Skittle Nails
The classic Skittle Manicure is made of at least two nail polishes which are also applied on the full nail. The colors don’t have to be in the same color family. Basically like the candy Skittles which this nail look is named after.
Gradient Nails
A manicure is a Gradient Manicure when two or more colors blend in a gradient into each other on the nails. You can achieve this look with the sponging technique which Sammy showed in her perfect tutorial. The definition is easy: a Gradient Manicure is a gradient.
Ombre nails
While the term Ombre Manicure is appealing to be used for gradients it describes a much different technique.
The common meaning for Ombre Nails in nail art is not a gradient on each nail – it is a shading from nail to nail with five nail polishes which are applied each on one full nail. In contrast to Skittle Nails the five nail polishes have to be in the same color family though. A classic Ombre Manicure would be for example from black over three shades of gray (lighter from nail to nail) to white.
(via leavesoflace)
by Mario Testino for the cover story of Vogue UK, March
illamasqua
Kelis
In the 1930s women often painted just the center of the nail, leaving the moon and tip bare. Filling in the whole nail with color was considered an extreme look. Nice girls didn’t do it! A whitening pencil was used on the back of the nail tip as well, like this one from Sally’s Beauty Supply.
According to this very informative site on vintage makeup, common nail polish colors in the 30′s included red, pink, deep coral, lilac, emerald green, cornflower blue, gray, gold silver and even black!
There are two ways to re-create this vintage moon manicure. Leave the half moon, or moon and tip, completely bare, or paint a lighter shade on the whole nail, let it dry, then apply the darker shade over it.
dita von teese.