Lacquer or Leave Her!: June 2015

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

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.

An InLinkz Link-up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Incoco Summer Night

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

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

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

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

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!

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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

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

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.