Something that I tend to forget when I get in my head and have ALL of the ideas that I want to throw at my nails is that sometimes keeping it simple can make for a real impactful mani. After trying out a few overly ambitious things that just weren't working, I found myself needing a little bit of a palette cleanser and this idea came to me like a bit of a lightbulb. I've never personally been much of a glitter gradient kind of girl (probably because I'm not much of a glitter kind of girl) but I've been all about flakies lately and I love them applied in a gradient and I felt like this could really work for a Halloween mani that isn't... quite so focused on graphics and more on just being pretty.

Honestly, as long as you have some flakies and a stamper, this mani is basically fool proof. I started with one coat of Essence Black Is Back as my base and followed with one coat of Sinful Colors Black On Black. I used two different blacks because I wanted the intensity of the Essence polish to really give me a rich black but the slower-to-dry aspect of the Sinful Colors so that I had a little more time to work between applying the polish and then applying the flakies to the polish once it was tacky. 

To apply the flakies, I used my NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper* and a fluffy eyeshadow brush. Essentially what you do is dip into the flakies with the fluffy brush and be careful not to pick up too much or you will make a mess. Next, you're going to sort of pat and then swipe the flakies onto the brush, building up opacity at one side and then feathering it out. Once you've gotten to the desired gradient, you just transfer onto the still tacky nail and press the flakies into the polish. I like to very gently use the tip of my finger to then lightly press in any straggling flakies that may not be smooth against the nail.

Once the base was dry and the flakies were really smooth, I applied a coat of Sinful Colors Matte Top Coat (just to protect the flakies since I know it's a top coat that won't eat them) and then a generous coat of Seche Vive Quick Dry Top Coat and voila!

All Products Used

Essence Black Is Back

Sinful Colors Black On Black

BeautyBigBang Chameleon Top Grade Nail Flakes 05, 06 & 09

Sinful Colors Matte Top Coat

Seche Vive Quick Dry Top Coat

NailStuff.ca Clear Stamper*

Wet N Wild Crease Brush

Honestly, I can't really stop staring at these because even though they're quite simple (by my standards anyway) they're so impactful with the dimension of the multichrome flakies. I actually own every shade of the BeautyBigBang Chameleon Top Grade Nail Flakes and I think that for the price, you really, really can't go wrong with them. If you're interested in picking them up, be sure to use TRYSH10 for 10% your order! (Not an affiliate link, just a bonus!)

Be sure to head over to Cosmetic Proof, See The World In PINK, and Tea & Nail Polish today to check out more Halloween Nails for #CBBxManiMonday! And, of course, keep checking back here on the blog every few days all month for more of my #12NailsOfHalloween!

Thanks for reading!