The Ombre Mani

Ombre gradation has been in vogue for several seasons now, applied to nearly every clothing and accessory item imaginable, and even emerging as a hair color trend.  Even though it's frequented runways and stores for a solid two years, the gradation trend lives on, as evidenced by the ombre fabrics at Dries van Noten and Alexander McQueen's latest shows.

Dries van Noten Spring 2011

Alexander McQueen Spring 2011

I love a good gradient, but had never considered how chic it could look on nails until I spotted this ombre manicure in Marie Claire magazine.

I tried to duplicate this look using similar magenta and black polishes, but the sky's the limit when it comes to selecting colors.  Creating this effect was a little tricky.  I began by applying one coat of magenta polish to all my nails and allowing it them to dry.  Next, I applied black polish to the upper third of my nail.  While the black was still wet, I then switched back to the magenta polish brush and swept the black down the nail, allowing it to mix with the magenta polish on the brush.  I alternated between blending with the black brush and magenta brush until a smooth gradient was achieved.