Nail Polish Play

Month: April 2015

“Mind Blowing” Stamping!

Hey there!

So, I’ve been meaning to write this for quite a while now but life got in the way. Today I’m writing about this amazing indie stamping plate company – B Loves Plates! I first came to know of this brand sometime around August last year (they were launched in March 2014) and I was wracking my brains trying to figure out a way to get my hands on them without actually having to visit Poland.

Yes, the creator of these beautiful plates – Anna, is from Gliwice, Poland. For those of you who follow Football, Lukas Podolski – the German footballer is from the same place! Ok! Back to the topic – stamping plates. So Anna opened up her Etsy Store for international customers in February this year and enabled PayPal a short while later, which is how I was able to get my hands on these. She ships the plates via registered post that comes with a tracking number and is actually trackable till your doorstep ( trust me, in India this is a huge deal!) For those of you who live in Poland, she’s got her own website that’s here.

Each plate retails for $15 and shipping till India was a little over $7. She’s released 3 plates so far and there’s a fourth on the way. You do get a discount if you buy all 3 as a set ( $43 for a set of 3).

The reason why I love her plates so much is they are, like the namesake of one of them, truly Mind Blowing! These designs are like something you’ve probably seen in your dreams, except that now you can see them on your nails, and the etching on these is top notch! Not a single failure! The images pickup on the first attempt itself and are flawless!

I picked up two of her plates – “B0.1 Geometry is Perfect” and “B0.3 Mind Blown“. You can take a look here:

See what I meant about these images being crazy(in a good way)!

Some basic info – These plates were mailed in a bubblewrap envelope and were in a plastic sleeve. They do not have a hard plastic backing like MoYou London or Born Pretty Store stamping plates – think FabUrNails style.The edges are rounded and blunt, you will not get cut by them. Images are 1.6 cm by 2 cm which is quite enough for those with long nails. The images are sized so that those with shorter nails can also use the images without it looking like the design has been cropped too small.

I used my FabUrNails squishy stamper to pick up the images. Another thing to keep in mind is the style you use to pick up the image. I first started my stamping journey with the Konad firm stamper, so I got used to rolling the stamper to pick up the image. Even today, I find it a little odd to press down and pick up an image. I’m subconsciously scared that I’ll “squash” the image with too much pressure. Turns out, it is easier to work with these kinds of images by rolling rather than pressing down the stamper.

I created two manicures using these plates. Here’s what I used:

Diamond Strength Basecoat – Sally Hansen

Clearly On Top Quick Dry Topcoat – KBShimmer

Blackout – Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear

White Stamping Polish – Konad

I used B0.1 Geometry is Perfect for my first manicure:

Black & White picture for a Black & White mani!

Here’s another with a pretty rose for a background:

This is what it looks like in colour:

My next manicure features some holographic stamping using Color Club “Harp On It”. This is a fantastic silver holographic that’s opaque enough for stamping. I was gifted this and bought it off Amazon. Unfortunately, they do not ship to India, so good luck finding a polish mule!

I used B0.3 Mind Blown for stamping the swirly optical illusion design and Blackout – Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear for my base colour.

I had to take some pictures indoor with flash cause the sun was not bright enough for the full on 100 Watt Holo effect to come through.

Here’s a daylight shot:

Indoors with flash:

Here’s the last one :

This is what I’m talking about. The image looks like it’s alive! How amazing is that!

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April 19, 2015
Rainbows & Sparkles : Holographic Polish

Hey there!

Today is Sunday! The exclamation is because it’s perfect! It rained here last night and there’s a mellow breeze blowing in my garden with birds chirping. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember that this is a new side to Delhi, which is normally very very polluted and noisy. Anyway, before I digress further, let’s get back on point – Holographic polishes! When did you first get to know of one? When did you get your first holo polish?

As for me, I’m new to the world of nail polish, so I’d have to say that I first came to know of the existence of holographic polish sometime in January last year ( I know! How late was I to the holo bandwagon!). I got my first holo polish through a giveaway hosted by Foxy Paws Polish – a Danish indie brand.

Since then, I’ve remedied the situation and got myself quite a few holo polishes. I know that there are a lot of bloggers out there who think that holographic polishes are overrated. That’s only cause they’ve had them for so long,they cease to appreciate it! I honestly don’t think I’ll ever get tired of them! The plus is, I live in India where we get plenty of sunlight all year round, so If you catch me driving around with my eyes glued to my nails, don’t be surprised.

Today, I’ve used a beautiful coppery holographic polish from KBShimmer. I love KBShimmer! Beautiful range, perfect crellies and not a fault to be found in pretty much any polish they’ve released till date.

Here’s what you’d need to create this look:

Diamond Strength Basecoat – Sally Hansen

Clearly On Top Quick Dry Topcoat – KBShimmer

Run! It’s the Coppers! – KBShimmer

Black stamping polish -Konad

I used the DRK Nails Designer XL 1 for stamping the image. Here’s a look at this beautiful plate!

The possibilities with this plate are limitless! There’s so many elements that we can play with here!

This is what I narrowed down on finally, It’s an Islamic Architecture inspired lattice pattern. These can be seen in many of the old heritage buildings constructed by the Mughals in India (e.g. : The Taj Mahal):

And, here’s the finished look in the shade :

Let the holo craziness begin:

A closer look at the holographic finish is a blurry shot:

I leave you with this last one :

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April 12, 2015
Mix ‘N’ Match – Nails to match my outfit

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I always do my nails first and then scrounge around in my wardrobe to find something that matches. I know it’s not entirely ideal, but I’m the jump first, look later types.

However, today was an exception. I spent a few minutes examining the blouse I’d laid out for today and then tried my hand at matching my nails.

Here’s what I used to create this look:

Diamond Strength Basecoat – Sally Hansen

Clearly On Top Quick Dry Topcoat – KBShimmer

Autumn Spice -Revlon Parfumerie (for stamping)

Never Nude – PiCture POlish

I’m crazy about piCture pOlish, they’re easily one of my favourite brands! They always have something really beautiful up their sleeve and Never Nude is no exception. It’s a collaboration shade created with Willpaintnailsforfood and the base is meant to look like OPI’s My Vampire is Buff. Except that this one comes with an ethereal lavender glass fleck and delicate mini hex glitters in teal and pale purple.

Here’s a swatch in the shade :

Browsing perfectreplica.is reveals a large collection of replicas from multiple luxury watch brands.

I know this pic doesn’t really do it justice, but this is the only one I clicked before I stamped over it!

I used Revlon Parfumerie’s Autumn Spice for stamping for two reasons – It has a similar glass fleck like Never Nude and the colour is exactly what I wanted, a sort of rusty brown with shimmery pink. Plus, there’s the added bonus of the fragrance – this one smells like pumpkin pie!

I used MoYou London’s Suki 8 and FabUrNails XL gold stamper set for stamping the swirly clouds:

This plate is so gorgeous! There’s so many designs that drew me, but I settled on the clouds.

Here is the finished look :

I’m holding my top in the background in the pictures.Here are some more pictures :

One in the shade:

The last one :

On the whole, I’m quite pleased with the result, though I don’t see myself doing this on a regular basis! It’s too nerve wracking! How others do it I have no clue!

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April 7, 2015
Fabergé Egg Inspired Easter Nails

Happy Easter! Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend!

I started out with a pastel easter tribal mani in my head as I had time on my hands but it didn’t work out. So I searched around a bit for inspiration and remembered the famous Fabergé Eggs I had studied in school.

These were bejewelled Easter eggs made by Peter Carl Fabergé for the Tsar Alexander III and later his son Nicholas II. Each egg was made to carry a ‘surprise’. Out of the 50 made, only 43 remain today and quite a few of the ‘surprises’ inside are lost. Needless to say, they are exquisite (even if you’re only looking at a picture of them).

My inspiration for this look is the Tsarevich Fabergé Egg. Here is picture of it along with the surprise that’s inside:

I searched around in my stash for the perfect royal blue polish. I finally settled on using Revlon Royal for this mani.

Now, speaking of Revlon Royal, I have nothing against the colour, application, brush etc. Everything’s a breeze. What’s not, is the “fragrance” of the polish. I use the term fragrance very loosely indeed as the polish let off a smell that’s frankly very unbearable. I’ve read it described as “skunky” on other blogs, but to me it smelt like rotting marigold. I think it has something to do with the pigment they’ve used to colour the polish. Anyway, other than that, the polish is just perfect! It’s a deep indigo jelly, perfect to give that enamel finish.Thankfully, the smell fades away after you’ve put topcoat!

I used piCture pOlish Pharaoh for my accent nail as it’s the perfect white gold with that magical scattered holo effect!

Here’s the rest of the stuff I used need to create this look:

Products Used:

Diamond Strength Basecoat – Sally Hansen

Pharaoh -piCture pOlish

Royal -Revlon

Tortoise Shell (Gold side for stamping) – Revlon Shiny Matte

Black stamping polish -Konad

Clearly On Top Quick Dry Topcoat -KBShimmer

I used the MoYou London Easter Plate (Festive 24) along with the amazing stamper from Faburnails :

Here’s the finished look:

I have a thumb too!

So, what do you think?

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April 6, 2015
Nail That Technique – Pond Manicure

The past few weeks have been hectic and I have a lot of blogging to catch up with! This week’s #Nail That Technique prompt is ‘Pond Manicure’.

The idea behind a Pond manicure is quite simple. You’ve to use sheer or tinted polishes to create a pond/lake like appearance with a design sandwiched between two successive layers.The depth is achieved by layering the polish.The very first design drawn/stamped will become more blurred as successive layers of the sheer polish are added. The polish should be sheer enough to allow your design to peep through from the bottom layers. You can create any design between the layers – stamp a pattern or draw dots or flowers with a toothpick, the choices are endless.

Today I’ll be sharing two designs that I’ve done for this prompt. One of them is a throwback to January this year which is when I tried my hand at a pond manicure for the first time.

Browsing replicamagic.io provides endless options for collectors seeking both modern and vintage-inspired timepieces.

I used all Rica polishes for both manicures and bought mine from Color4nails. You may get them directly from her Etsy store too.

First Up : Pond manicure with stamped flowers:

Here’s what you’ll need:

Step 1 : Start off with one coat of a basecoat of your choice . This is to protect your nails and provide a foundation for your manicure to bond with.

Step 2 : Paint one layer of Rica Squishy Grape

Step 3 : Stamp a single flower using Rica Pink Elephant and a stamping plate of your choice. I’ve used a no brand one that I bought from Ali Express.

Step 4 : Repeat steps 2 and 3. Make sure that your design does not overlap those in the layers below too much. 6 layers is good enough to get a pond like finish.

Step 5 : Apply topcoat to seal your design and prolong it’s life! I’ve used KBShimmer’s Clearly On Top.

Here’s the result:

And, here’s a closeup :

Now for my next pond manicure, here’s what I used:

I wanted to go for an ocean inspired look and used a stamping plate from MoYou London’s Princess collection to stamp a cute Octopus!

I used the new squishy marshmallow stamper from Faburnails and it’s excellent. Doesn’t even require priming.

The steps to achieve the look below are the same as before. This one was clicked in the shade:

and here’s a closer look at all the squiggly octupi (? or octopuses ?) :

Here’s what it looks like in the sun, I’m really loving this combination!

That’s it for this post!

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April 4, 2015