Easiest Gradient Ever

Gradient manicures are one of my absolute favorite things, but sometimes they're just a little too much work, y'know? Waiting for the base layer to dry, painstakingly sponging on layers, dealing with cleanup—it can take forever! That's why all the thermal polishes popping up these days are so great: if your nails are long enough, you can (sometimes) get that gradient look without all the hassle.

My nails have always been on the shorter side, but I've recently been able to grow them out with a lot of careful attention and the help of some great products. When I realized that they were maybe finally long enough to get this two-toned look from a thermal polish, I got so excited that I ran right to the computer and ordered a couple of Polished by KPT's absolutely gorgeous thermals.

This is Don't Be Ranunculus, a shimmery, sparkly thermal that transitions from a deep raspberry red when cold to a light, pinkish taupe when fully warm. On my medium-length nails, it generally wears as the taupe color with red tips, but I did see a lot of both colors in various environments. Application was very nice, though it's always a little tricky with thermals that become lighter when they touch your warm nails: you don't notice the mess you're making on your cuticles until the first time your hands get cold!

I also couldn't resist adding a little something to the Don't Be Ranunculus base, just to keep things interesting. The flowers here were stamped from plate 06 from MoYou London's Suki Collection using a england Bridal Veil. I kind of wish now that I'd used a darker, more saturated black for the stamping, but it did match well with the base color(s)!

Thanks for looking!