This was my first attempt at this nail polish technique, but not my last. I thought it was super easy and kind of fun to do. The best part is that you don't need a steady hand. I think this is great since I don't have a steady hand. There are other techniques and videos on youtube. Do a youtube search for gradient nails or a search for faded nails to find more videos. Here is one youtube video example. The last half of the youtube video is a close up of the thumb, so you just need to watch the first half. The link in the video shows something closer to a french manicure with a colored sparkly tip.Here is what I did. I started with the polish second from the left. I painted the polish directly on the make-up sponge. I started adding polish about 1/8 inch up from the cuticle. I sponge painted the polish on to the nail about 1/4 inch wide. This polish color actually took 2 coats.
Then I got the next darkest color. The polish in the picture is in the wrong order. The next darkest polish would be second from the right. Woops. Anyway, I painted this color on to a different part of the make-up sponge. I sponge painted the nail starting maybe 1/4 inch from the cuticle, again 1/4 inch wide. I continued doing this with the remaining two darker colors, starting further up the nail with each color.
To finish I added 2 coats of the lightest color. This color was an almost sheer nude. I don't think it came out bad for a first attempt.
I think the super cheap nail polished would work great for this look, since they are just sponged on to the nail. I'll probably add a video to this post at a later date. Be sure to look at the video in the link, as that finished look is a lot different.