Talon-tastic Thursday: Concrete sparkle

For quick and easy nail awesomeness, I'm a big believer in the power of glitter. Glitter polishes require very little in the way of finesse and they're super versatile, too.

Slap a coat or two all over nails for a full metal jacket effect (in blue and pink, red, or gold); apply alone and sparingly for a more subtle effect (matte gold, anyone?) or over colour as a sparkly top coat; use to create spangly reverse French manicures; or daub carefully on to the tips or base of the nails to create a gorgeous gradient effect which can be as subtle or as outlandish as your little heart desires, depending on whether you opt for a coordinating or contrasting shot of bling.

The key to achieving a good-looking glitter gradient is to avoid overloading your brush. This will make it easier to control the placement of the sparkles, and you can always add more glitter if desired. I recommend removing excess glitter polish by swirling the stem of the brush around the inside of the neck of the bottle as you take it out, and then wiping the brush against the inside edge of the bottle neck. This will allow the unwanted excess to flow back into the bottle, minimising waste as well as cutting down on the amount of glitter you have to work with.

If you still find that you're ending up with too much glitter polish on your brush, try applying a little polish to the corner of a cosmetic sponge or eyeshadow applicator first and then sponging the glitter onto nails. This little trick is also great for creating gradients with non-glitter polishes, and comes in handy for creating two-tone ombré paint jobs, galaxy nails and Effie Trinket-stylee manicures.

Products used:
Orly Bonder base coat
Barry M Grey (two coats)
Nicole by OPI Brilliant Idea (applied using the polish's own brush)
Seche Vite top coat

Have I convinced you to give glitter polish a go? If not, maybe my most popular photo of all time will change your mind...