Review, test & Mani: Messy Mansion plates 18, 28, 34, 37 & 43

(Purchased by me; affiliate links)

Hello!!

I finally did it--I finally got my little paws on some Messy Mansion plates. Yes, I can hear you saying 'Whaaa?? How could it take so long, Michelle? How?' Well, there were several plates I wanted, and every time I went to buy them, one of them was out of stock. But then...the stars aligned, and I clicked, clicked, clicked!

Here is my video review and test of the plates:

Here's how they come packaged:

And here are the images of the individual plates:

Messy Mansion MM18 (Shabby Chic):

Messy Mansion MM18: Boujour, Paris!

Messy Mansion MM28 (Crime Scene):

Messy Mansion MM28: You'll never take me alive, copper!

Messy Mansion MM34 (Fox and hounds):

Messy Mansion MM34: Celtic foxy wolves

Messy Mansion MM37 (Pirate theme):

Messy Mansion MM37: Arrrrr, Matey!

Messy Mansion MM43 (Steampunk theme):

Messy Mansion MM43: Do you want to see my steampunk-punk-punk, my steampunk-punk?

I love the elegance of all these plates. The images are so detailed, and because the plates are larger than normal, you get a nice variety of images in the theme. But...how do they stamp?


Quite well, actually:

Steampunk suspenders and Parisian flourishes

I pressed too hard on the first try--but look at the beautiful detail on that second one

Barbed wire and an incredibly detailed map...

All of the detail come out perfectly, and I didn't have to struggle to scrape or pick-up; the images are well-spaced, so that even though there are so many of them, the plates work well.


So how big are those images, anyway? Let's take a look at them next to a standard Konad plate:

Messy Mansion MM28 vs. Konad

Messy Mansion MM28 vs. Konad

The full-nail images are large enough so you shouldn't have to worry about covering your width and length unless you've got some looooong nails. :)


I couldn't wait to play with these, and the beautiful spring colors I've been playing just called out for a country French theme...

I started with Zoya Daisy, my favorite of the spring polishes I've seen so far. Then I stamped using MM18, with Konad white and Sally Hansen Blue Away:

French country chic

French country chic

French country chic

French country chic

I love, love, love this manicure--I wore it for nearly a week because I couldn't bear to take it off. And I never, ever thought I'd say that about a yellow-based manicure, but Daisy rocks. And I love the creativity that just jumped off of the plate.

I definitely recommend these plates--I bought mine here on Amazon. :)

Happy Stamping,
M.

Inspired by fashion: Skull skittle NOTD

(Nothing to disclose)

Hello hello hello!

Today I have a manicure for this month's theme in the Nail Challenge Collaborative: Inspired by fashion. My inspiration came from a shirt I recently bought that I adore:

Inspirational skull shirt!

For my manicure, I painted my nails as follows: 

Pinkie & Index: Sally Hansen White On
Ring: Julep Cleopatra
Middle & Thumb: Zoya Imogen (which, btw, OMG)

Then I stamped as follows:

Pinkie & Index: Pueen 27 with Konad Black (let sit 1-2 minutes before applying topcoat to prevent smudging)
Ring: BM-413 with Konad White


Here's how it came out:

What do you think, did I capture the shirt? I'll tell you what, wearing them together I totally felt like a boss! :)

And, once again for the record--OMG, Zoya Imogen. Seriously.

Happy stamping,

M.

An InLinkz Link-up

Zoya Spring Minis Sale!

Check out this Zoya sale, a great way to try a bunch of different colors at a great price!

You're never too old for an Easter Basket and Zoya Delight Minis are the perfect way to add a little something sweet to it without the calories! For a limited time, you can get the Zoya Nail Polish* Delight shades in special Limited Edition boxes!

These color cuties are available for Pre-Order NOW and will be shipping on 3/23/15!
SPECIAL
Get any 5 color cuties for $20 PLUS Free Shipping! Use Code: MINI5

Head to www.zoya.com to pre-order these adorable minis now!

PS - they make the PERFECT gift!

*BIG5FREE: Zoya Nail Polish Formula contains no formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, dibutyl phthalate, toluene or camphor.

# # #

NOTE: MEDIA SAMPLES NOT AVAILABLE

Erin GiddingsMedia Relations & Design
Art of Beauty Inc. (makers of Zoya, Qtica & Smart Spa) Erin.Giddings@artofbeauty.com

© 2015 Art of Beauty Inc. All rights reserved.

Before & After: Matte Elegance

(Polish sent for review)

Hello!


Today I have another quick-and-easy before and after that can take a work-appropriate look to an elegant evening look in a flash.

I started with Zoya Ana, a beautiful neutral matte with a soft hint of pink to it:

Zoya Ana

Then, I stamped over the ring finger with an image from Cheeky jumbo plate 8; I wanted to keep the matte look, so I used another matte polish for the stamping, Zoya Rowan. To finish, I added a single grown rhinestone to each of the other nails.

Cheeky jumbo plate 8

Here's the final look:

Matte elegance

And then, just to try it out, I put shiny topcoat over the ring finger:

Partly matte elegance

I like it both ways, but I think if I had it to do over again, I'd leave off the rhinestones, or just put one on my pinkie. What do you think?

Happy stamping!

M.

Review and test: Bundle Monster 600 series favorites

(Nothing to disclose)

Hello!

As you may or may not know, Bundle Monster made a change on their website so you can purchase plates from their previous sets individually. This includes their 600 series, which was only released as single plates; for that reason, I thought I'd grab a few and test them out for you.  I bought 608, 609, and 610.

First, here is the video I did--of course!

And here are the still images of the plates:

Bundle Monster 608: Back to nature with some swirls thrown in

Bundle Monster 609: Gadgets and gears and gizmos, oh my!

Bundle Monster 610: Celestial bodies and wormholes galore!

To give you as sense of how big the image are, here they are next to a Konad plate:

Bundle Monster 609 vs. Konad

Bundle Monster 609 vs. Konad

Very pretty, all well and good--but how do they stamp?!

I've heard hints and there that some people have had some issues with these plates, so the stamping tests were

Bundle Monster 608 and 610

Bundle Monster 609

I've heard hints and there that some people have had some issues with these plates, so I wanted to stamp them on a curved surface as well:

These stamped beautifully for me--no problems whatsoever. Maybe I happened to pick three good ones, but I think more likely if you're having a problem with plates from this series, you may have gotten bad ones. Drop them an e-mail and ask them to make it right. :)

I just got Bundle Monster's newest plates in the mail, so I'll get those reviewed as soon as I can!

Happy stamping!
M.

NOTDs: Incoco St. Patrick's Day 2015

(Press sample)

Do you love corned beef & cabbage? Can't get enough green beer? Do you wait all year for the excuse to pinch people who aren't wearing green?

If so, you must be getting excited...and I have some fun manicures for you to wear on your St. Patrick's day adventures!

Incoco sent me four selections from their 2015 St. Patrick's Day collection to play with, and I had myself a blast of green-and-gold fun. The collection has six sets, and you can find them all at Walgreens! I love that they're putting these into stores so you can pick them up at the last minute.

Here are the appliques they sent me:

Incoco Catch Me If You Can, Emerald City, Green With Envy and Shamrock Hills

Incoco Catch Me If You Can

Incoco Catch Me If You Can

Incoco Catch Me If You Can

Incoco Emerald City

Incoco Emerald City

Incoco Green With Envy

Incoco Shamrock Hills

Incoco Shamrock Hills

I adore Incoco's glitter nail appliques, and instantly fell in love with Emerald City, so I used that as the accent piece for my two manicures. Seriously, it's gorgeous--and there's a gold-based glitter with green in the collection, too.


I also love plaid, so for my first manicure, I couldn't resist going for some plaid bling:

Plaid bling!

Plaid bling!

Plaid bling!

And I love the way the glitter goes with the shamrocks in Shamrock Hills, so I put together this skittle:

 

Shamrock Skittle

Shamrock skittle sounds like a dessert or an Irish line dance...

Just like other Incocos I've used, these went on quickly and I had fun looks in just a few minutes. I've been wearing them for four days and am only now starting to get a little bit of wear. And my love affair with Incoco glitters continues--for anyone who hates the crazy clean-up from normal glitters, you MUST try the Incoco glitter appliques. The will change your glitter life. :)

You can find Incoco nail appliques on their site, and also some of their sets at your local Walgreens. :)

Is there one here that catches your attention?

Happy applique-ing,
M.

Before & After: Fairy wand with Born Pretty Store 06

(Press samples)

Hello!

Oh yes, I'm back with another Before & After, *bam*!

(Sorry, I think I channeled some Emeril there for a moment...)

This time I started with the lovely Zoya Leah:

Zoya Leah

Then I stamped the fairy princess wand and a swath of stars using Born Pretty Store 06, and  Zoya Rayne (yes, it stamps!!).

BPS 06

Finally, I put a little ILNP Metroplis over the stars to add a little magic, and I balanced the mani by putting a thick coat on my index finger:

Fairy wands and magic songs...

Unlike the other Born Pretty Store plates I received, I did struggle with this one. I think it's because the images are so close together; it was very difficult to scrape and isolate. I did manage to get decent images, but it took work.

If you're looking to make a purchase at Born Pretty Store, I have a coupon code you can use for 10% off of your non-sale-price order:

Happy stamping!
M.