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Hello!
Throughout the week we've moved through beginning to intermediate to advanced techniques, and today I'm going to finished with an advanced technique that I'm currently obsessed with--foil stamping!
In the immortal words of Kevin from Home Alone: "Don't get scared now..."
...Because this isn't really too much more difficult than regular stamping. Basically these are the steps:
1) Stamp as you normally would, using a foil-stamping polish. I'm using Moyras:
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| Moyra foil-stamping polish |
2) Press your foil onto the image you just stamped. Remove foil gently.
3) Top with a water-based topcoat/basecoat. You can follow up with your normal topcoat if you like, but if you use it directly on the foil, because it will react and go completely bat-crap crazy and it will NOT look good.
That's it! You're done!
So here's the manicure I did, my very first attempt at foil stamping with this polish. I started with a base of Zoya Snow White, and stamped a poppy image from Dixie Plates Botanical 01. Then I stamped the dragonfly image from Dixie Plates Spring 01 with the Moyra foil stamping polish, and pressed my gold foil. I rubbed gently with a cuticle pusher, then pulled the foil off gently. Then I stamped the second layer of the dragonfly with Kaleidoscope st-01 Black. Then I topped off with UNT water-based basecoat. Here's how it turned out:
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| Foil stamping! Dixie Plates Botanicals 01 and Spring 01 over Zoya Snow White |
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| Foil stamping! Dixie Plates Botanicals 01 and Spring 01 over Zoya Snow White |
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| Foil stamping! Dixie Plates Botanicals 01 and Spring 01 over Zoya Snow White |
I. Am. Obsessed. This turned out so amazing, and it was my very first try! I love, love, love this technique, and will use it a thousand more times.
I did learn a few things along the way though:
1) Not all foils are created equal. After I did this mani, I tried another mani with a different foil, one I got from a nail art store, that wasn't from Moyra. It didn't work nearly as well--the Moyra foils are thinner and adhere better. So, for best results, I'd stick with the foils meant to be used with foil stamping polishes.
2) The foils apply very well, but often won't cover perfectly. For best results, use the closest color stamping polish to the foil you're using, or to your base polish--for example, with this manicure, I used the silver polish and gold foil. If I'd used white or black, the areas that didn't cover perfectly would have shown up much more starkly. And, if I'd been using silver foil with the silver polish, the coverage would have looked perfect. If I were stamping red foil over a black base, I'd go with the black foil-stamping polish. Using the same/similar colors will save you tons of agony.
Here's a video tutorial showing how I made the manicure:
You can find the Moyra stamping polish & foil at Lantern & Wren (along with the stamping plates, and the Kaleidoscope polish). And I promise you, although this is a little more involved that regular stamping, the results are totally worth it!
I hope you've enjoyed my mini-journey from beginning to advanced stamping this week...and don't forget to check out the other ladies' manicures, linked below!
Big hugs,
M. xoxo
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