Sponge manicure

Sometimes a monophonic coating of nails bothers, I really want to make a difference. You can try various interesting drawings and popular manicure techniques. This, for example, manicure with a sponge, which has become very fashionable lately.

The sponge is used to create a gradient effect, this is called "ombre". With this technique, you can get a beautiful smooth transition from one shade to another.

Most often, the transition is made from the base of the nail to its tip. You can also change the shades horizontally and diagonally, which will give the manicure even more originality.

Sometimes only one color in two tones is used for ombre: the first is lighter, the second is darker. A more common option is when two contrasting shades are combined. You can find more complex ways when you use 3-5 different colors - even 7 to draw a rainbow on your nails.

Always be guided by personal preferences when choosing varnishes. An important rule is that a manicure should look organic in one way or another and at a specific event.

Bright acid colors will not be appropriate for office work, but for a hot summer party, this is a great option. In this case, you can safely combine contrasting shades: yellow and blue, red and green, pink and orange, and many others. Feel free to experiment, it all depends on your imagination. The main thing is that the chosen colors of varnishes are combined with each other.

For a sophisticated evening look, gold and silver are the best fit. You can highlight the tip of the nail with the color of a noble metal.

In winter, blue colors will look good on nails: from light blue to deep turquoise and royal blue.

If you are going to start a manicure with a sponge, make sure that you have all the necessary tools for this. You will need the following:

• a means by which you can remove varnish;
• standard manicure accessories (scissors, nail files, tweezers, polishing and much more);
• wooden stick;
• base coat and varnish fixer;
• two or more colored varnishes;
• hand cream, which is characterized by high fat content, or petroleum jelly;
• a small piece of foil, cardboard, plastic or other material of your choice (lacquer should not be absorbed into it) - for mixing different colors;
• a piece of sponge is the main tool with which the varnish will be transferred.

It may seem that achieving an ombre on the nails is very difficult. But do not rush to run to the nearest salon for such a manicure. You can also make it yourself.Of course, you will have to spend a little more time and effort than a regular manicure, but the result is worth it.

So, it is worth understanding step by step what is needed in order to perform a manicure with a sponge at home.

First you need to process the nails:

• get rid of the old varnish;
• keep your hands in the bath;
• get rid of the cuticle;
• trim the length of the nails, give them a neat identical shape;
• be sure to degrease the surface of the nails with alcohol;
• apply base coat.

Then generously lubricate the skin around the nails with a greasy agent, but in no case should you get on the nail itself. This is necessary in order not to stain your fingers with varnish when applying it with a sponge.

When the preparatory stage is completed, you can proceed to the most interesting thing - creating a gradient:

• Apply varnishes to foil or other surface. There should be no free space between the strips of varnish.
• Erase the borders of the shades with a manicure stick or a toothpick.
• Blot the varnishes with a sponge.
• Press the sponge firmly and evenly against the nail and hold for a while.
• You can repeat the previous procedure a few more times - for a brighter color of the coating. In this embodiment, the layer of varnish on the foil needs to be updated.
• Before the gradient layer has had time to dry, apply a top coat - for smoothness, durability and color protection.

There is another way to create a gradient:

• Cover your nails with colored polish.
• When it dries completely, apply another shade with a sponge. The sponge should cover only part of the nail - for example, the bottom.

There are many options for ombre at the present time. In a gradient manicure, you can combine different colors: the same in saturation, delicate with deep, neutral and bright.Even if some color seems too catchy, in this type of manicure it will look appropriate. After all, it can always be balanced with a different color, and it will play in a new way.

You can create different overflows of colors on each nail. Choose from several nail polishes and combine them in different variations for each nail. The result will be very original.

In this technique, you can perform a classic French manicure. Ombre in the form of a rainbow looks very beautiful and bright.

You can add any pattern to the gradient (on one nail or on all), rhinestones, stickers and more. You can also experiment with the finish coat by choosing a product with glitter or sparkles.

The direction of the gradient on the nails can be done in different ways - vertical, transverse or even diagonal. Wide nails will visually “stretch” the longitudinal ombre, while long and narrow nails will decorate the transverse one. If you have a good shape of nails, you can choose any option that you like.

There are some features and recommendations for performing a manicure with a sponge at home:

• The nail polish sponge must be damp.
• Do not neglect the base coat: this way the surface of the nails will become even, the manicure as a whole will look better. In addition, it protects and strengthens nails.
• Update varnishes on the sponge should be for each nail.
• Light varnishes are easier to apply to create a gradient manicure than dark ones.
• The fixer is recommended to be applied before the final drying of the gradient. The sponge has a porous structure, so when using this product for applying varnishes, the surface of the nails becomes rough.A layer of colorless varnish will help smooth them out.
• If you want to apply several shades of the same color for nail design, it is not at all necessary to buy them all in the store. You can make them yourself, avoiding significant expenses. To do this, you just need to dilute the main color varnish with white. By varying the proportions of white and color, you can get many shades of the same color, achieve beautiful overflows.
• When using two colors of varnish, they can be applied directly to the sponge. If you are going to combine 3-5 options, you cannot do without an additional surface in the form of foil, thick cardboard.
• To protect your fingers from varnish, instead of cream or petroleum jelly, you can glue the skin with ordinary tape, and then peel it off. Some girls do not resort to either adhesive tape or petroleum jelly, but simply remove excess varnish at the final stage of the manicure with a cotton swab dipped in nail polish remover.

Don't be afraid to experiment. Be sure to try a gradient manicure if you still haven't decided on it. Consider the above tips, take bold ideas, come up with your own. The result will surely please you. You can make sure that your image is perfect.

How to make a manicure with a sponge, see the next video.