Gradient French Manicure

Arden: Hey everyone!  For today's post I decided to go simple, and I'm SO glad I did!  I'd seen this picture popping up on Pinterest for a while, and I finally decided to try my hand at a gradient French manicure.

I started with one coat of L'Oreal One Stop Base Coat, then painted on two coats of Julep Layne (see another simple manicure using Layne here). I followed up the last coat with one coat of Seche Vite, to quickly dry the base coats.

I then applied both Sally Hansen White Out and Layne to a makeup sponge, and sponged on a gradient.  I tried to just sponge the white on top, but think that sponging on both colors as a gradient made it look wayyyy better.  It caused the colors to blend a lot better, and helped there not be a solid line at the end of the white tips.  I finished with a coat of Essie Good to Go.

The one thing I don't like about these nails is how the tips of my nails aren't very neat-- you can tell how the sponging and Seche Vite caused there to be some shrinkage at the tips.  In the future I would probably go back with the white polish and wrap the tips to prevent that messy look on the ends of my nails.

But other than the problem w/ my tips, I LOOOOVE this manicure!  So much more than I thought I would.  And since it's a gradient, it was so so so easy.  I love manicures than can be done quickly, and don't require precise lines or time-consuming artwork.

Since this is such an elegant nail look, I couldn't help posing with my new favorite prop-- my engagement ring!  (Yes, getting engaged three weeks ago is partly to blame for our recent dearth of posts.  And yes, this does mean there will probably be several bridal nail posts in the future-- hope you like them!)

If you aren't looking to do anything crazy on your nails on your wedding day, I think a gradient French manicure might be the perfect option for you.  It's not anywhere near as time-consuming or precise as giving yourself an actual French manicure, and I actually think the gradient version looks better.  I'm not gonna lie, the gradient French has moved to the top of my list of wedding nail ideas!

What do you think?  Like this better than the traditional French manicure?  Let us know!