Gradient NOTD with Estee Lauder Hot Coral and OPI Chopsticking To My Story

I received a bottle of Estee Lauder nail polish in Hot Coral for my birthday last year, and had swatched it here. With my birthday coming up on Monday, I thought it would be nice to pull out Hot Coral again and do something different with it.
This time, I went in for ombre or gradient or sponge nail art. Call it what you will, I have found it difficult to get the different shades of polish to blend seamlessly. This is my best effort till date, and is far from perfect. I used O.P.I. Chopsticking To My Story along with Hot Coral, because the latter was a little too tomato red and I wanted to "orange" out the coral a little. The above photograph is indoors, with flash.

You have seen O.P.I.'s Chopsticking To My Story in my favourite Hallowe'en manicure last year, with spiders and webs. It paired off well with Estee Lauder Hot Coral, as you can see. My only worry is whether you can actually tell the difference - or even that there are two nail polishes in there!

Over this, I painted swirls with Essie Chocolate Cakes, which is my favourite deep brown creme polish. As this is a freehand manicure, you can see imperfections, as usual, and uneven patterns. The below photograph is in natural light.

I used the Bourjois Fixant Brilliant topcoat, mostly because I want to finish the bottle. Unfortunately, I did not wait long enough for Essie Chocolate Cakes to dry, so some of the swirls have smeared a little.

What did you think of this manicure? Do let me know!

Click here to check out my international giveaway, ending in April.
This is my submission to the GOT Polish Challenge, which features a nail polish that has been owned for at least one year.

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