2 WAYS TO OMBRE

I am obsessed with ombre! I love how the colours blend seamlessly into one another like a colour tug of war on your nails. If you're new to ombre, I recommend starting with 2 colours. 

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You can achieve the trendy ombre look with both regular polish and gel polish. Gel is much easier to work with though as it doesn't set until you cure in a LED or UV lamp. You can play around with it until you're happy or, wipe it off with a lint free wipe and start again. I will start with the gel tutorial since it is my preferred method. There's no mess and you can perfect the gradient before you cure. 

For gel ombre you will need:

A gel base and top coat
2 gel polish colours of your choice
ombre brush 
UV/LED lamp
Isopropyl alcohol
lint free wipes

If you don't have an ombre brush you can make one. Use a regular nail brush and trim off most of the bristles on the end. It should look like the one pictured below. There's only a few bristles left at the tip. It helps to get a seamless gradient effect.

After you've prepped your nails, apply the base coat and cure. 

Paint a thin coat on the bottom half of your nails in your first colour, and the top half in the second colour. Use your gradient brush to blend the colours where they meet in the middle. Blend vertically and horizontally until you're happy with the look. Cure in your UV/Led lamp.

Repeat the step above until you have 3 coats of gel. Seal with a gel top coat and cure. Wipe off the sticky layer with isopropyl alcohol and a lint free wipe and you're done! Keep reading for a regular polish ombre tutorial.

If you don't have a gel system yet you can get one here.

Once you go gel, polish can go to hell! Ok, a little dramatic but it's true! There's no drying time, no chipping and lasts more than 2 weeks, you'll never want to go back to regular polish again! Check out my tutorial on using gel polish here.

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Ombre with regular polish

Base/top coat
2 polish colours of your choice + white polish
I used China Glaze Boho Blues and Highlight of my Summer
Makeup sponge

Always prep your nails first. If you're not sure how, click here for a tutorial.  Apply the base coat. Paint 2 coats of white polish. Make sure you wait for each coat of polish to fully dry before moving on to the next layer. 

Next, use the wide end of the makeup sponge and paint the bottom half in your first colour choice, and the top half in the second colour overlapping in the middle.

Dab the sponge onto the nail and move up and down slightly as you dab to blend the colours.  Don't forget the sides of the nails. The first coat will be very light so repeat the process until you get your desired gradient effect. Sponge ombre can get messy, so make sure you have cotton swabs dipped in polish remover to clean up when you're done. You can also use peel off liquid glue around your cuticles for an easier clean up.

After 3 coats of sponging the polish on the nail, you should have a seamless gradient effect. Apply the top coat immediately after you sponge the last coat as it helps to blend the colours better. 

What's your favourite ombre colour combination? Comment below. 

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