The difference between Ombre and Gradient.

9

Sort By

Nov 28, 2014

T K.

Hi guys! I have noticed a bit of confusion between Ombre and Gradient nails, and I just thought I'd try and explain the difference between the two :) ombre nails are the transition between colors in the same family on all of your Nails. Ex: very light blue on the thumb, to a dark Navy on the pinky. There is only one color on each nail.

Gradient nails consist of the transition between two or more colors on one nail. Ex: yellow at the base, to red at the tip, with orange being the transition.

I hope I explained this well enough, but in case I didn't, here are some picture examples :)

This is an example of ombre nails

Nov 28, 2014

T K.

And this is an example of gradient nails

I in no way mean to offend anyone with this post, I just wanted to share the difference between these to avoid confusion :)

Nov 28, 2014

Yaya B.

Have you seen the gels that change color by temperature? they could be both gradients to let ombre.

Nov 28, 2014

Yaya B.

1 example

Nov 28, 2014

Yaya B.

example 2

Nov 28, 2014

Yaya B.

Example 3 (all the same color) what is the exact name for these? I had to run my hands through hot n then cold water to show you how it changes color.

Nov 28, 2014

T K.

I have never heard of those before :) thank you for sharing!

Nov 28, 2014

Jax V.

Thank you so much I just noticed that a couple weeks ago!!

Nov 28, 2014

Courtney P.

I think they are kind of interchangeable lol. I googled both terms and both were like 99% two colours blending together on one nail.
I had to scroll for a minute or so before even finding your example of ombré.
Whatever people decide to it, it's pretty either way :)

Nov 28, 2014

Shanae J.

I agree with Courtney.

Nov 29, 2014

Emily W.

Ombre: adjective; "having tones of color that shade into each other, graduating from light to dark."

Gradient: noun; "a range of position-dependent colors, usually used to fill a region, that graduate smoothly."

Ombre is a type of linear monochromatic gradient.

Nov 29, 2014

Shanae J.

I applaud you Emily. You know your stuff!

Nov 29, 2014

Kat A.

Thanks for posting! I was wondering this a few days ago.

Nov 30, 2014

Emily W.

The main difference is that one is an adjective and the other a noun. Ombre is an adjective indicating a specific style of color gradient. For example:

She had a blue (adj.) ombre (adj.) manicure (n.).

versus:

She had a monochromatic (adj.) blue (adj.) gradient (n.) on her manicure (n.).

Both sentences said the same thing. They aren't necessarily different concepts, just different ways to describe a technique. You can say gradient instead of ombre is you want, as it is still correct IF you are describing a monochromatic linear gradient.

Nov 30, 2014

Emily W.

Here's a picture to clairfy what I mean. Any multichromatic gradient is NOT ombre; any linear monochromatic gradient IS ombre; any radial gradient (mono- or multichromatic) is NOT ombre. Make sense?

Nov 30, 2014

Ashley L.

Thank you so much for that information Emily W.

Dec 1, 2014

Emily W.

The terms 'gradient' and 'ombre' are interchangable in specific circumstances (when describing a monochromatic linear gradient) regardless if you're talking about hair, nails, the side of a house, a digital graphic, or whatever. That's what I'm saying. It doesn't matter if it is on each nail, or progressively as skittle nails, the words are the same.

Gradient = any gradual transition of colors
Ombre = a monochromatic linear gradient

If you want to call your ombre nails a gradient, you aren't wrong. Period.