Polish Days ~ Geometry

Hey dolls! I was so excited when the theme for this month's Polish Days was released. I had so many great ideas...unfortunately, none of them worked the way I wanted it to. I'll probably show you those fails at a later time. Yesterday I decided to take the easy route of stamping, which in actuality isn't that easy for me since I don't do it often. I started with two coats of Barielle Blossom, a gorgeous peach creme. After Blossom was dry, I stamped on geometrical patterns using Bundle Monster image plate #208 and a-England Saint George.

I'm pleased with the way this turned out even though it wasn't my initial goal. Sometimes you just have to roll with it. I love this color combo and Saint George compliments Blossom well. Make sure you take a look below at what all of the other ladies have come up with!

Milani Mint Candy

Hi dolls, I have a gorgeous drugstore find for you today; Milani Mint Candy. Mint Candy is a gorgeous mint polish that is filled with blue shimmer. The formula was relatively thick; so thick that I'll probably add a little thinner the next time I use it. Mint Candy is very pigmented and I could have gotten away with one coat, but I did two for depth.

 Gosh, I love this color! The shimmer is absolutely amazing and even more so in the sunlight.

Since it's Wednesday, I attempted to add a little pink by stamping on the mosaic image from Bundle Monster plate #208 using Color Club Hot Like Lava.

I probably should have left well enough alone. I don't hate it, but I don't love it. The image transfer was a little sheer in some parts. Oh well, you can't win them all right?

Happy hump day dolls!

Pink Wednesday ~ Zebra Stamping

Hey dolls, I really didn't want to take off Cult Nails Feel Me Up quite yet, so I decided to add some pink stamping. I used the zebra image from the Bundle Monster 223 plate and Color Club Hot Like Lava. These foils are great for stamping if you haven't tried them out yet.

I am aware that this is by no means perfect stamping, but I like it. I have to work more on image placement so that it comes out neatly. I'm going to attempt to practicing stamping before taking old manis off...that way if it's a fail I won't mind since I'm taking it off anyway.

Happy Hump Day!

Latest Free Purchase ~ Nubar Reclaim & a Little Pink for Wednesday

free 

Hey dolls, today I'm wearing my latest free purchase using Amazon gift cards that I received through Swagbucks (check this post for all the details on Swagbucks and how you can get involved). After falling in love with Nubar Diamont Top Coat, I felt like I needed to try a polish from this brand. Nubar Reclaim came highly recommended so I ordered it a few weeks ago and I'm just getting around to wearing it. Reclaim is  highly pigmented green holographic polish. It glided onto my nails with no issues. Dry time was also extremely quick; I was on the computer for a few minutes in between coats and I brushed a nail on accident. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was already dry. Here is two coats.

This is a super pretty green! I'm pleased with this one, but I almost like it a little more on the inside when the holo isn't peeking through as much. Holo lovers, please don't come after me! Since it's Pink Wednesday, I decided to add some stamping to this using Color Club Hot Like Lava. I used the peacock feather looking image from the Bundle Monster 207 plate.

I'm so proud of myself for how this turned out!!! I'm not usually very successful at stamping, but Hot Like Lava worked perfectly. I also love pink and green together...sorority girl here! I'm getting low on untried pink polishes, so the next few Pink Wednesdays may feature accents of pink.

Nubar Diamont has also become my go to top coat, so I ordered two more bottles using Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks as well. I don't like that I have to order it online, but it makes it so much better when I'm getting it for free. Let me know your thoughts on this manicure.

Have you tried any of the Color Club Foiled polishes for stamping yet?

Snakeskin Stamping with Julep Sienna

Hey dolls, this is just a quick post to show you some semi-successful stamping that I did over Loreal Cockatoo's Mystery. I used Julep Sienna, an antique gold foil, and Bundle Monster image 215.

the sun was setting

the right hand that usually gets no picture love :)

shade

This is the first set of stamping that I'm actually relatively proud of! Far from perfect image transfers, but its decent enough to wear out. My right hand actually came out better. I love how subtle the colors are together. Sienna was so close to going into my swap pile because I didn't like the color on me, but its just perfect for stamping. Its very opaque and dries quickly.

What do you think of my stamping efforts???

Orly Fresh & Leopard Print Stamping

Orly Fresh and Leopard Print Stamping

The theme for this Monday's mani was animal print and I figured this would be a good time to try out stamping again. For the base, I chose Orly Fresh. This is a bright green creme that just brings a smile to my face. I'm beginning to really fall in love with Orly's formula. This was an easy two coats (the second wasn't really needed).

flash

flash

without flash

On to the stamping adventures...now that I've finally got the polish to adhere, I have to work on my placement. I used the leopard print image from BM plate 221 for this mani. I added one coat of Orly Snowcone and stamped with Orly Frolic. 

Its nowhere near perfect, but I guess its wearable (at least for one day). I really like Gumdrop and Frolic...I cant wait to wear them both as full manis. Let the stamping adventures continue...I wont let this get the best of me...lol.

How do you feel about this mani and the inspiration board above??? I've never paired green and leopard print...but I'm feeling it. I've got an idea of how I can put some pieces together in my wardrobe to rock this!

Floral Mani with Zoya Midori & Mira

Zoya Midori & Mira

The theme for this Monday in the PAA facebook group is floral. I'm using these themes as an opportunity to work on my stamping skills. I'm not much for nail art, so you guys have to just bear with me. Hopefully over the next few weeks you'll see some growth in my skills. I tend to look for inspiration in clothing and accessories. I thought the purple floral clutch was super cute and I used it for color guidance. I applied 2 coats of Zoya Midori first. While this polish was a little thicker than most of my Zoyas, it wasn't problematic at all. Midori is a beautiful shade of apple green with gold shimmer throughout. I really like this color...it reminds me of a midori sour!

in the shade

I used BM plate 204 to stamp the flowers on with Zoya Mira. The image is stamped on my thumb, ring, and index fingers.

Hmmmm...I feel just okay about this. I think the base color needed to be a little bit lighter for Mira to show up better. It actually looks much better in real life than it does in the pictures though. 

In other news, I just got a set of dotting tools in the mail today (they were ordered prior to me deciding to do a no-buy....besides its not polish anyway so it doesn't count..lol). Let the adventures in nail art continue...

Finally...Semi-Successful Stamping!!!

Hey dolls...
Just wanted to write a quick post to say that I finally had a semi-successful experience with stamping. I've had the new BM plates for almost 2 months now and they have not gotten much use. After some great tips from some ladies who are more experienced, I think I've finally got a hold of this. I was having issues with the polish adhering to the stamper and it was suggested that I buff it to roughen it up just a little. Buffing the stamper, along with applying more pressure on the plate, gave me this mani. I'm still wearing Barielle Do Unto Others...yup, I've had this on since Wednesday and I still love it!!! I stamped using Zoya Mira and BM plate 221. I topped it with Seche Vite top coat. Well here it is...

The pattern looks good on my index finger that I recently had to file down because of a side split. I really like it...of course it could be much neater and much more even. The color combo is cute though!  It doesn't help that my nails are sort of long right now so the full image plates aren't really big enough. I'm really only showing this as documentation for my growth in stamping. Hopefully the semi-success will keep me motivated to make more attempts. You can purchase your own set of BM plates on Amazon or any of the other nail art products below to jazz up your nails. 

Any constructive criticism or tips for stamping are greatly appreciated dolls!

I Think I'm Ready to Join...

...the stamping craze! I've been reading up on the process, the materials needed, and what polishes work best. I'm between ordering some of the individual konad plates on amazon that I like or taking the plunge on Bundle Monster and just getting them all. I'm supposed to be on a "no buy" until after my wedding in less than 2 weeks, but purchasing the entire bundle is way more cost efficient...so that means I should go for it...right??? :) I plan to get the double ended stamper and scraper.

Source

I really want to try these plates! 

Konad M45

Konad M57

Konad M62

Some of the best tutorials on youtube on stamping come from Miss80Million. She's super creative and gives very clear and concise steps for how the stamping process works. Here's an example of one of her tutorials.

Please check out her YT page for more great tutorials. She is awesome! Once the wedding is over, I'll be purchasing these image plates for sure...I can't wait! Happy polishing dolls!