Sparkled Beauty

If you have been reading the blog for a while, you know I hardly do any kind of nail art. Stamping, as easy as it might sound to lots of you, intimidates me. I love seeing images on other people's nails, just don't know I have that kind of skills.

Courtesy of Nail Polish Canada, the real thing from Konad showed up in my mail box. I have no excuse to procrastinate. Might as well jump right in then :)

This is a Konad Stamping kit with plate m36, special nail polish in White (0.175oz/ 5ml), a stamper (with metal blade) and a scraper.

Directions found on the box:
- Apply Konad special nail polish to the desired image on the plate
- Lean the scraper over 45 degrees and scrape the nail polish off the image quickly and strongly
- Quickly press the stamper onto the plate to pick up the design
- Stamp the image onto the nail with a gentle rolling motion (or press down and lift up immediately).

Konad suggests a base coat (or a regular nail polish as base) and a top coat, also to shake the nail polish before each use (which I didn't do - I don't normally shake my nail polish unless there is some separation in the bottle).

My first run, result as is, no fixing/ Photoshopping. The base is Orly Purple Velvet on top of a base coat. Purple Velvet is matte, and I didn't use a top coat afterwards to keep it that way.

I stamped on the middle finger first, where you can only see a few strokes of white. The index and ring fingers were next and the image was transferred a lot better, down to the delicate details of the flower petals.

When I decided to use a different image for the pinky, the tail of the bigger butterfly didn't show up after stamped. So my conclusion is first stamp would probably not come out perfectly but keep at it and you will stamp like a pro in no time :)

Second try, I used Revlon Midnight Haze as a base. A charcoal (almost black) with grey sheen, and not matte.

I used 2 different images and they showed up really well. The one on my index (and thumb) was more like a corner piece, great for larger nails.

Konad's slogan is "It's fun and easy - Salon looking result in seconds", and I do think so. Make the first step, and it'll get easier!

The Stamping kit is available on Nail Polish Canada for $17, free shipping with $25 orders. The plates are available individually for $8.75 and ship free. There's a contest to win a Konad Nail prize pack on the product page at the link above, enter away!

Talking about Konad stamping nail polish, here is a comparison between Konad Black nail polish and 12 other black shades by soguesswhat11. Thought it's relevant.