Then I used a matte topcoat...and discovered that even if you're careful, a matte topcoat can smudge your manicure:
UberChic Beauty 10-02 over Spellbound Nails The Knight Bus
Yes, it only smudged a little, but still. So what I learned from this is, always use regular topcoat over your stamping before you use matte topcoat! Even so, I do love this design, it has a peaceful stained-glass feel that I love.
UberChic Beauty Unicorn Love over Girly Bits Cosmetics Brick House, The Hustle, Le Freak, Stayin' Alive, and Sequins & Satin Pants
Some days you just gotta celebrate your inner unicorn, ya know? ;-)
Happy stamping,
M. xoxo
**When you click through to Amazon via one of my links, I get a few cents for any purchase you make during that visit, at no additional cost to you--even if it isn't the original product you clicked. All purchases are anonymous. So when you shop via my links, you help me pay for my hosting costs, etc. Thank you for your support!!!
Today we're going to take a quick look at MoYou London Arabesque 09--this is not a new plate, but it's a new-to-me plate that I've been craving for ages and finally was able to buy. Here's the video review I did on the plate:
And here's a closer look:
MoYou London Arabesque Collection 09
What I love about this plate: I'm a huge fan of anything with an ancient Egyptian theme, and I have all of MoYou London's plates with that theme, and everything on this plate matches those other plates perfectly. For that reason alone, this was a no-brainer for me. But, even if I didn't have plates that match it, I'd grab this plate up for all of the gorgeous patterns on here that can be used in their own right, or for background images other art. Flowers and starts and geometrics--oh my!
Each of the squares on this plate are different sizes, so here's a shot with a ruler to help you get a feel for whether the images work for you--many of them are on the smaller side, so if you have longer nails they may not work, or you'll have to double them up:
I don't think I've ever had a MoYou London plate that I had a problem with, and this plate is no exception--look at the excellent detail even with a clear stamper:
For my sample manicure, I wanted to show you the background potential of the images, but I also had to throw something ancient Egyptian on there, too. I started with a base of Zoya River, then stamped the star pattern with Messy Mansion Soft Gold, and the cat with Messy Mansion Carbon:
MoYou London Arabesque Collection 09 over Zoya River, stamped with Messy Mansion Soft Gold and Carbon
MoYou London Arabesque Collection 09 over Zoya River, stamped with Messy Mansion Soft Gold and Carbon
This manicure features three things I love: background stamping, ancient Egypt, and of course, cats. I love the celestial feel and the ease of this look.
You can buy this plate (and tons more!) directly from MoYou London, or from Amazon if that's easier for you. And you can find MoYou London around the interwebs here:
**When you click through to Amazon via one of my links, I get a very small commission for any purchase you make during that visit, at no additional cost to you--even if it isn't the original product you clicked. All purchases are anonymous. So when you shop via my links, you help me pay the costs of running my blog (hosting, etc.). Thank you for your support!!!
What I wouldn't give to be lounging on a Hawaiian beach right now...or, any beach, truth be told...That's not in the cards for me at the moment, but I can do the next best thing--vacation nails with UberChic Beauty's Vacation Mode plate. :)
Here's the video review I did of the plate:
And let's take a closer look:
UberChic Beauty Vacation Mode
What I love about this plate: The first thing that called to me was the layered hibiscus images, I love being able to stamp the parts in different colors. I also love the negative-positive images for the leaves and the flowers and the planes. The Tiki guy makes me smile, and since I love cruises, I'm stoked about all the cruise images here. But, my very favorite is the layered shark fin images, I can't wait for the hockey season to use them! Go Sharks!
UberChic Beauty's full nail images are 17mm x 21mm, and here are shots with a ruler so you can get a feel for the rest of the images:
How about quality? UberChic always gives me great images; these swatches are done with a clear stamper:
I already showed you one mani with this plate, a traditional tropical-sunset type of mani:
UberChic Beauty Vacation Mode over Sally Hansen Get Juiced and Kook a Mango
So, for my second manicure, I wanted to try something outside the box with an unusual set of colors for tropical hibiscuses (hibisci?). I went out with friends and was wearing my new favorite shirts, so I wanted to try to match the colors. I did my right and left hand a little differently, but they both start with a skittle of Zoya Byrdie, Troy, and Tilly, stamped with Messy Mansion Chalk and Hit The Bottle Polish in A Rose By Any Other Name and My Suitor Wears Pewter (also available at Beautometry):
UberChic Beauty Vacation Mode over Zoya Byrdie, Troy, and Tilly
For the second one, I decided to stamp the flowers on the ring finger in pink:
UberChic Beauty Vacation Mode over Zoya Byrdie, Troy, and Tilly
Here's what they look like with the outfit, my girl power shirt and eyelet shorts:
UberChic Beauty Vacation Mode over Zoya Byrdie, Troy, and Tilly
UberChic Beauty Vacation Mode over Zoya Byrdie, Troy, and Tilly
I love how the flowers complement the pattern on the eyelet shorts, and I think I did pretty darn good with the colors! Which do you like better, the second version, or the first?
You can find this plate in UberChic Beauty's store, and can find them all around the interwebs:
What I love about this plate: There's plenty of stuff here to build whatever gardening scenes you want, with a few very cute sayings to help you along. My favorite images are the bees and the hexes (also love that she gives the little images to go alone with the full-nail image), the snail, and the inchworm. Oh, and, ahem...I find the little gnome just a teeny bit terrifying.
UberChic Beauty full-nail images are 17mm x 21mm, and here's a shot with a ruler so you can see the size of the other images:
Quality is always top-notch with UberChic Beauty, and this plate is no exception. Here are my test swatches, all done with a clear stamper:
Today I'm going to take a look at MoYou London Africa 04, a plate that's been a around for a while, but that I only got my hands on a little bit ago. Here's the video review I did of the plate:
And here's a closer look:
What I love about this plate: The strength of designs like this is their bold intricacy. You can throw a rainbow at them and they'll sing--you'll get big, beautiful designs that make a statement, without drowning the pattern itself. But, you can also use them for more subtle color-on-color art, and the detail in the patterns are strong enough to create a gorgeous look.
The images on this plate are 1.5 x 2.0 cm, and here's a shot with an inch ruler:
In terms of quality stamping, MoYou London is at the top of the industry. Check out how beautifully all the detail is preserved--and this is with a clear stamper:
See what I mean about how that design just pops on a color-on-color manicure? The detailed flowers create a rich look even with a simple one-pass technique. Fast, but amazing. You gotta love that!
You can find this plate, and literally dozens of others, on MoYou London's website, and you can follow them around the interwebs here:
The cool thing about when Fourth of July falls in the middle of the week is you get a cool weekend of celebration, and a day off to celebrate, too. I know lots of you are taking today off so you get a four-day weekend, and I hope you have a great one! Here's a plate and two manis to give you ideas for great nails to help you enjoy.
What I love most about this plate: I love the stars that look like snowflakes; I love that she gave us not only the continental US, but Hawaii and Alaska, too; I love the statue of liberty and the 1776, and I love the 'vote' and the checkbox, because I will be doing patriotic nails for election day with this from now on!
UberChic Beauty's full-nail images are 17mm x 21mm, and here is a shot with a ruler to help you see the size of the other images:
How does it stamp? Have a look:
Crisp and beautiful--and that's with a clear stamper.
For my first manicure, I started with a base of Shinespark Polish Heart Of A Hero, a gorgeous red holo, and then stamped my images with Hit The Bottle Blue-tiful and Messy Mansion Sterling; on the ring finger, I did a second layer of stamping underneath the sterling with Holo There Beautiful to get some holo shimmer, but it's hard to see in the picture:
UberChic Beauty Fourth of July mini plate over Shinespark Polish Heart Of A Hero, stamped with Hit The Bottle Polish Blue-tiful and Messy Mansion Sterling
UberChic Beauty Fourth of July mini plate over Shinespark Polish Heart Of A Hero, stamped with Hit The Bottle Polish Blue-tiful and Messy Mansion Sterling
UberChic Beauty Fourth of July mini plate over Shinespark Polish Heart Of A Hero, stamped with Hit The Bottle Polish Blue-tiful and Messy Mansion Sterling
I love the look of the 'snowflake' stars over the regular stars, and there's nothing like the sparkle of a gorgeous holo the help you get the feel of fireworks across. I love love love how this came out. :)
UberChic Beauty Fourth of July mini over Shinespark Polish Heart Of A Hero, Sally Hansen Get Mod, & Girly Bits Cosmetics Le Freak
UberChic Beauty Fourth of July mini over Shinespark Polish Heart Of A Hero, Sally Hansen Get Mod, & Girly Bits Cosmetics Le Freak
The trick I used here was to stamp the images in a blue and a red stamping polish that were a shade or two darker than the polishes I used in the smoosh, so they would be differentiated from it. I love the collage feel and how the silver stars seem to fade into the background and give the mani depth.
I did two other manis with the plate that you can see here, and I also did a tutorial for one of them that you can find here.
You can find this plate on sale now in UberChic Beauty's shop, and you can follow them around the interwebs here:
