Hippity Hop

This was my contribution to the Adventures in Stamping weekly challenge on April 1st which had the theme...no stamping. What a challenge! Do a mani and not stamp it? Maybe it was a joke?! Anyway, I wasn't nearly as creative as the other gals who did some awesome water marbling, freehand designs or decals, which proved fairly popular but I never thought of it to be honest...I just thought I'd do a little layering (with the thought I'd stamp it later and not just post it! ha!).

With Easter quickly approaching, I was eager to use a polish I received a couple weeks ago from Girly Bits called Hippity Hop to start some Easter mani's. Here's what I came up with.

Feel free to click to enlarge for a better view of the shimmer and glitter!

Started with a base of Ulta Cream of the Crop. This is three coats as it was pretty streaky and thin; three coats was needed to get good coverage and to even it out.

This is one coat of Girly Bits Hippity Hop over Ulta Cream of the Crop. 

While this was pretty, I was really looking for a more glitter goodness to add to this mani so added a second coat which can be seen below. Now we're talking!  For me, two coats was good...just enough to add lots of sparkle interest while clearly leaving the base polish visible.

Hippity Hop is just full of surprises!  Beautiful shimmer!  Blue, pink, purple, green AND holo glitter in  a variety of sizes.  Gorgeous!  I hope my pix do the polish justice!

Here's a bottle pix.

Hippity Hop is the creation of Pam, the founder of Girly Bits**, a fellow Canadian gal...you can check out her blog ...and order this polish... here.

I always had it in my mind that I was going to stamp this mani and thought this would be a good kickstart to some Easter mani's...but wasn't thrilled with the results. I think it was poor choice in stamping polish which wasn't very dark.

Image plates used were Big SdP A (thumb) Big SdP F (index) Big SdP A (middle) XL A (ring) and XXL Big SdP-1 (pinky) using violet pearl Konad stamping polish which was didn't stamp opaque at all...wished I had have used Sally Hansen Royal Purple Chrome or something that didn't look so wishy washy.  Thank goodness stamping failures are easily fixed with some cotton and acetone...and just another excuse to do my nails again!

Thanks for looking!

**Please note that I paid the invoiced amount in full for this polish. I do not endorse nor promote this website/etailer other than I am passing on the info of where I got the polishes to those who may wish to know. I have no affiliation with this company and received no compensation for promotion of these products, nor am I promoting them...just letting fellow nail fanatics know where they may be obtained should they be interested!

Autism Awareness Day Mani

Today is World Autism Awareness Day. This is the mani I came up with to support awareness for a cause that is near and dear to my heart.

Base polishes used starting from thumb are Essie Borrowed & Blue, China Glaze Bahamian Escape, OPI No Room for the Blues, Nubar Boyfriend Jeans and Nubar Dark Wash Jeans.  All two coats except No Room for the Blues which was three.

Image plates used are Big SdP F (thumb), Big SdP L (index), XL A (middle), Big SdP F (ring) and XL A (pinky) using an assortment of Konad special stamping polishes except pinky which was Sally Hansen Instadri Blue-Away as I was less than thrilled with the stamping on the ring finger.  I hoped that when I topped the stamping polish was SV that it would even it out a bit, but it never.

I've had this idea of a mani in mind for a while and had hoped that the new Lilic plate I ordered a couple weeks ago would have arrived to I could include the puzzle pieces on it as then I'd have five different images for all five fingers...but I guess its still in transit!

Hope you had a great weekend...thanks for looking!

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!

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter!

Here's my Easter morning mani!

China Glaze White Out as base; stamped with Konad special polishes in Yellow, Metallic Pink and Chic Blue.

Used IP's Konad S10 and fauxnads SdP B-04, BM19, T21, XL A and XL B.

If you're brave enough to view some really bad cuticles, I also did the same design on my right hand, but pastel stamping.



Used Konad special polishes in Pastel Pink and Pastel Yellow and Beautiful Scratchers Pastel Purple (or lilac...not sure of exact name).

And for something differently, added some nail glitter on the stamping. This is Konad glitter but I know there's lots of other brands on the market.



I've never used this before so don't know if I applied it right....just put on a layer of clear coat and dipped my finger in the container...it seems to me that this is a little thicker than I've seen...I'll have to watch some youtube tutorials before I try it again....I think the sugary look of the mani is appropriate considering the amount of chocolate and sweets I'll probably be eating Easter morn!



I hope you have a fantastic Easter...and had a great weekend!

Thanks for looking!

Whats Black & White and...

Black and White and Black and White all over? Just my current mani!!!

OPI Brides Bouquet and Misa I Will Survive on alternating fingers, stamped with Konad black an white special polish, using IP XL A. I wished I had taken more time to make sure all the dots were solid...but unfortunately it was in the wee hours of the morning and I was getting tired....



And for some reason I just liked the blurry pix! I think cause the black and white dots look more perfect...


And lastly, please remember to enter my first giveway ever....six polishes of your choice of the China Glaze Anchors Away collex plus image plate H12! Enter here! There's only a few days left as the giveaway ends January 22nd!

I've been reading all your comments and will tabulate the entries soon! It will be interesting to see if there are any clear favourites in the collection.


I cannot thank everyone who is know following my little blog! Thanks for looking!

New Image Plates!

I'm always on the lookout for new stamping plates and was super excited to get these new XL stamping plates...these plates are fantastic in my humble opinion.... especially the ones that are full nail designs...so I was fooling around with them tonight and here's what I came up with....

This is a couple pix of my left hand... sorry about poor cleanup and scraggly cuticles...I love that you can see the holo in these pix!

This isn't focused the best but I love the holo's!

These XL image plates are available thru Chez Delaney and Magnonails. (Edit: Apparently US and Canadian orders can't be processed thru Magnonails' website; here's email to place order if interested: info@magnonails.de)

Base is China Glaze OMG and 2Nite...stamped with Konad black special polish. I have a couple pix of just plain holo ...I'll edit post and insert in the morning...camera battery died and couldn't upload them!
Edit: Heres a pix of just OMG and 2Nite plus the sun came out so I took a couple more pix...I love holos!





And it looks like its down to the last week for entering my first giveaway for six polishes of your choice of the China Glaze Anchors Away collex and IP H12...if you haven't already, please enter here!

Edit: Here's size comparisons to Konad image plates:

With ruler...the XL plates appear to be about ? larger...the first image is XL, the second is Konad...

The XL plate is 3/4" right down to the top but if you weren't using it for french tips but rather full nail, its slightly less.

Konad is slightly more than 1/2".

And here is the width...first image is XL, the second in Konad...

XL plate is slightly over 1/2" wide....

Konad is slightly under 1/2". Hopefully this helps anyone who may be wondering if you have long or wide nails!

Thanks for looking!

**Please note that I paid the invoiced amount in full for my plates. I do not endorse nor promote this website/etailer other than I am passing on the info of where I got them to those who may wish to know. I have no affiliation with any company and received no compensation for promotion of these products, nor am I promoting them...just letting fellow bloggers where they may be obtained should they be interested.