Nail Design: Neon Gradient Stripes

Man was this a tedious mani! This one involved a few "first" for me. My first time doing stripes with tape, using my new sponges, and doing a neutral/neon combo! I've been wanting to use this color combination for quite some time, but couldn't decide how I wanted to execute it. 

I cut up some painters tape to make my stripes, which took more time than I expected. Aside from that though, it wasn't too difficult. In fact this mani was pretty simple, it just took a lot of time and patience. I also bought new sponges awhile back to use for gradients and they work much better than my old ones. 

I didn't want all the stripes to go in the same direction, so I did a mix of horizontal and vertical stripes. In the end I loved the vertical ones, but not so much the horizontal. Guess I'll know for next time!

Immediately after I applied my top coat, I bumped my left hand, which is my best hand, and it smudged the design in a few spots. However, I was able to pose my hands just right so the glare helped hide the smudge. ;)

I used:
OPI "My Vampire is Buff"
China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy"
China Glaze "Pool Party"
Love & Beauty "Purple"