Review: Girly Bits stamping polishes

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!


Last time I showed you Girly Bits stamping plate GBC 1-01 and their XL crystal stamper. I'm back today to with the piece de resistance--Girly Bits stamping polishes and their quick dry top coat.


If you want to see the swatches in action, take a look at my video review here:

Here's an up-close and personal look at the colors; first up, Little Black Dress, White Wedding, Fire Engine Red, and Silver Bells:

Girly Bits Little Black Dress, White Wedding, Fire Engine Red, and Silver Bells

Little Black Dress, White Wedding, and Fire Engine Red are all cremes, while Silver Bells is a metallic, and a very pretty one--it has a little more of a glittery finish than some other silvers I've seen. 

I often get asked what I'd recommend for a beginning stamper--if I had to put together a started set of colors, this would be it. The colors I use my by far are black and white, followed by silver and red. If you don't love red the way I do, I'd suggest throwing in gold. This will get you far in your starter stamping adventures. 

Next up are Flame, Firebrick, and Bronze Goddess: 

Girly Bits Flame, Firebrick, and Bronze Goddess

All three of these are metallics. When I look at these colors together I see fall, fall, fall. I couldn't help throwing together a fall manicure with them instantly--see my sample mani below.


Then we have Ker-minty Frog Here (this name gives me life), Coral Reef, and Silly Daffodilly:

Girly Bits Ker-minty Frog Here, Coral Reef, and Silly Daffodilly

These are halfway between a creme and a full metallic; they're more like traditional shimmers. And these are three of the most awesome pastels I've seen--I love a good coral, and that yellow is so delicate and feminine. And mint! You can't have pastels without mint!!


And finally, we'll be looking at Girly Bits What A Rush, their quick-dry topcoat in combination with the stamping polishes:

Awesome colors. But the big question is, do they stamp well, and do they show up over black and white? Let's take a look:

Girly Bits stamping polishes swatches over white and black

As you can see, all of these polishes stamped well, and except for White Wedding and Little Black Dress (of course), showed up well over both black and white. Fire Engine Red lost a little bit of saturation over the black, but got some of that back when I applied topcoat (see below). The formula was easy to work with on all of these, except that White Wedding was a little thick--I suspect I got a slightly thicker-than-normal bottle, and while I stamped it as is here, I added a little thinner and it was perfect after that.


And can I just say--a light yellow, coral and mint that SHOW UP over black??? That is impressive, my friends. Very impressive. Just. Stunning.


The other important quality in a stamping polish is a resistance to smearing when you apply topcoat. To test this, I applied topcoat over a sampling of the polishes, including the cremes, the shimmers, and the metallics:

Whenever I apply topcoat to my stamping, I do my best not to tempt fate--my technique is to make sure I have a good amount of topcoat on my brush (not so much that it's totally goopy, but enough that my stroke won't run out of polish), and I only go over each spot once. for my nail width, I can do this in three passes--stroke down the middle, left, then right. If I mess up and I don't have enough on topcoat to completely cover on one of the strokes, I leave the bald spot alone, and once the rest of the topcoat is dry, I go over it again. It will level so that you'll never know there was a problem.


Some stamping polishes will smear even with this technique. However, note that there is not a smear to be found on any of these swatches! And, as with most stamping polishes, the topcoat really allows the color of these beauties to shine.


As for the topcoat itself, I was also impressed with the drying time. I waited a couple of minutes before messing with it, and was fine. I'd suggest waiting at least five before doing anything intense like washing your hands or cooking, etc.


That leaves us with just one thing on the agenda--that's right, it's sample mani time! I started with a base of The Lady Varnishes Hatred & Revenge, then stamped with images from Girly Bits 1-01 using Flame, Firebrick, and Bronze Goddess. On the index and pinkie, I just stamped the regular image; on the thumb, middle, and ring, I layered the negative image over the positive, purposefully leaving a gap so the base polish would shine through:

Girly Bits 1-01 stamped with Girly Bits Flame, Firebrick and Bronze Goddess, over The Lady Varnishes Hatred & Revenge

Girly Bits 1-01 stamped with Girly Bits Flame, Firebrick and Bronze Goddess, over The Lady Varnishes Hatred & Revenge

I love the feel the negative overstamp gives--like a cool background, but in the foreground. And I love how these colors play together, like a buffet of fall awesome. :)


You can find all of these colors, and a ton others, in the Girly Bits store. And don't forget to follow them on Instagram and Facebook for information and updates!


Happy stamping!
M.