*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!
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!
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 :)
Hi everyone! It's a beautiful Saturday here in Chicago and I'm inside, typing up a post on my neglected blog. Work has been taking a huge toll on my hands, I should post a picture of how they look after I get done polishing a million little bits of metal lol It's so hard to get them clean! And then I've had breakage so I'm back down to nubs. I actually am enjoying them. My longer length always gets caught on things and I'm constantly stressed over breakage. So, not having to worry about that makes life a bit easier. Anyway, on to the manicure!
I've been a stamping fool lately, can't get enough of it! I picked up the Pueen Cosmetics Encore stamping plates a couple of weeks ago. The images are beautiful and offer almost endless possibilites for stamping...I love them! They are currently available on Pueen's Storenvey site and Amazon for $24.99 per four, double-sided plates set.
I began this manicure with a gradient. I used Lilypad Lacquer's Apple Spritzer (which I snagged off of Llarowe when they had a huge sale a few weeks ago!) and Army of Me by Black Cat Lacquer (also purchased in the same sale). It's my first experience with both of these brands and I wasn't disappointed with either! Apple Spritzer is a delicate light green to gold holographic with a perfect formula. Army of Me shares the perfect formula but is a deep almost-forest green holographic. Both of these polishes are still available on Llarowe for $13 and $12, respectively.
After the gradient dried, I stamped over top with Sinful Colors Black on Black using Pueen's Encore plate SE01A. I couldn't be happier with how this turned out! The colors, the holo sparkle, the black stamping...so perfect!
I hope you all enjoyed this post and thanks for reading!
Hi there! I'm trying to get back into the swing of things here and I wanted to show off my newest manicure. I'm doing my best to get the hang of stamping and I had a good night of it. My bf even commented that it must have gone well because the process wasn't accompanied with the customary swearing and throwing things...so I have a temper, sue me! lol
I started with 2 coats of FingerPaints Dream I Can Fly, a turquoise-y blue (that's got a touch more green than my pics show) as a base. I was a little disappointed with this polish as my bottle is quite gloppy and streaky. It did even out in two coats, but it was kind of a mess to get there. Fortunately, the color is beautiful!
Using Colors by Llarowe's Smooth Criminal, which I recently snagged from a blog sale, and Pueen 65, which I received as a gift from my friend Liz at A Mani Maniac, I stamped some swirly bits over top. I'm loving the way this turned out and I can't wait to see it in the sunlight (stay tuned for an Instagram pic of that)!
My best stamping tips so far are to work quickly and make sure to rough up your stamper head! Mine wouldn't pick up the image at all until I buffed it lightly with an emery board...now it works great! I'd love to hear any tips you guys have for stamping...it can be a tricky business ;)
Thanks so much for reading!
Good evening everyone! Another late night post from me...what can I say? I'm a total night owl, plus I don't have to work in the morning. Don't be too jealous, I have to work Saturday and Sunday so tomorrow is my mini-weekend!
I'm still practicing my stamping but it's going so much easier these days. In case you missed my last post on it, roughing up your stamper with a nail file and then cleaning it with acetone/polish remover makes a world of difference!
These are some different rose designs from a plate I got from Born Pretty Store, #QA55. I wanted more of an abstract design, so I layered a few stamps on each nail. I'm kind of loving the outcome! The base polish is Wet 'n' Wild's Wild Shine in Tickled Pink and I used I Love Nail Polish's beautiful Molly to stamp. The roses have a nice bit of holographic sparkle when the light hits them.
I'm not really much of a pink girl usually, but I wanted to try something girly and sweet and I'm pretty sure I accomplished it, no? :)
Thanks so much for reading!
Howdy, everyone! Today (well, late last night really) I tried my hand at some stamping. I rarely do anything with stamps, mostly because my plates kind of suck. I've got some new ones coming from Born Pretty Store (btw, feel free to use the code in the side bar for 10% off your order with them) so I'm hoping those will be a bit better. If you'd like to see some examples of excellent stamping, I urge you to check out Kimber's Lacquer Korner. She's a real expert at it and I'm in awe of her skillz!
Anywho, on to my stamping attempt.
I started here with 2 coats of Tidal Wave by Sinful Colors, a barely-there-baby-blue creme. To create the rainbow effect for the stamping, I dropped 3 different polishes on the plate before scraping it in several directions. Llarowe posted a little tutorial on her facebook about the technique last week, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I used China Glaze Sunday Funday, Barielle Cosmic Kiss, and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Limestone.
I'm reasonably happy with the result. In fact, since this was my THIRD attempt at stamping last night, I'm freakin' thrilled to have accomplished this much. Seriously, new plates cannot get here fast enough! As you can see from my thumbnail in the above photo, the images on these plates really aren't large enough to cover all my nails, even when I manage to line it up perfectly...which really doesn't happen that often lol
How about you guys? Are you master stampers? Or novices like me? Any tips?
Before I sign off for the evening, I want to remind you all to enter my Birthdanniversary Giveaway. I've got 3 prize packs up for grabs and only about 20 people have entered so far, so those are pretty good odds! The giveaway is open through July 18th, so don't miss out!
Thanks so much for reading!
Howdy, everyone. I don't know about you, but all this cold weather and snow has made me long for Spring! I decided to create a light and fun manicure reminiscent of springtime. I've also decided (after checking out Kimber's amazing skills) that I need to practice my stamping. You can add so much great detail with stamping and, frustrating as it can be, it's a useful tool. So, here's what I put together...take a look:
I posted the other day about my Walgreen's haul, and since my untried pile keeps growing, I decided to use some of the new Sinful Colors I purchased for this manicure. The colors I used are as follows:
Thumb: Starfish-a lovely mauve-y pink creme
Index: Orange Creme-a Dreamsicle orange with a gorgeous (and subtle) peachy/silver shimmer that my camera was unable to capture
Middle: Unicorn-a pale marshmallow-y yellow creme
Ring: Sugar Rush-a beautiful pastel sky blue creme
Pinky: Candy Coated-a pretty lavender creme, again with that super subtle shimmer
So far, I'm pretty impressed with SC's Sugar Rush collection. The formulas are really nice and the secret shimmer is a lovely surprise.
After I got done with my skittles, I decided to stamp them with a pretty, delicate flower pattern, perfect for Spring! I used Wet 'n' Wild's French White Creme for the stamping. I think it turned out pretty well for my second attempt at stamping ever. My favorite stamped nails in this manicure are the ones painted with Unicorn. There's something so pretty about the subtle white on yellow combo. Again, my camera has failed to capture it properly, but, trust me, it's great!
On a personal note, my Grandpa passed away suddenly this week. I'm headed back to Kansas this weekend to attend his funeral. It's been a sad week for my family and it's going to be hard to say good-bye. He was a wonderful man and he will be missed greatly. So, if I'm not around as much over the next few days or not as responsive to comments, I hope you'll all understand.
Thanks so much for reading.
Howdy everyone! We're halfway through the week, how's everyone feeling? If you're like me, you can't wait for Friday. I actually have the day off Friday and I'm thinking I might go get a massage. I received a gift certificate to a local spa for my birthday from a friend and I'm thinkin' it might be time to cash it in.
I wanted to put up some photos of my nails today. This is a good example of how mistakes can often become happy accidents. I was trying out a new stamping plate and instead of getting the whole design, I only got a partial. At first I was frustrated, but then I decided I like the abstract feel of the partial stamp anyway so I stamped all my nails that way. Here's how it came out:
I started with 2 coats of Peachy Keen by China Glaze (another from my weekend Ulta spree) and stamped over top with Luxe from Orly. Luxe is my favorite gold of all time. It reminds me of the look of gold leaf or foil and the effect is just marvelous. I thought the color combo worked well here, too. It reminds me of that marble with the gold veins running through it. So you can see the original pattern of the stamp was a bunch of stars. I'll give this pattern another try with a thicker polish and see if I can get a clearer outcome in the future, but as far as oopsies go, this turned out alright.
I'll be posting my first manicure for the Nail-aween Challenge tomorrow so be sure to stop by and check it out! Thanks for reading!
Howdy, all! Well, it's finally the end. The 31st day of the 31 Day Nail Challenge has arrived. I'm a little sad that it's over, but mostly I'm just relieved (and a little proud) that I made it all the way through! Today's challenge was to recreate a favorite manicure. I have lots of favorite manicures done by other bloggers. There are so many great ones out there. I knew I wanted to try my hand at stamping some more and I knew I wanted something simple. Let's face it, I'm exhausted after doing all these manis every day! So I chose a sweet stamped manicure from pshiiit.com's blog. I'll include a photo of her's at the end. I'm unable to find the original post for this manicure, every time I try to link back through Pinterest it just takes me to her home page. Here's my version:
I started with one coat of China Glaze in First Mate and then used Wet 'n' Wild's Wild Shine in French White Creme to stamp a swirly heart design on top. This set of stamping plates worked a lot better for me, so I'm finding that not all plates are created equal. I did have some trouble with my top coat on this one. My bottle of Seche Vite needs to be swapped as it's getting kind of gloppy. Here's another view:
And here's the original:
As you can see, my stamp is not exactly the same as her's but I still think it turned out pretty well. I had a lot of fun with this challenge and I'm glad I followed through with the whole month. I'm not in a rush to do it again though lol However, I will be participating in a Halloween Challenge for the month of October. Check back for more info on that soon. Thanks so much for reading!
Hello again! For my second post of the evening, I have for you nails inspired by the "supernatural". I actually had a hard time with this one. For starters, the only thing I could come up with for supernatural were ghosts or the T.V. show. I didn't really feel like doing either of those. Since I'm behind on my swatching and I just got new stamping plates, I wanted to combine those things today. Here's what I came up with:
So, what you're looking at is one coat of Wet 'n' Wild's Wild Shine in French White Creme covered by 5(!) coats of Cirque's Kabocha. Kabocha is a lovely bright orange jelly (hence the 5 coats til I was happy with coverage). It's part of Cirque's All Hallow's Eve set which happens to be the prize I won from Chalkboard Nails' giveaway a couple of weeks ago. On top of this, I tried my hand at stamping for the very first time. Everyone says it's difficult the first time around and they are not lyin'! As you can see, I still have a pretty spotty outcome. This stamp is supposed to give me cute little skulls (supernatural), but mine are all missing the top parts of their craniums. I chose to believe they all got attacked by zombies and this is how they got their brains out to nom upon...but I'm a bit morbid that way :) I know the only way to get better at stamping is to practice, so be on the look out for more crappy stamping from me in the future lol
The best part about Kabocha (other than the color, the formula and the fact that it doesn't reek cuz it's hand-mixed with essential oils) is that it...wait for it...wait for it...
GLOWS IN THE DARK!!! So cool! You have to "charge" them in the light for a few minutes, but the glow is pretty strong. I don't like that you can see how messy I was with the polish though. I cleaned up around my cuticles, I swear!
All in all I had fun with this one. Tomorrow's mani is inspired by a tutorial so swing by and check it out. Thanks so much for reading!
