Watermelon Gradient Tutorial

Dear Nail Diary,

This mani was inspired by my dirty laundry, if you can believe it!  There's a pile of things waiting to be washed in the bathroom and a green t-shirt and coral PJs caught my attention.  It looked like a cool colour combo and kind of reminded me of watermelon candy.

I've made a picture walkthrough below, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

Things You'll Need:

• Base Coat
• Green Nail Polish
• Makeup Sponge
• Coral or Red Nail Polish
• Small Dotting Tool
• Dark Brown Nail Polish
• Angled Brush
• Acetone or Nail Polish Remover
• Top Coat

Step 1: 

Apply your base coat and then paint 1-2 coats of your green polish.  I've used Nails Inc Marylebone Road.  I'd have prefered a slightly darker shade, but this was the only green I had that was anywhere near to the shade I had in mind.  You can of course use a shade closer resembling an actual watermelon, however I wanted a bright summer look.

Step 2: 

Apply your coral or red polish to a makeup sponge.  I've used Nails Inc Sloane Avenue. Dab the sponge onto your nail leaving approximately half a centimetre of green showing.  You can apply the gradient whichever way you choose, this is just the way I did mine.  Build up the colour with repeated dabs until the colour reaches the intensity that you want.  Don't worry about the mess, we'll clean that up later.

Step 3: 

Grab your small dotting tool - don't worry if you don't have one, I didn't either.  You can use a hair grip or do as I did and use the handle of a paint brush.  Whatever you are using, dip it into your dark brown polish - I used Nails Inc Richmond Terrace - and dot two small lines.  They don't have to be perfect, just try and place them close to where the gradient begins to darken.

You can leave it like this if you're happy with how it looks.  If so, apply your top coat and clean around the edges of your nails with an angled brush* dipped in pure acetone or nail polish remover.

If like me you think those "seeds" are standing out a little too much you can follow this optional step...

Step 4: (Optional)

Apply more coral polish to your makeup sponge and dab more polish over the seeds.  Once happy, apply top coat and follow clean up instructions.

Here's the finished result:

*This is the brush I use for clean up.
A cheap paint brush that I cut at an angle - crude but it gets the job done! 

Anyhow, that's the Watermelon Gradient Mani inspired by my dirty laundry!  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, I may do more in the future, let me know what you think.

=:x