Another St. Patrick's Day Mani

I did another cross bordering shopping trip last week...Sinful Mint Apple was one of my purchases and I decided to use it for this St. Patrick's Day mani.



Two coats of Sinful Mint Apple.



Another shot of this $2 beauty.



Added a fairly thin coat of NYX Girls Enchanted Forest...this has a slight green tinge which slightly changed the base....but not too terribly.



Another shot....loved that I was able to fish out one of the big glitters!



Stamped using white Konad special polish using BM12.



I don't think this is technically a shamrock design...but it looked close enough like one to me so I took a little stamping liberty by using it!



Topped with SV.



I had planned on adding a few more stamped images onto the nail.......... but decided I like the simplicity of this mani and left it like this. In fact, this mani is still on my nails even thought I did it a couple days ago...I think I may matte it before I take it off but I'll see how it goes.

Have you done a St. Patrick's Day mani yet...or plan on doing one? I think I may have a couple yet to post...I was surprised I have so many green polishes in my stash when I was looking for green polishes as green isn't one of my go to colours in case you haven't noticed!

Thanks for looking!

St. Paddy's Day Mani

This is a St. Paddy's mani's that I did recently.



Started with a base of Sinful Colors Envy.



Added a coat of L.A. Girls Glitter Addict Purge.



Then Spoiled Show me the Money.



Stamped with white Konad special polish using Lilic A02 and SdP 29...didn't do too good of a job centering that accent stamp I see!



Then I added a couple of the small shamrocks from A02 to the bare spots along the edge on my thumb and one of the larger ones above the horseshoe.



Here's a close up...hopefully you can see the layering of the glitter.



I have to thank bostonmerlin10 for this layinging combo...her combination was China Glaze Emerald Sparkled, then Jordana Green Glitz topped with Sinful Call You Later. I slightly changed it up with what I had in my stash, but wouldn't have thought of the combo without seeing her mani first, so thanks!

Just for fun, before I took it off, added a coat of Essie Matte About You.



Hope you're having a great weekend....oh, and before I forget, I want to mention that I'll soon be announcing an upcoming giveaway...details will be posted soon!

Thanks for looking!

Butter London Knackered

As soon as I seen the promotional shots of the Butter London Spring/Summer 2012 polishes, I knew I wanted them all! So imagine my excitement when I was contacted by Nail Polish Canada asking if they could kindly send me two for review*. They even let me pick which two polishes I would like to receive.....this is Butter London Knackered, one of my favourites from the collex!



Duochrome! Holo! Love!

Three coats with no base polish or topcoat as I wanted to get a good idea of what it looked like without one. I think the next time I use it, I'm going to layer it on top of a base as the polish is sheer; however, application was good and cleanup a cinch as it is on the thin side.

While I could go on about how Knackered shifts from purple, to green, to pink and silver....AND with the added bonus holo glitter mixed in, I think this is one of those times that it's best to let the pictures do the talking!











Nail Polish Canada is currently running a promotion** to win the entire Spring/Summer 2012 Butter London polish line for free (a $85 value).......please go here to check it out!



Of course, I couldn't resist adding some stamping! As I always SV a mani after polishing and before stamping, I forgot that I didn't in this case..so the base wrinkled a bit on a finger or two when I stamped it as not enough time had passed to allow the polish to dry without any quick dry topcoat. Oops! It was pretty none the less...I got a lot of compliments on this...wrinkles and all! It was great to still see the colour shifting and holo of Knackered even with the stamping on top.



Stamping plates used were DRK-A and Konad m20 using KleanColor black for stamping. (So far, so good using KleanColor for stamping as it stamped clear, dark and no drag!)

Canadian nail fanatics will know that Butter London is not that readily available in Canada so it is great to see that Nail Polish Canada carries Butter London (they also just launched Nfu oh this week as well....AND they ship to Canada and USA for anyone out there still looking for the amazing Nfu oh #51!)

Hope you have a great weekend and thanks for looking!

*products used were sent to me for review; please refer to disclosure policy.
**promotion is open to Canadian residents (except where prohibited by law) and ends April 30, 2012!

Stamping Polish Comparisons

As happy as I am with the stamping results using Konad black special polish, I'm not generally happy with the cleanup, which is rarely 100% plus it has a tendency to drag probably more than any of the other Konad polishes. I've been wondering if there are other black polishes that work well for stamping. I took note of various comments on my blog (thanks Bunny Nails for mentioning KleanColor because I never would have thought about this one!) as well as seen what some others were using for stamping polishes; either swapped or bought them and decided to see if there was an alternative to Konad.



For this comparison, I used (left to right below) black Konad special polish, KleanColor Black, Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris, FingerPaints Black Expressionism and Essence Stamping polish.



For this stamping experiment, I used FingerPaints Blue Raspberry Taffy (blue) and Misa Without Airs Orange (orange) as the base. Initially, I was planning to do an Aztec theme but when I discovered that the Misa had a shimmer, I wasn't too keen on finishing it for some reason....this is why the plates you're going to see are Aztec themed for the stamping comparison as I already had them picked out for the mani! This is two coats of FingerPaints Blue Raspberry Taffy from their Gumdrops and Lollipops collection and three of Misa Without Airs Orange. (As a side note, I did have skin staining with Blue Raspberry Taffy; if you decide to pick it up, you may wish to be careful with removal.)



Stamped images in same order; starting at thumb: black Konad special polish (Big SdP C), KleanColor Black (Big SdP C), Wet n Wild Ebony Hates Chris (Big SdP B), FingerPaints Black Expressionism (Big SdP F) and Essence Stamping polish (XL A)...in hindsight, I guess the fairest comparison would have been using all the same image plate...unfortunately, I didn't think of this at the time!



So you could see how dark the stamping polish is, I purposely left it without cleanup. I also wanted to apply the topcoat fairly fast to see if there was any topcoat drag so didn't want to take the time for cleanup at this point to see if they did drag while relatively wet...the only delay was the time taken to snap a couple pictures. I used SV, which is the topcoat I use 99% of the time. Pix below is with topcoat.



I didn't see any visible signs of SV drag on any nails.

The above pictures are on my left hand; on my right hand, I alternated the base colours but kept the stamping colours in the same order, just to see if there was any stamping colour difference, but the results appear to be consistent with the left (ie WnW is still faint).



These are my comments/observations generally on all the polishes I tried:

Konad: I generally buy Konad online for $6.99 as it is $10-$12 at local stores; however, its not that handy for me to buy (flea markets in other towns). Stamping results: Konad stamped crisp, clear and the darkest image of all polishes tested. Cleanup: While it seems I didn't do too bad of a job clean up in this pix and there doesn't seem to be any leftover residue of stamping polish on the skin, I know this always isn't the case from past results as sometimes no matter how much time I spend with clean it up, it stays in the small fine lines in my skin...it also took the most amount of time to clean up in this pix but at least it cleaned up well! Drag: no visible drag in this test (but prone to drag from past experience). I usually wait a bit before topping with SV to ensure stamping polish is good and dry before applying SV to hope to eliminate drag...but even then, sometimes it happens!

KleanColor: Pricing was $2 in my area for a bottle. Availability: There's only two stores that sell KC in my area; the one didn't have KC black in stock; second one did and its pretty close to my house. I'm guessing KC should be found easily online too at reasonable pricing if needed. Stamping results: Stamped dark and fairly crisp, just a smidgen less in darkness and crispness than Konad. Cleanup: No issues at all with cleanup. Drag: No issues with drag. (Additional comments: I wonder if the bottle was left with the lid off for a bit if the polish would thicken to see if stamping results would be better? Because this polish is thinner than Konad, slightly better results may be achieved if it sits on the plate momentarily to dry which sometimes helps with better stamping results. Also, would like to monitor for SV drag because it would be a great plus not to have to worry about drag when applying the topcoat. I also have to recognize that while there is missing pieces of the stamped image on my finger, this may be the design plate and not to say I wouldn't have the same results with Konad as it happens with Konad polish too...sometimes this is remedied by just scraping side to side or down to up.)

Wet n Wild: Pricing was $1.49 for a bottle. Availability: locally sold at Walmart; lots in stock. Stamping results: Stamped the faintest of all polishes; wasn't even dark. Cleanup: No issues at all. Drag: No issues with drag. Additional comments: I have to say I was surprised the most with the results...or lack thereof...from this polish as I've read so often about gals using this for stamping polish but the stamped image is not very dark at all. Terrible brush; wouldn't even want to use this polish as a base polish. Maybe if I need a black to ever franken with I might use this polish. This would be my last choice ever because its just not a good dark stamped image. In fact, if this was my go to black stamping polish...I'd pick another stamping colour.

FingerPaints: Pricing was $5.99 for a bottle (slightly less with Sally's card). Availability: locally sold at Sally's; part of core line; usually in stock. Stamping results: fairly faint for a black but passable. Cleanup; no issues at all. Drag: No issues with drag. Additional comments: Wild card here; I actually bought this as an alternative to black base for manis as I heard it was a one coater and was pleasantly surprised that it stamped OK....maybe a good polish to take on holiday as serves two purposes for base and stamping! On the thin side; maybe another polish to try again if the lid is left off to let it thicken again? The stamped image shadowed which is because its a thinner polish; may be remedied by the polish sitting a bit on the image plate before scraping which sometimes helps.

Essence Stamping Polish: I don't actually know pricing as I received this in a swap. Availability: Not available in my area at all. Stamping results: OK for a fairly thin polish; not as good as Konad or KC. Cleanup: no issues at all. Drag: no issues with drag. Additional comments: Surprised it stamped so dark given that it is a fairly thin polish. Small sized bottle. Probably will never have another bottle as not available in my area at all so probably out of luck once this bottle runs out!



Results? I guess it will depend if stamped image is more important or the cost of the stamping polish! I think that based upon stamping results, availability, pricing, quality of stamping image, etc, the best overall polish would be KleanColor Black....that being said, I'll probably stick to Konad strictly because personally, I'd rather pay the extra and order online for the crisp clear stamping results of Konad! Also, while Konad cleanup takes longer and sometimes stays visible in my clean up pix, keep in mind that this isn't nearly as visible to the human eye as people aren't looking at your nails in macro view and immediately after stamping! As I take these pix mainly late at night, by the time I shower the next morning, there's little stamping polish left visible. All this being said, and as this is the first and only time I've used KleanColor to stamp, I'm going to use it more for stamping to get a good feel with how it stamps...because its available locally and less than a third of the price of Konad...and if I can get it to stamp well and it has no drag, it may be my next go to stamping polish...unless I find something better in the next round of comparison stamping that is!

Have you tried these polishes? Are your results the same or not? Just curious.....its always interesting to hear what others think...just like one person may prefer Poshe topcoat and the next SV if you know what I mean! Do you use any of these for stamping? If not, do you have any other suggestions? There's still a few black polishes I've yet to compare being Beautiful Scratchers black, Sally Hansen Black Out, Wet n Wild Black Creme and CND Blackjack. I think Fab Ur Nails also has a black stamping polish; I'm probably going to order it too whenever I get around to placing my order as I want to try a few of those stamping polishes.

I have a few different white polishes to try as well; KleanColor white, Sally Hansen White Out, Beautiful Scratchers white, Essence stampy white polish...do you know of any others that work well and may be an alternative to Konad? I'd love to know your thoughts!

Thanks for looking!

Layla Magneffects

While out shopping last weekend, I stopped by Rexall/PharmaPlus to see if they had any new polish collections...unfortunately, they didn't have anything new but I did find Layla Magneffects on sale...for $3.96!



The sale tag actually said $7.96, down from $15.99. At half price, I had two at the check out. But when I was cashing out, the cashier says, "Oh wow, these are ringing up at $3.96"; I said, "well just a second while I pick up a few more!" This is the mani I came up with when I finally sat down to use one of them.

Layla Silver Galaxy over one coat of OPI Black Onyx. See my index finger? I kinda messed up the magnet...I guess it takes a little bit of practice for the magnet placement just like you have to practise at your stamping!



It annoyed me that I didn't line up the magnet the same as the other fingers plus I hit my nail on the magnet, so I did another coat of black on the index finger and then redid it.



Well apparently, I STILL need practise because it turned out worse than the first time! It was far to late to redo it, so I left it like this for stamping. I used White Konad special polish with an image from XXL Big SdP-1.



Lastly added a few random dots using CND Smoochie.



Finished it off by adding a coat of SV.



Just before I took it off, I decided to matte it using Essie Matte About You (please excuse the tip wear and dry cuticles!)



There were a couple of the Layla's that I was still looking for, so I was checking out my local stores yesterday...some stores still have them; any of the displays I seen now have tags marked $3.96 on the display too...and sometimes they are in plastic bins in the clear out section...but the selection is dwindling down so I'd suggest that if you are wanting these, that you check out your local Rexall/PharmaPlus soon! Let's hope they are making way for the Layla holographics!

Hope you're having a great weekend...and thanks for looking!

I was the recipient of a RAOK this morning....

....I start most days by going to my local Tim Hortons for my morning coffee. This morning when I drove up to the drivethru window to pay, the cashier told me that the car in front of me had paid for my coffee! Wasn't that nice? I was expecting to pay for my coffee anyway, so I paid for the car behind me....I always wonder how far these things go as I've participated in this type of random act of kindness before but of course, you're never around to see how long it lasts. Anyway, it was a very nice way to start my day!

This is the mani I've been wearing for the last few days.



I've been challenging myself to see how many different combination of colours, stamping polishes, etc. that I could come up with using image plates that are full size but you can see the base colour well and then play with dotting, etc. (I've also been fiddling around with my camera settings as all my pix lately seem like I have lobster hands so sorry about the various colour variations; not all them are true to life).

Started with a base of CND Sweet. This is one coat.



Added a second coat of CND Sweet on ring finger and then a coat of KleanColor Pink holo on the rest.



Stamped, using white Konad special polish using CH12. (These pix going forward are very close to colour accurate).



For whatever reason, when I usually do this type of mani, I typically do a creme base with a holo accent finger; then add dot interest with the holo polishes. This time I did it different...holo base with creme accent and then did dot interest with the creme polish just to see what it looked like. So here's CND Sweet dotted randomly into the flowers petals.



Then KC Pink Holo dotted onto the accent creme nail.



Lastly, dotted flowers using light gray Konad stamping polish.



Topped with a coat of SV.



Natural light pix taken the next morning.



Just before I took it off last night, I decided to matte it using Essie Matte About You...this was very cool...maybe the version I liked the most! (please excuse the tip wear; this was after 3 days!).



Hopefully these mani's aren't boring you...but these type of mani's that you can use a stamp that you can see the base colour well, and then funky it up a bit are just up my alley lately!

But I'm sure this will be changing as St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner!

Thanks for looking!

Gradient Stamped Tips

It seems I've been doing a lot of full size nail designs lately, so a few nights ago, I thought I'd change it up with something that I hadn't done in a while...this is what I came up with.



Started with two coats of Zoya Mira.



Applied a thin coat of Cover Girl Amethyst Mist. When I'm doing these funky french gradient kind of manis, I have a tendency to apply the layering polishes too thick as in my mind, I think I need two coats or one heavier one for good colour coverage....unfortunately, the end result is that I have really thick tips as there's so many layers of polish on them! But in this case, I was taking the less is more approach. (Blue glitter, cool!)



Added Midie Color 6 on tips. I picked up a bunch of these glitter polishes as the colours and glitter look interesting! I've used two or three of them now and haven't been disappointed, especially for a polish that it on the less expensive side. (Caution...smelly!) Check out this bottle of gorgeousness.



Midie applied over Amethyst Mist.





Stamped using CH26 using Konad light gray special polish.





I decided to add rhinestones so broke out my iridescent ones as I thought the pink/purple/blue/white hues would compliment the other polishes well. Too bad that the prettiness doesn't translate well in the pix though!



Different lighting/different camera settings! While you see the glitter better in the pix below, the above pix is more true to colour.



My stamping nemesis is these type of french tipped designs as I can never line them up well...but I didn't do too bad of a job for once! Yeah me!



Thanks for looking!