Nailing It!

I've recently discovered there's an alternative way to produce awesome looking nail art:

1) Without spending a fortune at a salon

2) Without having to learn how to operate an airbrush

3) Doesn't have the mess of little nail brushes and bottles of paint

4) No stencils to place on nails

What is this craziness you're asking? I'll tell you my not-quite "secret"...

It's my brand new Konad Nail Art System goodies. I found out about Konad through one of my facebook fan pages- a fan had posted a beautiful picture of her nails... Of course, her nail polish was a custom color made from clear polish and mineral eye shadow. What caught my eye was the highly detailed, and nearly perfect outline of a bow on each finger. And since I'm the type of girl who has to know what the latest and greatest products are, I was intrigued. I could tell these weren't airbrushed stencils. Oh no. Look below, that's certainly no airbrush work there!

Image from Konad

I went on a hunt.to find out what made that precise print on her nails. A stamp, who would have thought?! Certainly not I! An ingenious way to transfer wet nail polish to your digits without blurring or messing up the design? Really?! Yes! Give it to me! Well, not so fast.... I used a gift card I received for Christmas to make my purchases. After some hunting around, I found some great deals on Amazon for nail art supplies and goodies. While I was there, I also came across a different company who also makes image plates for a deal.

After spending hours on YouTube watching tutorials (hey, a girl's gotta investigate, right?!) and how both Konad's Special Polish and regular old nail polish will work (based upon what you have in mind to create...), scouring eBay, Amazon, Bonanza, and other online shops for deals on image plates, and dreaming of what I would do first on my digits... I finally settled on ordering some products from Amazon since they had the best deals of what I could find. A full review of all these products I've purchased will come after I do my nails once more.

To get started, I knew I needed the Konad stamper. Decisions, decisions. There are a few different types available for purchase, but I decided the best "bang for the buck" would be their Double Ended Stamper and Scraper Set. The reason being is it as both a large and small stamping circle- this allows the large end to be used to apply full nail patterns and large designs. Of course, the smaller end is used for little designs, and helps take the guesswork of where the image is being stamped on your nail. Aka- more control!

Konad Double Ended Stamper & Scraper; Image from Amazon.com

In another order, I picked out three items from a seller with really great prices. First, I wanted to have at least one Konad image plate to try out, so I ordered M60. It features full nail prints of an argyle pattern, gradient dots, an abstract flower print, and a plaid line graphic. It also has two smaller flower prints with simple lines.

Plate M60; Image from Konad

I also bought a bottle of their "Special Polish", which I had noticed from online research is quite thick. You do not want to apply these colors to your nails as regular polish- they will not dry!!!

Princess Polish in Gold-Black; Image from Konad

The last product in this order was Seche Vite top-coat, which in many forums and opinions I found to be the top-coat of choice in lieu of Konad's one. While you can purchase either or, it seemed that neither of these smudge the Konad Special Polish when applied.

Seche Vite Quick-Dry top Coat; Image from Amazon

Last, but certainly not least, was the Bundle Monster Nail Art 21pc Image Plate set I picked up. Again- I'm not writing a review just yet, but I will say that while the plates aren't as detailed as Konad's, the amount paid for this bundle of plates makes it well worth the money paid. There are many designs which are usable on the plates, and the point is to just have fun.... Right?!

Image from Amazon.com

Well... I applied a rubberized base coat...
2 coats of Sinful Colors polish in Forget Now
Top coat of Seche Vite
Konad Special Polish in Black-Gold (gold shimmer in black polish) used with argyle print on M60
Bundle Monster nail plates- snowflakes, stars, hearts and love (I'll get plate numbers in a bit!) over argyle print
Sally Hansen Chrome nail polish in Silver
Top coat of Seche Vite

I cleaned up the "mess" from the stamps, because of course the patterns didn't stick to just my nails, with some acetone on a q-tip/cotton swab.

Taaaa-daaaaaa!!!!

My awesome nails!
Not bad for first time stamping, huh?! Yes- it really is that easy!!