Happy Halloween My fellow Nail Crazies!
I'm looking forward to the Halloween shenanigans tonight, love seeing all the Halloween decor and everyone dressed in their costumes, plus all the candy! nom nom noms! haha
Anywho, today I have some Born Pretty products to share with you.
I was sent the 2Pcs/Set Practical Stamping Nail Art Stamper & Scraper #15851
Price: $3.47
As well as a couple of stamping plates. Cost: $2.99 each.
1Pc Nail Art Stamp Template Chic Houndstooth Dragonfly Floral Pattern QA81 # 12030
1Pc Nail Art Stamp Template Moustache Geo Pattern m98 # 15687
First let's start with the stamper. I was so excited about finally being able to test this stamper but sadly it isn't the right stamper for my nails. I don't know if its the stamper itself or just my nails. Since I usually use a different stamper without a problem I'm thinking maybe the rubber of the stamper is too firm for my very curved nail bed because the image would not transfer for the life of me! sad face! This is what kept happening every time I tried it!
See how only the center will transfer? what the heck! grrr! I'm not 100% sure its my nails causing this issue though because as seen below in left pic, it does transfer onto a flatter surface but still has a faded look to it. Where as the pic on the right shows what it looks like on a flat surface using my other stamper.
Also, I'm not a fan of the scraper that comes with this stamper. I felt like it didn't scrape the polish well which lead to a very smudgy looking image. So Instead I used a different scraper that came from another stamper and scraper set I have. You could also use an old credit card/gift card. See the Difference? Pic on left shows the transfer with the metal scraper that came with the set I'm reviewing and the right image shows the transfer when I used my other all plastic scraper. Big difference!
Well I was definitely bummed I couldn't use the stamper above to create some manis with these plates but don't worry, I just used my other stamper which I also purchased from Born Pretty awhile back and I LOVE it! The squishy "marshmallow" rubber molds perfectly to my nails when rolling the pattern on.
This is the 3Pcs/Set Hot-sell Double Sided Stamping Nail Art Stamper & Scraper # 12024
Cost: $4.46
Lets start out with the basic How To's with Stamping! Now by no means am I a stamping expert so I will only walk you through how I do this, using tips and tricks I have learned over time. You may eventually pick up your own tricks and learn different ways that make this process easier for you. Again, this is just how I do it.
- Make sure that your nails are painted with the base color of your choice and let completely dry. An extra tip I do is also adding 2 thin layers of fast dry top coat and let dry completely, this way if I accidentally stamp crooked or the image doesn't transfer right I will be able to soak a cotton round in remover, lightly and gently rub it over the nail and remove the messed up stamping without removing my base polish.
- First step, is to apply some polish to the plate. I only apply a small strip of polish at one side of the image and then scrape it across. I've seen a lot of people put the polish over the entire image but in my opinion that's just wasting polish because you don't need a ton to do this.
- Next with your scraper(or credit card) scrape the polish along the image. If you go to do this and you see that the polish hasn't filled in all the areas you want then quickly with the access polish on your scraper, scrape it again.
- Quickly, Before the polish dries, roll your stamper over the image. I highly recommend you roll it and not just simply push down and lift. Whenever I tried stamping that way I never seemed to lift the entire image onto my stamper.
Now roll the image onto your nail! (Make sure you line it up right so you don't miss any of your nail). So your skin around your nails don't look like mine below I recommend using tape like you would for water marbling for easier clean up.
- Next, with some acetone and a clean up brush, clean up around your cuticles to remove any access polish.
Seal your design with your favorite top coat and your done!
That's it guys! I know if you're a beginner this may all seem a bit scary but I promise you with enough practice, the right stamper for your nails and the right scraper, it becomes a lot easier.
Here are some other Stamping tips and tricks I've learned.
-If your having trouble getting any polish to transfer onto your stamper then lightly buff the rubber. This trick was my stamping life saver lol for months every time I tried to stamp it wouldn't lift the image fully and drove me crazy so I kept giving up until a friend suggested I buff the rubber and BAM now it almost always transfers!
-Best polishes to use are actual stamping polishes or regular polishes that when applied on your nails only need one coat to be fully opaque. Also metallic polishes are good!
-Use scotch tape to clean up the rubber instead of acetone. Especially if you are using the stamper I use which has the "Marshmallow" rubber.
-Everyone's nail beds and shape are different so a stamper that works for one person may not work for another so shop around!
That's it loves! I hope this was all helpful! Now it's time to end the post with some manis I did using both the plates sent to me for review!
CONVERSATION