'm also questioning the quality of my new iPhone 6 camera compared to my former Samsung Galaxy S3 camera.  I'll have to do comparison pics when I have more time.

With iPhone 6 camera flash

With camera flash

With camera flash

With camera flash

With camera flash

Red to blue gradient on my thumb

I really need a lightbox in my life...

So, gradient ideas, I'll take 'em!  What's your fave color combo to use for gradients?  Bonus points if you include polish names!  =)

Products used in my mani

• Glam My Mani nail vinyls
• Cult Cosmetics Coachella holo topper polish (they have a lot of other awesome polishes on their site too!)
• Cisi&Sisi Jumbo Set 1 stamping plates, also available on CiciandSisi.com
• I purchased OPI Midnight in Moscow and Essie Jiggle Hi Jiggle Lo at my local Ulta, and Color Club Williamsburg from Amazon in the 7 piece Girl About Town collection, which I don't believe is available for order any longer