Well, I can't believe it, but...the day of Halloween is here! And so, today I have my last Halloween mani of the year...sniff, sniff...I'm so sad to see it go...
Since I'm in a Halloween place right now, I see tons of Halloween potential here--the squiggly lines can be brains, the second from the left on top can be blood spatter (so can the one on the top end, and the first left on the top can be spooky gauze behind your images. But these can be use for any time of the year, too, of course--I love the second from the right on the bottom for rain (stay tuned and I'll do a mani like that for you), the leftmost on the bottom looks like the globe to me, and third from the right top looks like rays of the sun.
How about quality? These swatches were done with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Plummet and my clear stamper:
The images on both plates are the same size, 3/4 of an inch wide by 1 inch long:
So how do they stamp?
Great images! Crisp lines and great transfer.
On to my sample mani! This year my Halloween nail art has leaned more toward the creepy side, you may have noticed. Okay, a lot more toward the creepy side. So today, I'm gonna do a one-eighty and go for something on the light, whimsical side.
I started with a base of Zoya Hudson, and then stamped the polka dots from Symetrika 08 with Messy Mansion Chalk. Then made decals using the little circle images on Messy Mansion MM22XL:
I used Sally Hansen Lickety-Split Lime, Orange Impulse, and Messy Mansion Chalk. I finished up by stamping the little skulls from MM22XL:
Messy Mansion Symetrika 08 + MM22XL over Zoya Hudson
Messy Mansion Symetrika 08 + MM22XL over Zoya Hudson
What do you think? Do you prefer fun Halloween manis, or spooky Halloween manis? I think each have their place, and I love the little scowl on that owl. :)
Today is the first of a four-post series I'm going to do about several new Winstonia plates. I have a video showing and testing all four plates here:
Today we're going to take a look at the new Beach, Please plate (and yes, the name does crack me up every single time I see it). As the name suggest, the plate has a beach/pool theme:
Winstonia Beach, Please!
This plate has plenty of flexibility: several areas big enough for full nail images, and lots of little elements to mix and match. You can build your own scene, make a collage, stick with one image, or just pull out some texture. It has everything you need for beach, pool, or tropical manis: tons of possibilities here for one small plate. :)
Let's talk size. The plates themselves are just under 3 inches wide and 3 1/4 inches long:
Since the elements are all different sizes, I took these shots to help you see how big they are:
Winstonia Beach, Please!
So how do they stamp? Well, here's my test swatch:
But, I think what you really want to see are some manis with the plate, am I right?! I'm completely obsessed with this pineapple on this plate with his rockin' sunglasses, mostly because he reminds me of a character in a show from my childhood ("Mais, les ananas ne parlent pas!"), so I had to do something with him:
Les ananas: Winstonia Beach, Please! + Zoya Cam + Messy Mansion stamping polishes
For this mani, I started with a base of Zoya Cam, then stamped with Messy Mansion Petal. For my decal, I used Messy Mansion Forest for the fronds on the pineapple, Soft Gold for the rest of the outline, Banana Bender to fill in the pineapple, and Petal to fill in the sunglasses. I'm pretty sure he wears them at night.
For the second mani, I had to do something with the hibiscus flowers, because you know me and tropical flowers:
Tropical flowers: Winstonia Beach, Please! + Zoya Ness, Brynn, and Live
For this mani, I started with a base of Zoya Ness, and stamped with Barry M Almond. Then I used my clear stamper to overlap slightly a couple of the flowers with Zoya Brynn and Zoya Liv. This is what I love about the clear stamper--a manicure like this that would have been a huge pain in the tushie before is a breeze now. :)
Hello! Today we're gonna talk about another new plate from UberChic Beauty, their Far East 02 plate. Unlike many sequels, this one is just as awesome as the original, and if you like Asian art, you're gonna love it.
Here's the video I made reviewing the plate:
And let's get into checking out the images:
UberChic Beauty The Far East 02
UberChic Beauty The Far East 02
UberChic Beauty The Far East 02
There's so much cool stuff here--I've been thinking about gettting a new tattoo and have been looking at all kinds and I love the images here that make me think of Japanese-style tattooing, like the dragon's head and the waves and the clouds. I love all the cool patterns you can use on their own or use as background for double stamping. I adore the little pagoda scene elements you can build the way you want. But my absolute favorite are the geishas--from the little cutie to the sophisticated elegance of the performing geisha, they're just beautiful.
How big are the images?
And how does it stamp? Well, check out this little lady:
One of the first items that introduced me to UberChic Beauty was their amazing Uber Mat--it changed the way I do nail art, has saved my furniture, and possibly saved my marriage. So I was super excited when they came out with a smaller version designed with decal-making in mind.
I made a video to demonstrate the products, including a tutorial on how to make decals:
I'm also going to walk you through all of it here. The mini mats are made out of the same material as the larger Uber Mat, so they're resistant to nail polish and acetone. They have a bunch of fingertips on them so you can make a slew of decals all at once:
UberChic Beauty Mini Mat
There's both a clear/white version and a black version; the white shows darker colors better while the black shows lighter colors together, and can help you see what your stamping will look like over darker colors:
UberChic Beauty Mini Mat
They measure 9" X 8"; here it is relative to the big Uber Mat, if you already have that:
Uber Mat vs. Mini Mat
Okay, let's take a look at how to make those decals! First, brush a generous layer of topcoat onto the mat. The nail shapes are about the right size for my nails; adjust the space you use based on how big your nail surface is. I've found Zoya's Qtica topcoat is great to work with and long lasting--in the video I test out a decal I made a whopping SIX WEEKS earlier.
Step 1: Brush on your topcoat.
Step 1: Brush on your topcoat.
Once they're dry (test them out by touching gently), stamp on your images:
Step 2: Stamp and decorate your images.
Also, if there's any decoration you want to do (filling in the design, etc.) now's the time to do it.
Once all your decoration is dry (again, touch gently to test once it looks dry), peel up the decal gently; you can do this with an orange stick, your tweezers, or if you're impatient like me and you don't mind ripping half of them, your fingers:
Step 3: Peel up your decal.
Step 3: Peel up your decal.
Step 3: Peel up your decal.
Step 3: Peel up your decal.
Take a moment to admire your decal: Oooo, aaaaahhhh!
Pause to reflect on how awesome your decal is...
Don't worry that it's white; it will turn clear again once you put it on the nail.
Now you're gonna want to trim off any excess:
Step 4: Trim off the excess.
Put a layer of topcoat on your nail (over whatever polish you have), and wait for it to dry just until it's tacky:
Step 5: Put on a layer of topcoat
Once it's tacky, place your decal onto the nail, and gently pat it down if needed:
Step 6: Place onto nail and pat down as needed
Step 6: Place onto nail and pat down as needed
Finally, cover with another coat of topcoat, and you're done!
Step 7: Cover with a final coat of topcoat
Step 7: Cover with a final coat of topcoat
I mentioned that in the video I tested a decal I made six weeks before; here's how it came out (I made this using UberChic Beauty's Out Of Africa plate):
How cool is that! Here are my tips for making decals ahead of time for future use:
Use the right topcoat. Not all topcoats will last. I used Zoya's Qtica topcoat.
I stored my decals in a Ziploc bag.
I found that if I stacked my decals on top of each other, they stuck together and were hard to pull apart. So put them next to each other in the Ziploc bag, not on top of each other.
Store flat.
I don't know about you, but this is a really great option for me. I'm hard on my nails and rarely can make a manicure last for a full week, so when I go on vacation, this is a really convenient way to keep my nails looking cute.
I love these mini mats--they allow me to make decals while I'm painting my nails or doing other things because I can make a bunch on the little mat and set it off to the side. I also love the little palette thing in the upper corner--such a cute way to put your polish out for use while you're decorating your decals. And if you're not one of the lucky ladies who have a dedicated nail space (I'm not and I'm jealous, lol), the mini mat will help you out if you need to work in a smaller space.
