Sunset Sensations

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in forever- I've been really busy with soccer lately. But don't worry, I will be on a break soon! Except then we dive right into high school season once school starts and I will be even busier. But don't worry- I won't forget about you guys! :)

So today's manicure was inspired by a sunset manicure that I saw on Instagram...or maybe it was We Heart It, I'm not sure which one. Anyways, it's really awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed wearing it because I got so many compliments!

So let's get right to it, shall we?

Awesome, right? It reminds me exactly of a summer sunset here in California. 

The polished I used were:

• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed (orange)
• Migi Nail Art pens in yellow
• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On (white underneath)
• Icing The Do It All top and base coat
• Icing It's A Matte Matte World top coat

So if you are new to nail art and don't know how to do an ombre on your nails, here is a brief explanation. Soon I will post a tutorial on it for more of an in-depth explanation.

1. You will need a makeup sponge and 2-3 colors of nail polish that look good together. The smoother the makeup sponge, the better your results will be (try to find one without holes or gaps in it).
2. If your polish is super opaque (not see-through) you don't need to put white underneath, but for more sheer polish or lightly colored polish, you'll want to put a coat of white beforehand. This will make the ombre much brighter and it will make it pop.
3. Once the white dries, paint horizontal stripes of each color onto the makeup sponge. If you are doing a two color ombre, you will paint one stripe of each color. With a three color ombre, your stripes will have to be thinner to fit all three colors on your nail. Try to make it around the same size as your nail. 
4. Gently press the sponge on your nail, using a side to side motion. Start the sponge on one side of your nail and rotate it across to the other side. Repeat this for each nail, applying new stripes of nail polish each time. 
5. If your ombre is too sheer for your liking, you can do another coat. Just repeat step 4 a second time.
6. Finally, finish with a top coat. This step is SUPER important, as it further blends the colors together and gives it a smooth finish. 

I decided to give it a matte finish because I thought it would look a lot better and more sunset-like, and boy was I right! The above two pictures are how the mani ended up. The next two pictures are what it looked like before I decided to put the matte top coat on. 

Yuck, huh? Matte top coat = best decision ever :)

Giving your nails the ombre effect seems more complicated in writing than it is in real life. It literally took me like 15 minutes to do this sunset manicure. I'm sure you could figure it out easily if you're a beginner. You should definitely learn how to do this because it is an awesome way to paint your nails and everyone will be so impressed!

I have one more picture to share with you.... 

The day after I did these, I went to a party and picked up this drink. One of my friends noticed that my nails matched the soda bottle perfectly!

...so naturally I had to take a picture! Sort of bad quality, but oh well! It was super cute.

So I hope this post was entertaining and helpful to you guys, and I'll be sure to get that ombre tutorial on the blog soon. If there are any other tutorials you guys want to see, just leave a comment below and I will get right on it!