Product Review: Born Pretty Store, Quirky Arabesque Stamping Plate

*Born Pretty Store products provided for honest and unbiased review.  All other products mentioned were purchased by me.*

Hello there, everyone!  You may remember me mentioning how much I love stamping at the moment, so when Born Pretty Store asked me to review some items, I knew right away I wanted to give some stamping items a try!

 Image from Born Pretty Store

Whilst perusing their site, which if you haven't been has tons of great nail art items at really reasonable prices,  I came across some fun plates.  I decide to try out plate QA88 with a pattern they called "Quirky Arabesque".  Fitting, no?  The swirly patterns and "infinity" style appealed to me right away.  (Infinity plates are ones with designs that cover the whole plate so you can stamp anywhere and get an "infinite" number of patterns.)  This is a smaller plate at just over 2 inches across so it's a little more limited than, say, the Pueen Encore plates or MoYou's...but it's still a pretty pattern with lots of great looks.

I began this manicure with 3 coats of Sinful Colors Easy Going, a barely there, pink creme.  Initially when I saw this plate, I thought it might be good for leadlighting so I wanted to start with a light base to try that out.  The stamping polish I used is part of a set from Born Pretty Store and I'll be reviewing that set in a few days.  Overall, QA88 is a good plate.  I had no issues getting it to stamp and I received it in perfect condition with no scratches or dents.  You can see a few spots on the tips of my nails where the pattern "skipped", but that is more likely due to my own stamping skills (or lack thereof; I'm getting better, but not perfect!) or the fact that a few of my nails curve under when they get to a certain length.  So that's nothing I can point to as a product issue. 

And, as I thought when I saw it, QA88 is great for leadlighting!  The pattern is open enough to allow you to fill in the design with whatever colors you choose.  I went with a multicolored design created with Zoya's Frida, Wet 'n' Wild's Trippin' on the Boardwalk, Simply Sweet in pink neon, and a random yellow.  Kind of has a circus vibe, but I love it!

If you're looking for an inexpensive infinity plate with a fun pattern, this one might just be for you! Plate QA88 retails for $2.09 and shipping is free with non-registered airmail or minimal with airmail tracking (depending on where you live).  I always find their shipping to be faster than I think it will be though their site does say it can take up to 20 days for delivery.  If you decide to purchase this or any other items from Born Pretty Store, feel free to use my referral code, YFL91, to save yourself 10%!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed the post!

Leadlighting: The First Attempt

Hi there, all!  As I mentioned recently, I'm all about the stamping lately.  I love the looks that you can create with it and once you get the hang of it, it's so easy!  I know if you're just starting out stamping that you won't believe me, but I swear it's true.  Continuing with my stamping obsession, I decided it was high time I tried leadlighting.  Leadlighting is a technique which gives a finished look reminiscent of stained glass, which is were the name comes from.

I started with 3 coats of OPI My Vampire Is Buff and then stamped on top with Sinful Colors Black on Black and Pueen's Encore plate SE04B.  I topped everything with a coat of Seche Vite before I started the leadlighting part.

Basically, the premise of leadlighting is pretty simple.  It's like a coloring book, using sheer jelly polishes to fill in the stamped outlines.  I used Sally Hansen's Triple Shine in Grape Jelly mixed with a bit of Wet 'n' Wild's Trippin' on the Boardwalk to up the opacity a bit.  The SH is a great polish for leadlighting but it's very, very sheer.  I wanted a touch more opacity for this look.  After filling in a few random flowers, I decided I wanted another punch of color so I used SH's Triple Shine in Play Koi mixed with a homemade jelly polish (which you can learn how to do here). I just dabbed it onto the center of the non-purple flowers with a dotting tool.

I'm happy with this for my first attempt at a new technique.  My main issue is that I loved the mani so much before I added the color that I'm a bit disappointed that I tried it at all.  But it does have a lot of possibilities, which I'm pretty excited about.

Have you tried leadlighting?  I'd love to see your manicures!  Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post :)