Interrupted Gradient

Hello friends!  Haven't talked to any of you in a while.  Haven't seen any of you in a while.  Haven't seen sunlight for a while either.  But in the meantime, I have been going through several series of existential crises so that has been fun.

Here are my nails:

Like the name suggests, it consists of a gradient that has been interrupted.  Much like how midterms are interrupting my peaceful state of mind.  Merp derp.

More on this manicure after the jump!

People often ask me how long it takes to paint my nails...I should start adding approximate times to my nail art so that you know.  It's good to know things.  For example, did you know that the first enzyme is glycolysis is hexokinase, and its isozyme is glucokinase?  Bet you didn't.

For this manicure:

I started with a coat of Base Coat by Finger Paints.  On my thumb, ring, and pinky fingers, I applied two coats of aruba blue by essie, and then added a sky blue rhinestone and a silver rhinestone.  On my pointer and middle fingers, I applied two coats of Snow Me White by Sinful Colors.  When that dried completely, I added the striping tape before sponging on a gradient of Mint Sorbet by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear and Too Yacht To Handle by China Glaze.  I removed the tape as soon as I finished sponging, and then did some clean-up around my nails with acetone.  Everything was topped off and sealed with a coat of Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat by Sally Hansen.

Approximate work time: 1 - 1.5 hours

The time it took to complete this manicure really depended on how thick my coats of polish were, and when the white polish dried.  I think the drying of the white polish was truly the rate-determining step, as it was certainly the slowest.  Science is full of rate-determining steps, as you don't want reactions (especially biological ones) to spiral out of control.  

You can purchase the striping tape and the rhinestones from most online and beauty retailers, and maybe even some arts and crafts stores.  Mine are purchased from amazon.com, but I did spend a good deal of time just looking around and just being awed by what's out there in the nail art world.

And here's a final picture taken with flash:

What a nice, royal, shimmery blue.  It reminds me of expensive velvet, one that I would never buy.

Anyways, I hope you guys have a great week!  Or at least a better week than me.  I will be posting my next set of nails pretty soon-ish because I'll be sailing to Catalina Island next weekend.  Yeahhhh lovely schooners.