Stamping nail art tutorial II - with Konad image plate and O.P.I. Don't Pretzel My Buttons

Stamping nail art tutorial II - with Konad image plate and O.P.I. Don't Pretzel My Buttons

Tutorials Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, November 10, 2013

Did you get all the stamping nail art gear I had suggested (see here)? Good, now find your flat surface and let's get started with the stamping process.

Stamping nail art tutorial basics I: Simple mistakes to avoid; tips, tricks and pointers

Stamping nail art tutorial basics I: Simple mistakes to avoid; tips, tricks and pointers

Tutorials Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, November 07, 2013

Stamping nail art is easy to do and always in vogue; you can't go wrong with it if you get some simple basics right. After receiving - and answering - some questions on how to do stamping nail art, I was asked to do a detailed post for beginners. I am not an expert on stamping (or any other nail art) and have my messy-stamping days, but I found that there are quite a few tricks that many of the videos tend to miss out on.

As there are several facets to stamping nail art, I'll be doing this in three parts - this one is on the equipment used. Part II will be the step-by-step tutorial on stamping nail art and part III will be a list of non-Konad/special polishes that you can stamp with. All will be detailed posts, and picture-heavy. If all goes well, I will eventually be sharing step-by-step tutorials for FIMO, ombre, watermarbling, splatter, tape and other kinds of nail art. Suggestions/hate-mail welcome.

Manicure: Zoya Jo nail polish with black stamping nail art

Manicure: Zoya Jo nail polish with black stamping nail art

Zoya Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, September 05, 2013

Blue is my all-time favourite polish colour, though I'm new to Zoya polishes (six out of 201 polishes are Zoya). This is Zoya Jo, a cool-medium, delicate, periwinkle blue. Great formula and opacity (two coats). I don't know if you can spot the shimmer there.

Manicure: Shocking pink Layla Cosmetics nail polish with black stamping nail art

Manicure: Shocking pink Layla Cosmetics nail polish with black stamping nail art

Vellvette Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, August 06, 2013

I had received a Layla Cosmetics nail polish in my July Vellvette box and, believe me, it is a seriously virulent, shocking pink. There is no way I'll wear that alone and, having never used Layla before, I wanted to try out the formula.

Manicure: Double dotticure nail art with NYX Sheer Shell polish

Manicure: Double dotticure nail art with NYX Sheer Shell polish

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Friday, May 17, 2013

I celebrated the arrival of my first set of dotting tools with this mani. Some of you have mentioned that I only seem to use O.P.I. and China Glaze, so I decided to stay away from both this time and go in for NYX Sheer Shell.

Nail trail: Supply haul from eBay

Nail trail: Supply haul from eBay

Nail polish Cosmetopia Digest   Tuesday, May 14, 2013

I love picking up nail accessories and art supplies on eBay, it's the cheapest!

These 12 different two-way pens (pen brush and dotting) came for $9 including postage. I also got a free nail polish remover that smells of pineapple and a clear polish with these. They're made in China. Some of the polishes didn't really come through the dotting pen and I had already pricked myself painfully a dozen times with pins in different sizes and shapes. Was about to email the seller when I realised that very thin pins were right under the polishes!

Manicure: Stamping nail art with Essie St Lucia Lilac and China Glaze nail polishes

Manicure: Stamping nail art with Essie St Lucia Lilac and China Glaze nail polishes

Rimmel Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, May 12, 2013

I went to see my Gramps and he asked me why my nails were bare. So this mani is dedicated to him. I've seen layered stamping for a while now and wanted to try it out. Here's what I used.

• Base: Rimmel All White Now
• Main polish: Essie St Lucia Lilac (Horrendous formula. Four coats on most fingers, three on some. See picture below for swatch)
• First stamping: China Glaze Spontaneous
• Second stamping: China Glaze Draped In Velvet (The best polish I've ever stamped with; far superior to the Konad specials)

I really like layered stamping because I think it gives so much depth. Going to try this out in different combos soon.

Manicure: Lace stamping nail art with Bourjois 10 Days No Chips nail polish

Manicure: Lace stamping nail art with Bourjois 10 Days No Chips nail polish

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Sunday, April 28, 2013

I normally prefer deeper colours to brights, lights and pastels, but I love shade #14 in the Bourjois 10 Days No Chips series. It only has a shade number, no name. I think Bourjois polishes are quite underestimated - no streaking, decent opacity in a coat most of the time, great lasting power (haven't tried the 10-days out!). Also, you can touch up tip-wear with the angled brush for another three days' wear.
I wanted to try a lace mani, and ended up with a few feet of ruined, stiff, polished lace and some dirty flooring, so I decided to stamp it with a lace pattern instead. I don't really like this mani, but I'm putting up with this for the weekend.

Manicure: Stamping nail art with O.P.I. French Quarter For Your Thoughts nail polish

Manicure: Stamping nail art with O.P.I. French Quarter For Your Thoughts nail polish

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, March 21, 2013

My replacement Konad stamper arrived today and I had to experiment with it! I applied O.P.I.'s French Quarter For Your Thoughts and stamped over with Konad Special Black. It needs some cleaning up and a topcoat, but I'm too excited to wait.

Manicure: Leopard nail art with China Glaze Four Leaf Clover and Optical Illusion nail polish

Manicure: Leopard nail art with China Glaze Four Leaf Clover and Optical Illusion nail polish

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Thursday, February 28, 2013

Green isn't a colour I normally encourage my nails to wear, but China Glaze Four Leaf Clover is an exception. It is a neon-ish green, almost teal green. Call it parrot green if you like.
First and most important - the colour of Four Leaf Clover in the photographs is nothing like the actual colour, both on the nails and in the bottle. The actual polish is deeper and much greener. Neon green.

Manicure: O.P.I. Mrs O'Leary's BBQ nail polish with pink heart stamping nail art

Manicure: O.P.I. Mrs O'Leary's BBQ nail polish with pink heart stamping nail art

Swatches Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, February 04, 2013

I was feeling quite low after yesterday's face wash disaster. So I applied O.P.I.'s Mrs O'Leary's BBQ, a rich, burgundy creme. Again, I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I stamped little hearts with pink Konad special polish in order to create a Valentine's Day themed manicure.

Konad Sponge Nail Art kit review, unboxing, photos

Konad Sponge Nail Art kit review, unboxing, photos

Reviews Cosmetopia Digest   Monday, January 21, 2013

My Konad Sponge Nail Art kit arrived today. I have tried ombre nails before, courtesy old compact sponges and regular nail polishes. All we've had are huge messes, including what looked like clumps of henna on my mum's fingers once. I decided to order the Konad kit in a bid to better my ombre manicures somewhat!