Whats Up Nails Nail Art Challenge | Reciprocal Gradient

Hey everyone! This month I have decided to participate in the Whats Up Nails Nail Art Challenge. Whats Up Nails is one of my favourite nail art retailers, so I am very excited to give this a go! There is a new prompt every 5 days, so you can expect that I will be pretty preoccupied with this challenge and may not have time for much other content. I haven’t been feeling like wearing makeup lately, so this is just fine with me.

The first prompt was gradient, so today I am doing a geometric reciprocal gradient. I didn’t want to just do any normal gradient, so why not go for two gradients, that are in opposite directions?! I have to make things complicated, don’t I?

1. For this manicure, I started by applying my favourite base coat, Orly Bonder, to all of my nails.
2. First, I applied a white creme stamping polish to all of my nails (Maniology Bam! White Stamping Polish) to give a nice solid base for my gradient. To protect my cuticles I used a liquid latex (Edge Perfection Easy Peel Polish Barrier).
3. To create the gradient I used a cosmetic sponge wedge and white and black stamping polishes (Maniology Bam! White and Straight Up Black Stamping Polishes), layering one above the other on the sponge. I then lightly tapped the sponge on the nail, moving it slightly up and down to blend the gradient. I repeated this process until I was happy with the opacity and blend of the gradient.
4. To seal in the gradient I used the Maniology Smudge-Free Top Coat. I also added a little scattered holo sparkle with China Glaze Fairy Dust.
5. To add the geometric pattern with the reverse gradient, I used the UberChic Beauty Art Deco Flair Stamping Plate, the same two stamping polishes and the What’s Up Nails Jumbo Clear Stamper. When placing the design on the nails, I made sure to line up the black part of the stamp with the white part of the nail, and vice versa.
6. I finished off the mani by applying the Maniology No Smudge Nail Polish Top Coat (Use code SUPERNOVA10 to save 10% off Maniology purchases (affiliate)), followed by my regular glossy top coat (Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat).

My favourite thing about nail art challenges is trying new techniques. Even though this prompt was just for a gradient, it was fun to try a reciprocal gradient and take it one step further!

Watch my video tutorial below to see how it was done!