Nail Art Wednesday: Black and Pink Ombre Nails

When the Spring/Summer 2012 shows took over the runways last fall, a few of the nail art designs that graced the models caught my eye. Some were gorgeous, albeit unreproducible without using gel/acrylics, like the pretty lucite and lace manicure that CND came out with to complement Joy Cioci's show. Lucky for us DIY nail art mortals, there were a handful of designs that looked easy enough to try at home. I tried my hand (pun very much intended) on the nails featured on the Jen Kao runway:

(Image Credits)

Aren't they just gorgeous?

My (humble) attempt at high fashion nails.

What I Used:
Black creme: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
Pink creme: Jessica #481 Harlequin
***I used cremes as more of a preference and because the inspiration nails also had a creme finish. I have seen shimmer/creme mixes that look amazing, so feel free to experiment with different finishes!

How I Did It:

 

While this looks deceptively easy, the slightest mistake makes it really easy to mess up, too. The trickiest part is making sure the two colors mixed in a way where the edges (the area closest to the cuticle and the area at the very end of the free nail) remain distinctly black and distinctly pink. I've learned that the best way to do that is to drag the polish around only in the middle area. Like so:

 

It is also very important to choose polishes that are highly pigmented and preferably opaque in one coat (but not on the thicker side as that will make mixing a tad trickier). This makes for less chance of encountering the problem of too much nail polish on the nail. Now, we don't want thick coats because that can lead to pooling (where the excess polish pools in your cuticles and nail bed) and bubbling (where you get bumps from air bubbles that surface once your polish has dried). Definite no-nos! If you do end up with some pooling, an easy way to get rid of the excess polish is to take away some from the sides using either your fingers, an orange stick or a tiny piece of paper towel as illustrated below:

I actually messed up my middle finger while applying top coat. You'll see a couple streaks of pink on the black area close to the nail bed because I got a bit of pink polish on my top coat brush. That's one of the hazards of working with still-wet nail color, so try to be really careful with your top coat application and preferably do it so that the brush doesn't touch the nail.

Doesn't it look good against black leather?

Again with the (by now, omnipresent) pink fabric rose.

Let's mix it up with some fabric rose petals, shall we?

I was looking for something that was black and edgy-looking to hold (so you can also see my thumb) and still compliment the rock chic vibe of pink and black.

I love how this turned out with the different textures.

Have you every been inspired by nail designs from runway shows or are the clothes more of an inspiration for you? What colors would you use if you tried your hand at this design? Would you rock this on your tips for a Valentine's Day dinner date?