Gradient Candy Stripe Nails

Arden: Hi, imaginary friends!  So sorry for our spotty posts last week-- I was out of town on leading my youth mission trip, where I often didn't have cell service, much less Internet access and nail polish supplies.  But I'm back now and excited to share my mission trip nails with you!

Before I left on my trip, I put a lot of thought into what manicure I wanted to sport on my nails for the whole week I was gone.  I ultimately decided on this gradient candy stripes design I found on Pack a Punch Polish. 

I started by painting my nails white using OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.  I decided that instead of doing my usual base coat + two coats of white, I'd follow these directions Julep published recently.  So, I painted a base coat, one coat of white, a matte top coat, and then another coat of white.  Not gonna lie, didn't really see a huge difference in how evenly my white coat looked.  Sorry, Julep, don't think I'll be using your method again.

Then I applied striping tape in diagonal lines across my nails (three pieces per nail).  Following the instructions on Pack a Punch Polish, I then sponged on brightly colored gradients doing each color individually on the sponge.  In retrospect, I think my colors would've blended a lot better if I'd followed my usual gradient method of applying several colors on the sponge at once.   If you try these out, let me know which way you think works best!

Colors used:
CoverGirl Boundless Color Fuchsia Girl
Maybelline Color Show Coral Glow
Zoya Arizona
CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstini Lemon Drop
Julep Korin
CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstini Blue Hawaiian
CoverGirl Outlast Stay Brilliant Glosstini Purple Freeze

This is a big nail blog cliche, but I really feel like the pictures can't do these nails justice.  In person (and not so close up), they looked bright and colorful and fun.  Perfect for a manicure you're wearing on a trip!

If you're interested in more detailed instructions on how to get these nails, make sure to watch Pack a Punch Polish's video tutorial here!