Red and Gold Graident Nail Art Tutorial

I’ve been playing around with gradients lately. They’re tricky but look oh so beautiful on the nail when everything is completed. I wanted to do a Christmas nail art, so I put my two favorite Christmas colors together to create a red and gold gradient with gold glitter. Check out how I did it below!

A fair warning before you attempt to do this: this is not for beginners. Do not attempt this if you have never done simple nail art like stripes or dots. You will be very frustrated! This is my fourth gradient and I’m still learning how to perfect it.

What you’ll need:
White nail polish (I used OPI Alpine Snow.)
Red nail polish (I used China Glaze Define Good.)
Gold nail polish (I used Orly Luxe.)
Gold glitter nail polish (I used China Glaze Bring on the Bubbly.)
Latex barrier
Latex-free makeup sponge
Cleanup brush and  acetone

1. Paint your base coat as normal.
2. Paint on one coat of white nail polish. Make sure it is even and has little streaking. This will be the base for the gradient.
3. Apply latex barrier around the cuticles. Apply quick dry top coat and allow to dry 10 minutes. This step is crucial! It will make sure the gradient applies smoothly, pigmented and doesn’t tear up the white base coat.
4. Take the red nail polish and apply a liberal amount onto the sponge. Add a liberal amount of the gold polish directly next to it. It should look like this:
5. Roll the sponge onto the nail from side to side. Do not roll from tip to base. That will not give the gradient that is desired. Make sure the gold polish is situated at the tip of the nail. Roll 2-3 times. Do not dab on the polish on this coat! This will make the gradient spoltchy. Wait 10 minutes for the coat to dry.
6. Repeat step 4 with a clean sponge.
7. Roll on the sponge once, then dab to create a cleaner gradient between the red and gold. Wait 10 minutes for the coat to dry.
8. On a clean sponge, apply gold glitter nail polish. Dab the gold glitter on the gold part of the nail art.
9. Apply top coat, remove latex barrier and clean up around the cuticle with the clean up brush and acetone.

Hope you enjoy!

-Allie