Ombre nails have made their mark in the manicure world over the last few years. Although they started off as the infamous baby boomer nails, they have blossomed into an exhilarating form of nail art that provides numerous opportunities.
Ombre manicures not only look great on their own, but with a little glitter on top or rhinestones, they can really stand out and enhance your look.
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What are ombre nails?
In brief, ombre nails are a special type of manicure where two or more colors gradually flow into each other, creating a beautiful, smooth gradient.
This type of nail art is normally done with two colors of similar opacity by making a darker color flow into a lighter one. As a result, a new color is created where they meet.
Therefore, ombre nails allow you to make your manicure truly unique. You can use them to get beautiful effects on your nails, such as:
- sunset by mixing red and orange,
- milky by using glitter flowing into a solid color or the other way around,
- ocean effect by mixing dark and light blue.
In fact, you can achieve an ombre effect from any direction you want. You can flow it from the top to the bottom, vertically over the nail, or diagonally. It all depends on your preferences and imagination.
Where did ombre nails come from?
As already mentioned, ombre nails were introduced as baby boomer nails. The name derives from the generation born after World War II that was really fond of the classic French manicure with pink and white.
Baby boomer nails took off after 2010, but it wasn’t until a few years back that nail technicians and customers dared to experiment with more exciting ombre designs than classic French manicures.
Why are ombre manicures more expensive than full-color ones?
If you go regularly to reliable nail salons to have your nails done, you may have noticed that ombre manicures tend to be more expensive than solid-colored sets.
There are a few reasons behind this, such as:
- perfect-looking ombre nails require a fair amount of skill. There are even special additional courses to learn the best techniques and practices that nail technicians need to attend,
- ombre manicures are more time-consuming than traditional solid-color designs,
- ombre nails require more products. First of all, nail technicians need to use at least two colors. What is more, it is a good practice to encapsulate the ombre design with clear acrylic to protect the gradient from being damaged when you file your nails.
Can you do ombre nails with all types of nail polish?
Finally, it is also worth mentioning that ombre manicures can be achieved with all types of nail polish.
Whatever preferences you have, whether it be acrylic, gel, or an acrylic dipping system, you can get your ombre effect with each of them. Although the method is different in each case, the final output should be similar.
Summing up, ombre manicures are special nail designs that can make your nails beautiful and exciting at the same time. Although it may be a little more expensive and time-consuming than traditional solid-color manicures, the final effect is definitely worth it.
