Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Review: Sugar Bubbles SB 008 (aka, villain skittle!)

(Purchased with my own money; affiliate links)

Hello!!

I recently bought my very first ever Sugar Bubbles plates (not sure what took so long), and I'm gonna review 'em for you here today.

First, though, I want to do a customer service shout out to Beautometry.com. Long story short--they accidentally sent me the wrong plate, and when I let them know about it, they responded to my e-mail almost instantly, and sent me the right plate right away. I'm talking, in the morning mail kind of right away. Absolutely amazing customer service.

But back to the plates! Here is the video I made reviewing SB 008 and SB 08:






And here are the still images of SB 008:


Sugar Bubbles 008



Sugar Bubbles 008

Sugar Bubbles 008


And here's the plate with a Konad plate so you can judge the size of the individual images:


Sugar Bubbles 008 vs. Konad


So how does it stamp? Here's my stamping test; notice that while the Freddy Krueger image isn't very clear on the plate, you can see it clearly on my test:







However, stamping Freddy is a little more complicated than you might think...For my test manicure, I wanted to use Freddy as one of my 'villains' for the Nail Challenge Collaborative's 'Superheroes and villains' theme. I made a started with Zoya Anais on my ring finger, and Zoya Arianna on the rest. Then I stamped on my ring finger and pinkie with Barry M Silver Foil:





As you can see, Freddy doesn't show up nearly as well as it does in my stamping test above...so, when you use this stamp and stamps like this, you're going to get the best result stamping in a darker polish over a lighter surface. That will give you the right contrast you need to allow the face to show well.

But wait...it feels like there's something...missing...wait...what...BAM!




Take that! Nothing more awesome than a surprise blinged-out skull to round out that mani. :)

Yes, I love it. Love, love love! Hope you do, too. :)

To see a list of my other stamping plate reviews, click here.

Happy stamping!
M.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Before & After: Reversed Chinoiserie

(Polish originally sent for review; affiliate links)

Hello!


I have a super fast, but very cute, before & after for you today, based on a memory I have of my grandmother... :)


I started with the gorgeous Zoya Talia from their Island Fun summer collection, a sky-blue creme:

Zoya Talia

Zoya Talia

Zoya Talia

Then, I stamped on it using Bundle Monster BM 720 from their new collage set (see my full review of this set here):





Something about this image reminded me of some china my grandmother had when I was little; it wasn't exactly like this, but it was a beautiful blue Chinoiserie pattern on a white plate. So I decided to do a reverse of that look, and stamped with Konad White:



Reverse Chinoiserie

Reverse Chinoiserie

I think this is a floral, feminine look with a twist, and it's one of the things I love about the collage-style plates; you can get a completely different look on each nail, but the size and style of the pattern is consistent across the manicure. Plates like this make it easy to make a fast, special manicure that isn't just the same pattern stamped over and over.

What do you think? Have you ever seen the kind of china I'm talking about? Whenever I see any, it makes me think of her. :)

For a complete list of my nail plate reviews, click here.

Happy Stamping,
M.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Throwback Thursday: Lonesome Bamboo

(Affiliate links)

Hello!

That's right, it's another edition of Throwback Thursday, where I pull something out of the vault that I like, but for one reason or another haven't shown you before. Today it's a quick NOTD that I like, but that came out a bit blurry and icky--I think I was trying to show the sprinkle of holo in the base polish and it just didn't quite work in terms of picture quality:


Lonesome Bamboo


Here are the deets:

Base polish: Ruby White Tips Lonesome Pine Trails
Plates used: Konad m66, Drk-C
Stamping polish: China Glaze Mahogany Magic


The base polish really is so much prettier than it looks in that picture, so here's a pic that shows the color and the holo splash:



Ruby White Tips Lonesome Pine Trails


So there we go. I don't think Laura makes this polish anymore because it isn't currently in her shop, but if you ask her nicely, she just might...:)

Happy polishing,
M.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Before & After: For Owl's Sake (BPS BP-L014 & BP-L019 + Ellagee Summer Polishes)

(Press sample;affiliate links)

Hello!

Born Pretty Store recently sent me some of their newest plates to review, and I was excited to see they've started to make larger, rectangular plates for more coordinated images.

Here's the video showing the images and discussing ideas for using them:




And here are still shots of the two plates I'll be using in my mani today. First, BP-L014, a henna-style floral collage plate:

Born Pretty Store BP-L014

Born Pretty Store BP-L014

Born Pretty Store BP-L014

Can I say how much I love this plate? There are big areas in the collage style, to give you that flexibility to create tons of coordinated manis, but they are also separated enough to allow you to isolate edges and elements if you want. In terms of ease-of-use, this is a beginner version of a collage-style plate, while being an advanced plate in terms of beauty.

But wait--how does it stamp?


Born Pretty Store BP-L014 stamping test


Pretty darned good. There is a smudgy bit at the middle-top of the left image that is clearly user error; otherwise, the lines and details are all wonderful.


How big are the flowers on this plate? Excellent question--here they are next to a standard Konad so you can estimate:


Born Pretty Store BP-L014 vs. Konad


And now let's take a look at BP-L019, a whimsical plate featuring adorable owls in quantity:


Born Pretty Store BP-L019

Born Pretty Store BP-L019

Born Pretty Store BP-L019


This one also stamps very well:


Born Pretty Store BP-L019 stamping test

And here it is next to da Konad for size reference:

Born Pretty Store BP-L019 stamping test vs. Konad


Okay, let's get down to it. For plates like this, you have to have something fun and awesome for you base, so I chose Ellagee Seaside Cottage from her Beach Bum summer collection (see my review here):

Ellagee Seaside Cottage
 
Ellagee Seaside Cottage

Then, I added a coat of Ellagee Bubble Up (from her All Summer Long glitters collection, review here) to my middle finger and my thumb. Next, I stamped one of the owls from BP-L019 with Ellagee Salty Breeze (yes, it stamps!!) onto my ring finger. I stamped flowers from BP-L014 onto two stampers and filled them in using the reversed-stamping technique; I stamped them with Sally Hansen Brisk Blue and filled them in with Ellagee Salty Breeze and Sally Hansen I-Rush Luck. Finally, I finished up with a few dots for the owl's eyes and the center of the owl's flowers.


For Owl's Sake

For Owl's Sake


I love how these colors all play together. Bright. Happy. Fun, Summery. The kind of manicure that just makes you smile when you look down at it. :)

And don't forget, you can get 10% off of your non-sale-priced order at Born Pretty Store using my discount code:



Happy polishing!
M.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Trio of manicures: Incoco's Tropical Escape Collection

(Press Sample; affiliate links)

Hello!

Today I have three manicures to show you from Incoco's Tropical Escape collection, a fun group of tropical themed appliques with matching solid sets to go with.


They sent me Summer Dream, a dreamy sky blue set:


Incoco Summer Dream

Incoco Summer Dream


And Summer Night, a fun set with a retro-80s Miami Vice sort of vibe on a shimmery background:

Incoco Summer Night

Incoco Summer Night


And finally, Tropical Getaway, a rainforest blend of coral and greens:


Tropical Getaway

Tropical Getaway


For my first manicure, I wanted to play with the patterns from the Tropical Getaway set; I surrounded two stripey nails with bed of fronds:


Tropical Getaway

Tropical Getaway

Tropical Getaway

I love the look of this; there's a lot of foliage, but the splashes of color and the background soften it so it's not overwhelming.



For my second manicure, I paired Summer Dream with Summer Night, because you know, not only do the colors go together, but so do the names:


Incoco Summer Dream + Incoco Summer Night

Incoco Summer Dream + Incoco Summer Night

Incoco Summer Dream + Incoco Summer Night

And then...well...
Then I stamped it!! First with Konad m64 and Barry M Silver Foil, then with Cheeky Jumbo plate 2 (see my full review here) and Kleancolor Metallic Orange, Hit The Bottle polishes A Rose By Any Other Name and To Have And To Gold:


Dreamy summer nights

Dreamy summer nights

Dreamy summer nights


I love love love this look! This is one of those times when the idea I had in my head for carrying over the look onto the other two nails--it's busier than I normally do and I adore it!!! I hope you do, too. :)

You can find these appliques along with a ton of other beautiful designs on Incoco's website, and selected designs at your local Walgreen's.

Happy appliqueing,
M.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Nail plate review page is complete!

Hello!

I finally finished updating the nail plate review page on the blog with a complete list of the plate reviews I've done since day one on the blog! I'll be updating it with new reviews as I go. Now anytime you're looking for a particular review, or if you just want to browse through a bunch of different plates, the links are all in one place. Here's what it looks like; in the future, just click on the 'Nail Plate Reviews' page in the header above to take you to the information. :)

Happy stamping!

************************************************

This page contains a list of the nail plate reviews I've done on the blog. In parentheses after the link, I've also put a ranking for how easy the plate/set is to use. Let me know if you have any questions.

To start off, here is the link to my YouTube channel; I have video reviews for all these plates there as well, organized by playlist.


Some plates are hard to measure because of the type of images they contain. For the rest, please refer to these nail comparison charts.


Born Pretty Store
BPS 03-09 (Easy to advanced)
BPS 04 (Intermediate)
BPS 06 (Advanced)
BPS 07 (Intermediate)


Bundle Monster
Bundle Monster Secret Garden 700 Series (Intermediate)
Bundle Monster Sun-Kissed collection (Easy)
Bundle Monster Create-Your-Own collection (Intermediate)
Bundle Monster Holiday Collection (Intermediate)
Bundle Monster 300 series (Easy)


Bunny Nails
BuNa-A and BuNa-B (easy-to-intermediate)
Year-round holidays HD-A (easy-to-intermediate)
Year-round holidays HD-B (easy-to-intermediate)
Halloween plates HD-C and HD-D (easy-to-intermediate)
Winter holidays HD-E and HD-F (easy-to-intermediate)


Cheeky
Cheeky jumbo plate 01: Viva Mexico (Easy)
Cheeky jumbo plate 02: Tropical Dreams (Easy)
Cheeky jumbo plate 03: European Romance (Easy)
Cheeky jumbo plate 04: Top Of The Class (Easy)
Cheeky jumbo plate 05: Musical nails (Easy)
Cheeky jumbo plate 06: Happy Holidays (Easy)
Cheeky jumbo plate 07: Home Sweet Home (Easy)
Cheeky jumbo plate 08: Princess Charming (Easy)
Cheeky jumbo plate 09: Wild At Heart (Easy)
Cheeky jumbo plate 10: Happy Nails (Easy)
Cheeky Summer 2012 plates (Easy)
Gals Fairy set (Easy)



Cisi & Sisi
Jumbo Set 3 (yellow set) (top half=intermediate, bottom half=easy)
Jumbo Set 4 (red set) (top half=intermediate, bottom half=easy)


Drikk
Drikk plate Drk-A (Easy)
Drikk plate Drk-C (Easy)


MASH
Mash plates 51-75 (Easy)
Mash plates 26-50 (Easy)


Messy Mansion
Messy Mansion 18, 28, 34, 37, 43 (Easy)


MoYou London
Artist 02 & 04 (Easy, Intermediate)
Artist 03 (Easy)
Artist 07 (Advanced) 
Back to the future 50s 01 (Easy)
Christmas/Holiday 01 (Advanced)
Comics 01 (Advanced)
Comics 03 (Advanced)
Cookbook 03 (Intermediate)
Cookbook 04 (compared with 03; Easy)
Explorer 02 &17 comparison of XL vs. Regular-sized plates (Easy)
Explorer 07 & 21 comparison of XL vs. Regular-sized plates (Easy) 
Explorer 13 (Easy)
Fairytale 10 (Easy to Intermediate)
Fashionista 06 (Advanced)
Frenchy 05 (Advanced)
Games 01 and 02 (Intermediate)
Geek 05 & 06 (Easy)
Gothic 01 (Advanced)
Gothic 02 (Easy)
Gothic 04 (Easy)
Gothic 09 (Intermediate to advanced)
Gothic 10 (Advanced)
Greek Mythology 01
Greek Mythology 02
Kaleidoscope 04 (Easy)
Kaleidoscope 06 (Easy)
Kitty 12 & 13 comparison of XL vs. Regular-sized plates (Easy to intermediate)
Kitty 14 (Intermediate)
Landscape/Mother Nature 02
Landscape/Mother Nature 05
Landscape/Mother Nature 06
Pro 16 (Easy)
Punk 07 (Easy)
Scholar 02 & 06 (Easy & intermediate)
Sci-Fi 07 (Intermediate to advanced)
Suki 02 (Easy)
Time Traveler 01 (Easy)
Tourist 20 (Easy to intermediate)
Tropical 07 (Intermediate)


My Online Shop
My Online Shop JR-35


Pueen
Pueen Stamping Buffet Set
Pueen Love Elements (Easy)
Pueen first generation (1-25) (Easy)


Winstonia
Winstonia third generation plates (300 series; easy to intermediate)
Winstonia second generation plates (200 series; Easy)
Winstonia first generation plates (100 series; Easy)


Other
Konad m91
LeaLac A
LeaLac B
QA 15, 21, 22, 26, 30
QA39
QA78

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Before & After: Pink Kiwi Lemonade :)

(Affiliate links)

Hello!!


Oh yes oh yes, it's Throwback Thursday again, and today I have a bright, summery NOTD I originally did back in June of 2013, and just never put up on the blog because the picture is a little wonky:





Here are the deets:

Base polish: Zoya Micky
Stamping polish: China Glaze Tree Hugger (one of my favorite greens ever)
Decorations on the kiwis: Sally Hansen White On, Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris, China Glaze Mahogany Magic.
Stamping plate: Cheeky Jumbo 4:


Kiwi image from Cheeky Jumbo 4

This is only a portion of this plate; if you'd like to see the whole plate, you can check out my original review of it here, and my video review here.


I think this is a fun, happy manicure, and yes, it even made me enjoy wearing pink!

Happy polishing,
M.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Review & test: MoYou London Comics 01

(Nothing to disclose)

Hello!

I'm back with my second 'superheroes & villains' mani for the Nail Challenge Collaborative theme of the month...and this time I'm going to do a mani that has both!

This theme gave me reason to pull out another old-school MoYou London plate that's been languishing at the back of my queue, Comics collection 01. Here is my video review with ideas about how to use the plate:





And here are the still shots of the plate:

Comics Collection 01

Comics Collection 01

Comics Collection 01


And here it is next to a Konad plate so you can get a relative sense of the sizes:




And here is an up-close look at the stamping:




No sir, you can't ask for better images than that!

And now for my mani...I started with a base of Zoya Charlott, which was one of three minis I received in a mystery trio I bought; she's a lovely neutral beige:


Zoya Charlott

Zoya Charlott
Then I stamped using the reversed-stamping technique; I am still new to this technique, and I got a little smudging of the Konad Black when I colored the back of the images. I'm not sure how to avoid this with Konad Black; normally when I stamp with it, I just let it sit before I put topcoat on, and that works fine. But when you color in the back, you have to go over the same area several times in some cases, and you get some bleeding...so I have another black that I'm going to try out the next time I use this technique. For this one, I colored in with Sally Hansen Rapid Red, I-Rush Luck, and Lightning:


Take that!

Kapow!!

Hi-yah!

My nails are curvy, so you see a little more of Medusa's face on the curve of the nail than is shown here. I gotta tell you, I really enjoyed wearing these nails--they felt very rock-a-billy chic and I did not want to take this manicure off! Such a fun look. :)

Don't forget to take a look at the other manis below, and as always, happy stamping!

M.