At one point, my husband was traveling so I decided to try nail stamping. It was an investment to get started. I got most everything on Amazon. I'll show you all the pieces shortly.
My best tip I can give you when doing your nails is to remove your old nail polish with pure acetone, like this:
I got this at Target and it will last me forever.
This will give you the cleanest nails possible, though it will dry out your fingers and cuticles. So it's best to use some cuticle oil if possible.
In addition, always wash your hands before painting. The cleaner the nail the better the polish will stick!
Once you have removed the old polish, you can move on to the base coat. I use a different product. It's called Seche Clear. I like this as a base coat. The key to a lasting manicure is a good base coat and a good top coat.
I'm not going to post a picture of me in the base coat...it's clear. Just know it's there. I swear I put it on!!
Since my sister mentioned this in her previous post, I actually have used the SinfulColors brand of nail polish.
I bought a few bottles at Target over the weekend and I haven't tried this one yet. So this is as new to me as it is you.
This is SinfulColors Mint Apple. It's kind of a teal color. It looks pretty in the bottle so we'll see how many coats it takes to make them look good!
Coat #1
Coverage isn't bad but it looks like I will need two coats for sure. (Sorry for the bad pictures - I need to find good lighting.)
On to Coat #2
Much better coverage. Now I wait for them to dry so I can start stamping!
The key to stamping is that the nail polish must be VERY dry before stamping or else you will mess up the base coat and you will have to repaint it all over again!
There is a certain finesse when it comes to stamping. I have several stamping discs (which I will show you shortly) and I cannot get some designs to transfer very well. Some work great, some don't look good at all. Could be user error. So I stick with the ones I know work.
These are my discs...
I got a bunch on Amazon.com. I think I paid $19.99 for all of them. There are some holiday ones for Halloween and Christmas that I have not used yet that I am looking forward to using.
Now to pick a design...
I'm going to attempt the heart with angel wings on the bottom of the disc...wish me luck.
The other two pieces of the stamping process is the scraper and the stamper. Here they are...
These are made by Konad. They are THE name in nail stamping. My scraper is filthy but it still scrapes! I'm also going to use the black Konad Special Nail Polish. This polish is very thick and best for stamping. You can use regular polish but it won't come out as dark.
Here come the instructions!!!
Step 1: Paint your design
Step 2: Scrape your design
Step 3: Stamp onto the disc. Make sure you use even pressure and don't roll onto the disc.
This is how it will look on the stamp...
Step 4: Roll design onto the nail. Since I only have two hands and I think my family will send me to be evaluated at the local loony bin if I ask them to take a picture for me...envision rolling the design onto the contour of the nail.
You should see this as a final result...
I am only applying this to each ring finger.
Off to do the other finger. BRB!
...
...
...
And DONE!
Crappy picture...sorry.
Now off to do top coat.
I have the matching top coat to my base coat. It's called Seche Vite. You can buy this at Target or online. Love this Fast Dry Top Coat. Dries super fast!
And here is the final results!!!
And I used my flash! Looks better!! Since it has gotten kind of dark since I started...
TA-DA!!!!
This was a pretty simple intro to stamping...next time I'll try a different style - either whole nail or layering.
Til then!!
~Karen~
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