Konad stamped glitter french manicure

Without a doubt, my favorite way to do a French manicure is with the Konad stamping plate that comes with the French manicure kit (set F, plate M19). It takes some getting use to, but once you do, you can do the tips in just minutes, and they end up a lot more even for me than doing them freehand. For these, I did the tips with the stamping plate, then put Essie Shine of the Times on top. After a while, I decided I didn’t like the glitter over the white tips so I just restamped them, so the tips are a bit thick. Has anyone tried using this plate? Have you had any trouble?

Nude and gold manicure with Dior Sienna and China Glaze I’m Not Lion

Today’s manicure is done with Christian Dior Sienna and stamped with China Glaze Passion using Bundle Monster BM 312. I was hesitant to get the Dior polish since it’s so expensive, but I convinced myself that if I got something in a conservative shade I could use it for interviews in the future. Maybe not the most sound reasoning, but I really like the formula. It applies like butter and was opaque in two coats. The brush is thicker than that for your average nail polish. I have mixed feelings about thicker brushes. They help with an even application but are less precise. Unexpectedly, I ended up really liking the brush. The accent nail is with China Glaze I’m Not Lion, which I knew I’d love as soon as I saw it. It is a holographic glitter with a coarse texture once it dries. I had some trouble photographing this manicure for some reason, so these pictures don’t do it justice. I picked up China Glaze I Herd That at the same time, which is a similar glitter polish, but is copper. I can’t wait to try that one out now.

 

I’m not doing any black Friday shopping this year. The one thing I’ve been eyeing is at Zoya. My mom is impossible to shop for. The one thing that I know she’ll use if I get it for her is nail polish. For mother’s day, I got her a boxed set from Zoya that they had as a special. It was three pre-chosen colors in a nice black box. I ended up swapping out some of the colors I didn’t think she would like as much. Now, they’re selling the same boxes with your choice of colors, called dream boxes. I know what I’m getting everyone for the holidays now!

Neon sunglasses

It’s getting cold here, and the temperature shock coming back from Hawaii was not pleasant. I miss the days this summer when we would grill on the beach. I thought I’d reminisce a little with this manicure. From thumb to pinky, I used Zoya Lo, Essie Tart Deco, China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Lime Crime Pastelchio, and Lime Crime Once in a Blue Mousse. It’s stamped with plate CH 37 from the Cheeky summer collection. I love the packaging for these stamping plates, and I really like the size. They’re really cute, but I haven’t been using them too much since it’s cold.

Now for a couple Hawaii photos.

This lady was out promoting her nail salon. That umbrella is amazing. I need one.

Zoya Bailey and Tess Floral stamp

Hey everyone! So I’m back from Hawaii. I’ll have a couple of pictures to share that I’ll put up later this week. For now, here’s a quick manicure done with Zoya Bailey and  stamped with Zoya Tess using Konad m60.

Mint argyle manicure

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mint Sorbet and China Glaze passion stamped with Konad m60. Halloween may be over but I have a Halloween party to attend this weekend so I need a manicure to match my costume. I’ll show that off on my next post.

 

Nude and black tribal print stamp – from the Instagram archives

Here’s a mani from a while back that I really want to try again. I love this stamping plate it’s BM 315. The polish is Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Peachy Keen

Subtle Coral and Gold

I’ve been looking for a gold stamping polish so I got Sally Hansen Golden-I since it was reasonably priced. It’s a nice polish and worked perfectly for this manicure, but not as opaque as I’d like for a stamping polish. Still, I love how subtle this is. The base is Julep Sasha. Plates are: Cheeky CH 37 (thumb), Bundle Monster BM 323 (index), Bundle Monster BM 312 (middle), Bundle Monster BM 310 (ring), Bundle Monster BM 317 (pinky). There’s a flaming basketball stamp on BM 312. I absolutely need to use this!

 

 

 

 

 

Breast cancer awareness nails

If the NFL can support breast cancer awareness, I can too! Sorry my cuticles are looking rough today, I better put on some lotion. This is Essie Miami Nice and Konad special polish for the stamping. Stamp is Bundle Monster BM321.

I’m on oncology for my internal medicine rotation in a month, so something similar might make a comeback. Gotta support the girls 😀

 

 

 

 

 

Greek inspired stamping art

This stamping plate (Bundle Monster BM 321) reminded me of a motif from ancient Greece. I ended up going with blue (Ibiza by Zoya) over gold (Mystic Gold by Jade). I topped it off with a matte topcoat (Matte Finish Topcoat by Butter London). I think I would have preferred a white base with a gold stamp. The problem is that I don’t have a good gold nail polish to stamp with. Does anyone have any recommendations?

And if you’re looking for a bit of entertainment, and have as ridiculous of a sense of humor as me, check out a rehash of one of my favorite twitter accounts, Billy Nye Tho.

From the instagram archives…

I have quite a few manicure pics taken with my iphone before I started actually photographing them. I loved this manicure – it’s Zoya Rica and Zoya Heidi and Bundle Monster plate BM 313. It’s really subtle and was hard to pick up with the camera, which is what I think I love about it! Is this plate a giraffe fur or turtle shell print?