Rainbow Gradient Mermaid Nails

I’ve been wanting to attempt a rainbow gradient look for a while and have tried doing it with pure gel polish a few times, but that didn’t work out too well.  I know how to do gradients with pigment powders, so I decided to try that route instead and ended up creating a really cool looking gradient effect.  I’ve also been dying to use my new Lily Anna 09 stamping plate from Messy Mansion, so I layered this pattern that looks like fish scales over the gradients and the end result makes me think of a colorful mermaid!  I love it!  Michelle over at Manic Talons said that all it needs is a mermaid charm and I totally agree!

The Lily Anna stamping plates from Messy Mansion are rectangular plates with 12 full nail patterns each, and 2 accent patterns on the bottom.  I love the intricate designs on these plates and they stamp flawlessly!  Lily Anna 09 plate has many nature-inspired patterns including florals, wind and water.  It sparks so many new nail art ideas!

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You may be wondering how I created this look, so let’s get into the details!  Before doing this on my nails, I actually practiced the gradients on a nail wheel first.  I wanted to make sure that the colors flowed well and that the pigments that I chose would work over the base colors.  In hindsight, I actually might have been able to achieve the same look by just applying the pigments over white, but I didn’t think to try that first.  Here’s what the gradient effects looked like before I applied the stamp.

On each nail I applied two coats of the base gel color, and then burnished (rubbed) the pigment powders into the tacky layer of the polish with a dry brush to get the gradient effect.  After adding the pigments, I applied my gel top coat as normal.  If you would like to see how to use pigments to create gradients, please watch this video.

Here’s a breakdown of the polishes and pigments used on each nail:

Thumb:  {Base color:  Gelish I’m Brighter Than You} | {Pigments: CND Haute Pink, Glam & Glits Burnt Out}

Index Finger: {Base color: Couture Tres Chic} | {Pigments: Glam & Glits Burnt Out, Young Nails Gold}

Middle Finger: {Base color: Couture Tres Chic} | {Pigments: Young Nails Gold, Glam & Glits Timeline}

Ring Finger: {Base color: Gelish Lime All the Time} | {Pigments: Glam & Glits Timeline, Glam & Glits Masquerade}

Pinky: {Base color: TruGel Tantalizing Trapeze} | {Pigments: Glam & Glits Masquerade, CND Deep Blue}