I wanted to make the most of the blacklights I knew I’d be under this weekend, so I brought out the Orly Neon Gradient. These glow beautifully when exposed to UV light!

Orly Neon Gradient left hand

Orly Neon Gradient left hand

Polishes and tools

Cirque Carpe Diem
Orly Glowstick, Melt Your Popsicle and Beach Cruiser
Latex sponge
Hit the Bottle Black
MoYou London Princess 14
Clear Jelly Stamper The Big Bling and The Bling Brush

I started off with base coat and a single coat of Carpe Diem. It didn’t need to be perfect, and I was in a major rush!

As a result, this doesn’t have the clean and even finish I normally present.

Orly Neon Glowstick, Melt Your Popsicle and Beach Cruiser

Orly Neon Glowstick, Melt Your Popsicle and Beach Cruiser

I painted the three neon colours across the sponge and then dabbed it on to my nails. I keep the sponge moist with polish so that I don’t get any little sponge pieces stuck to my nail.

Orly Neon Gradient right hand

Orly Neon Gradient right hand

It took two to three coats of sponging to get an opaque finish. The process is very quick because the coats are thin and dry quickly.

Normally I’d add a layer of top coat on the gradient to smooth it out, but no time for that here!

For the stamping, I keep a lint free pad soaked in acetone on a peg handy to clean the plate between stamps. You don’t need to wipe it every single time, but it helps to keep the stamped image crisp and clear.

Orly Neon Gradient blacklight

Orly Neon Gradient blacklight

All ten nails are the same! Not my normal style, but like I said, I was in a hurry with this one. I added top coat and was (carefully) out the door.

Orly Neon Gradient

As you can see from this photo, these are true neons and glow really brightly.

I was performing as part of a big choir on Saturday night, and I knew from last time at the venue they use a lot of blacklights. I couldn’t resist – it makes me so happy to see them glow so brightly!

I hope to had a good weekend too! What did you get up to?