To start off, you're going to need to gather 3-4 polishes that come from the same colour family. Arrange them from darkest to lightest as that's the way you're going to be putting them on your nails. The three shades that I'm using are Essence's Ultimate Pink, Chanel's Rose Insolent and Revlon's Sweet Tart. I chose to keep the first two shades similar while opting for a brighter pink for the top of my nail. You're also going to need a good base coat (Revlon's Quick Dry Base Coat) and a top-coat if you so choose (recommended).
Along with your polishes, you're going to want to have handy some makeup sponges. The ones above are by Quo and were 3$ at my local drugstore. A few Q-Tips come in handy as well to clean up the edges of your nails when you are finished. If you don't have Q-Tips, you can just use paper towel to clean up the edges or to prevent mess all together, grab some plain scotch tape and tape off the area around your nails. When you're done, peel the tape off and your skin should be clean!
Start off by applying a simple base coat to your nails. I prefer to use one that is quick drying. This polish by Revlon works wonders and prevents your nails from yellowing and the polish from chipping off too soon.
Next, paint the lightest colour in your polish trio on the base of the make-up sponge. You don't need to use up the whole bottom of the sponge, one corner should do. Follow by painting the second colour and then paint the last colour on top. Be sure to use a fair bit of polish since the majority of it absorbs into the sponge. Also, try to avoid using quick dry nail polishes. You want to allow yourself some time to work with the polish on the sponge. I've painted my three colours on the paper just to show you how it should look.
You can dab the sponge on a piece of paper prior to dabbing it onto your nail if you'd like. Sometimes this helps to ensure the polish blends nicely but I find you can get a gorgeous ombre effect without doing this.
Once you've applied the polish onto your sponge and are happy with the way the colours look together, begin to sponge the polish onto your nail. I usually use a rolling action going from left to right to ensure that I get the best coverage possible. Try not to pat the polish on too much because it starts to look speckled after a while. It is sort of hard to tell from the image above how the ombre looks, but I find that you can really begin to see the ombre effect once the polish begins to dry. Do this as many times as necessary. Just ensure that you allow the polish to dry in between.
Your finished product should look something like my nail above. You can add a top coat to add extra shine and to try to hide the speckled effect that sometimes occurs. This was achieved with around three coats of polish.
Personally, I prefer a more subtle looking ombre nail. You are able to do a more stark and noticeable ombre. This is a great way to get some use out of the polishes you have and work them all together.
