Gradient Fail

Welcome to my gradient fail. This isn't a full fail, but under any light except very direct sunlight and my lightbox these colors are just too dark to show the gorgeous fade between them.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound OPI Best of the Best mini collection Russian Navy indigo blue shimmer magenta Lincoln Park After Dark purple eggplant deep dark LA Colors black gradient fail sponge sponged Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Even with my lightbox I had a very hard time capturing this gradient. I used two polishes from the OPI Best of the Best mini collection. I got this collection as a gift Christmas 2011, and I love it to pieces.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound OPI Best of the Best mini collection Russian Navy indigo blue shimmer magenta Lincoln Park After Dark purple eggplant deep dark LA Colors black gradient fail sponge sponged Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

The first polish I used, and the base of my gradient, is Russian Navy. Wow! I can see why this was one of the Best of the Best. Originally from the OPI Russian Collection, Russian Navy is now an OPI Classic shade. From the outside, Russian Navy looks purple. However, once you untwist that cap you're in for a shock! This polish is a deep indigo blue and all that purple you saw from the outside fades into a subtle shimmer.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound OPI Best of the Best mini collection Russian Navy indigo blue shimmer magenta Lincoln Park After Dark purple eggplant deep dark LA Colors black gradient fail sponge sponged Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Next, I used Lincoln Park After Dark, originally from the Chicago Collection. Alone this polish is a very deep, dark purple, but turned black when layered over Russian Navy. I was hoping once I got it sponged on and added a top coat that the beauty of this purple would shine through but I couldn't get a hint of purple on my nails no matter the light I put it under ... though some of the purple color did show in the bottle.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound OPI Best of the Best mini collection Russian Navy indigo blue shimmer magenta Lincoln Park After Dark purple eggplant deep dark LA Colors black gradient fail sponge sponged Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Lastly, I added a small amount of black to the very tips, reminiscent of a French tip.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound OPI Best of the Best mini collection Russian Navy indigo blue shimmer magenta Lincoln Park After Dark purple eggplant deep dark LA Colors black gradient fail sponge sponged Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

One coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat sealed the colors together and gave my nails an amazing amount of shine. This is my very first bottle of Seche Vite, bought and paid for with a free gift card I earned with my Swagbucks account. Sign up for an account of your own and use the code JANTASTIC (before 11:59 PT tonight) and you'll start with 100 Swag Bucks. Hint: A $5 Amazon gift card is 450 Swag Bucks.

So, overall, if I was going to walk around with my hands in a lightbox this would be a perfect gradient. I don't think that idea would work very well though and, sadly, neither does this mani anywhere except these pictures. :(

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