Makeup Withdrawal

Showing posts with label Stamped. Show all posts

Nails of the Day: A Vision of Red Prints

Sunday, December 14, 2014

So because I help international friends make purchases through Sephora, I ended up hitting Rouge again. Yep, despite my best intentions to shop elsewhere. For renewing Rouge status for another year, there was a free Sephora Formula X polish in an "exclusive" color. It's called X(Heart)Rouge.

That color is red. Red creme. Opaque, leaning a bit warm.

How exciting.

I used it to stamp over Chrome Girl Nails Between The Sheets, a white creme. Used Winstonia W111, W113 as well as my new plate from eBay. They're basically knockoff of large scene Moyou plates, but for under $2, I can deal with it.

I phoned it in on the clean up job, guys.

Have a great weekend!

A Comparison Between Plate Organizers: Bundle Monster & Cosmos

Saturday, February 22, 2014

For the longest time, I stored my plates in a homemade binder using baseball card holders. I even wrote a post about it a long time ago. Recently I wanted something a bit nicer since the binder was getting ridiculously heavy, believe it or not those plates can start to really weigh a bit once you have 100+! I bought two plate organizers just so I'd be able to compare and they both have pros and cons.

First, let's examine the Bundle Monster Nail Stamp Stamping Plate Zippered Synthetic Leather Case Plates Holder Organizer.

Cost: $15.99

Easily purchased through Amazon or the Bundle Monster website.

Exterior is a nice heavy duty, vinyl, shiny croc print. The interior is a soft flocked velvet lined material. The stitching is sound. .

BM says:

Has 84 nail plates slots, but is designed to hold 168 plates (2 plates per slot). Fits 5.6 cm standard size nail plates.
Size: length 2-3/8'' * width 7/32''

Personally I don't like to place two plates in a slot. I'll be honest, I don't really have a valid reason, I just like having every plate in it's own spot. Maybe if there was a "lip" on the backside, I wouldn't mind as much.

Next, the Cosmos Black Soft Nylon Zippered Nail Art Stamp Plates Holder Organizer.

Cost: $12.99

Purchasable through Amazon.

The exterior is nylon. It pulls a bit around the stitching and doesn't seem super solid or quality. Essentially it reminds me of a CD case one might find at a dollar store. It's functional but the materials don't seem to be that great.

Cosmos says:

Have 8 pages to hold 108 standard sized (2.2") stamp plates and 16 large sized (2.75") stamp plates
See-through design makes convenient for organization, zipper equipped makes your items more secure

It is nice to be able to store my larger octagon shaped plates, even if I can only store 16 of them. I like that this organizer can store 108 plates without having to double up plates in each slot. Each page is double sided. However, the pages seem flimsier.

To sum it up, I like the Bundle Monster organizer more in terms of quality, it definitely is made from better materials. I'm not crazy about the croc print though! I wish it had storage for other sized plates. The Cosmos organizer is just flimsier and less appealing, though I can't deny that I love all the extra slots.

Hope that helps! Have you seen any other organizers out there other than the one from BM, Pueen and Cosmos?

Products featured were purchased by me. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Celebratory Manicure

Monday, January 20, 2014

Good evening!

Tonight I have a manicure that probably would have been great for New Year's Eve, had I actually done anything fun to celebrate that night. Instead, we saw a terrible movie and fell asleep, saving champagne for the next day (and Korean BBQ, yum!).

I used LeChat Dare to Wear Just Breathe on my pinky and pointer, topped with Laquerlicious Bottle of Bubbly. On my middle finger I have Zoya Dream, stamped with Winstonia 117 plate and Kiko #399. On my ring finger I have Zoya Tomoko. Thumb has Dream with Bottle of Bubbly over it.

Have a great night!

Messy Mansion Plate MM14

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Hi folks!

Tonight I have another plate from Messy Mansion. As I mentioned in my first review here, Messy Mansion is an Australian website that not only carries a lot of really cool plates from various lines, but also has their own line of plates with wonderfully detailed designs. This is MM14, a bird themed plate.

For the specifics on the plates, I urge you to refer to the more detailed first post. The gist is that these are large images and it helps to scrap very lightly for the best transfer.

There are so many different manicures one could do with this plate but I chose to use the full sized peacock feathers. I used Le Chat Dare to Wear Lily Pad, Ocean View and Violetta as my base gradient and then used Color Club Halo Hues Beyond to stamp.

It turned out really well if I do say so myself! Definitely be sure to check out all the beautiful designs that Messy Mansion has to offer. Remember, if you are international and only order plates, shipping is only$2.50! Splendid, no?

Which of the designs on this plate is your favorite?

Products featured were sent to me for review. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Messy Mansion Plate #17

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Hello folks!

A few weeks ago, Julia from the Australian website Messy Mansion contacted me to see if I wanted to review some of her stamping plates and I instantly said yes! I hadn't previously heard of Messy Mansion before but was really impressed to see the shop stocked with so many different stamping plates, some of which I had never seen before. Today I'll be showing you plate MM17 from her own Messy Mansion line of plates!

The MM plates are much bigger than the popular Konad or Bundle Monster series. The images are larger as well, roughly 23mm by 17mm. They came with blue plastic covering but no paper backing. The edges are rough but not sharp though. MM17 has cute dragonflies and ladybugs, and even a pair of cute googly eyes.

I used Morgan Taylor Prettier in Pink as my background shade and used Konad Black to stamp. I'm not used to such nice large images so I kept messing up at first (also pretty rusty, it's been a while!) with my plastic Konad scraper. I eventually figured out that I was scraping way harder than I need to be, which was scraping away too much polish and creating bald spots on the images with large etched areas. Overall this plate stamped well. The designs are just too cute! I can't wait to do a dragonfly manicure next (check out Wacky Lacki, Anutka already did a stunning manicure with those images).

Perhaps the best thing about Messy Mansion? Even though the shop is Australian based, international orders with just plates ship for only $2.50 USD unregistered! Fantastic right?

MM17 plates is only $7. Click here to start shopping!

What's the cutest nail plate you currently own?

Products featured were sent to me for review. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Rainy Day Manicure

Thursday, May 2, 2013

It's funny, I had all these blue polish in front of me and wanted to do a manicure that was moody. Truth is, I can't even remember the last time it rained here! Oh well.

I wish this manicure turned out a bit better than it actually did. I did the sprinkled nails method on my ring finger with glitter sponged on the tip, it looked cool in person but lumpy in photos.

I used: Nfu Oh 61, Laquerlicious Washed Denim*,Wet'n'Wild Black Creme, Pure Ice French Twist**, Pure Ice Blue Midnight**, American Apparel Redondo Beach. I also used Winstonia W113*.

All in all, a manicure that looked better in person... but still was just 'meh' to me.

*indicates a product sent for review. ** indicates a product I won in a giveaway.

Born Pretty Plate QA29

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Hi folks! Today's manicure features a plate from the Born Pretty Store, your one stop shop for nail art supplies. Today I'm trying out plate QA29.

It features some designs that I haven't seen else where. Domino patterns, playing cards and the Ferrari and Lamborghini logos! I used the card suits for this manicure. I can't find where I put my picture of this plate, so I hope you'll excuse the stock photo.

image from Born Pretty Store

The designs transferred really well. I used Zoya Rekha for the red and Konad Black, on a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls. I didn't really have a design in mind, I just kept stamping more and more images. At a certain point (after a couple glasses of wine) I decided that adding gold leaf topcoat would make it look even more nifty, so Sephora by OPI It's Real 18K Gold went on top. I like it, it makes it look antiquated. I really like this plate, it's it is super cheap at just $1.99.

You can always use my code for 10% off:

Have a great night!

Product featured was sent to me for review. Code featured is not a referral code. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Happy Hands Feliz Navidad + Stamping

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Hi folks!

For Valentine's Day my friend Felice (@slacquerr on Instagram) sent me a bottle of Happy Hands Feliz Navidad which I had coveted for very long! Isn't that sweet of her? Though it was part of the holiday collection, this delicate polish strikes me as perfect any time of the year.

Feliz Navidad is a peachy pink base with holographic pink hexes, smaller gold hexes and micro gold and pink pieces. It is so dainty, something I'm not usually drawn too but it just looks so pretty!

I added some stamping with China Glaze Cowgirl Up and Bundle Monster Plate BM314. I had never used Cowgirl Up before to stamp, it may be a little too thin to really transfer.

Thanks so much Felice, for being my Valentine! <3 p="">
Happy Hands Nail Polish are $10 and can be found at the Happy Hands Etsy Shop.

Product featured was a gift. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Winstonia Stamping Plates: Review & Pictures

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Hi folks!
Last week, I received a set of the brand spankin' new Winstonia plates. I tested them out thoroughly and couldn't wait to share with you my thoughts on this set.

These Winstonia plates come in a set of 20 for $15.99. They come packaged in a small box with plastic blue coverings and plastic backings, I did not find the edges to be sharp. All together there are 139 designs on these plates.

Here is a size comparison between the first Bundle Monster set (100s series), the third Bundle Monster set (300s), a Konad plate and a Winstonia plate. I couldn't find a ruler after rummaging around our place, but as you can see the full sized Winstonia image is only about 0.5 or 1 mm shorter than the third Bundle Monster series but just as wide, and much bigger than first BM series and the Konad plate. I would say that my nails are a bit longer than average but quite curved yet the full coverage images covered my nails completely.

Plate W120. Sinful Colors Candy Coated stamped with Konad White

Plate W108, Sally Hansen Sequin Scandal Stamped with Essie Good as Gold

There are many delicate images with thin etched lines, but in my experience they stamped very well. The trick is to work quickly though so that the polish does not have time to settle and dry in the etched image. Click the following images to enlarge.

I absolutely LOVE this set. It is a perfect mix of geometric designs (like the honeycomb, intricate lines on plate W112, etc), cute designs (fruit, mushrooms on W110), whimsical stand alone stamps (unicorn, peacock feather, Gameboy, penguin, etc) and themed stamps (bbq, the holiday themed plate W120). I think any nail stamp enthusiast could find many pleasing images in this set; whether you want a themed manicure or want to just try out new designs. This set is perfect.

Plate W101, black base stamped with Color Club Halo Hue Beyond

I hope you didn't rush off to buy this plate set before finishing this review! Until April 30th, you can use the code created for my readers to get 10% off any order from Winstonia! Use "MAKEUPWITHDRAWAL" at check out. That makes this set an even better value, doesn't it? Be sure to browse through the other nail art supplies too, like dotting tools and the microbeads for caviar nails. Click here to head over to the Winstonia Store.

What do you think of this plate set? Are there any images that really catch your eye?

Products featured were sent to me for review. Links and codes in this post are not referrals, I am in no way compensated if you use them to purchase anything. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Penguin Manicure

Friday, February 15, 2013

Hi folks, I hope you had a great Valentine's Day. I had a really great night with Morgan, he brought flowers and a card home the night before. He gifted me the new Color Club 2013 Halo Hues as well as drawers for my work station, and a mirror and other storage too! Basically he's the best. I'll show you pics later in the post, first the manicure!

Tonight I stamped a manicure, my first stamping job in a while. I recently received plates from Winstonia, a nail art store and had to try out the penguin design immediately. I'll photograph and review the plates all properly soon but... penguins wait for no blogger. I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls for my background, Konad Black to stamp with Wistonia plate W115.

The set that contains this design is brand new and exclusive to Winstonia! They are $15.99 for a 20 piece set with 139 images. An absolute steal. Plus, you can use "makeupwithdrawal" at checkout to save 10%! How great is that? Click here for the plates.

So back to ~~Steak Day~~ Valentine's Day.

He bought me tulips because he remembered that I don't particularly like roses or lilies (the smell of roses to me is... yecch!). They were much prettier the next day and today after they opened more.

I made him a bouquet of bacon and strawberry dipped in chocolate roses. White chocolate (another yecch! thing to me, but hey- it's his bouquet). Men deserve 'flowers' too. I found the instructions on Instructables for the bacon.

Color Club Halo Hues! Can't wait to photograph them this weekend. Hopefully I'll have time, we also have a wedding in Santa Barbara to attend. I'll also post pictures of my new storage in the future, pinky swear. Morgan is a ridiculously kind and dotting boyfriend.

So. Penguins. How ridiculously cute are they?! How was your V-Day? Score any half priced chocolates today?

Products featured were sent to me for review. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Guest Post by Kat from Hooked on Polish

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Hi folks!

I'm almost back from vacation, I swear. I have a brand spankin' new camera and can't wait to show you the new pictures I've taken. But I'm still unpacking so tonight I have a post by my pal Kat from Hooked on Polish. Not only does she have a wicked sense of humor that I thoroughly enjoy, but she also has fantastic pictures of polishes and nail art.
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Hi all!

My name is Kat and I run stuff over at Hooked On Polish and I'm extremely enthusiastic and anxious about being here today. Mimi's was one of the first blogs I read that also had beauty reviews and EOTD/FOTD so she definitely fueled my current makeup addiction, plus she's so annoyingly talented at DIY crafts, jewelry, nail art, etc. I even had a minor freak out on twitter and a girl said "just do something that represents your style!". Well, if you saw me walking around or asked anyone who knew me, you'd know I have no style. At all. I had a cool idea but it turned out to be a fail, so I went with stamping. You can never go wrong with stamping. Actually I take that back, you totally could.

Anyway, I started with two coats of Essie Where's my Chauffeur? and stamped with a-England St. George and plate Mash-45. Then, because why not, I added a stamp from Mash-37 with Essie No Place Like Chrome.

It's my first time using this stamp and I really like the results, it looked like a sticker. With some different color combos it could be quite an eye catcher. Not literally though.... I hope.

Happy holidays and thank you to Mimi for having me!
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Super pretty manicure, no? Man, I haven't used my stamping plates in ages. Thank you so much Kat for that lovely post. Be sure to check out her blog and follow her!

The First of Many Halloween Manicures

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Hi folks,
I want to start out by thanking each and every one of you who left me a comment on my last post or took the time to to send me an email, tweet, chatted with me on Kik. I haven't finished replying to all of them yet, but I wanted to let you know how grateful I am to have such a wonderful community reach out to me during a time in life that was really difficult. Truly. You guys are the best, I felt so uplifted as I read each and every message. :')

I've been sort of methodically doing my nails (for the sake of doing something) and this was one manicure that I came up with. I used Orly Glam Rock for the base which is this gorgeous orange ("suede") matte shade and stamped it with BM13, Konad Black.

Actually, here's the thing. I found a dead spider in one of my boxes of China Glaze polishes the other day and freaked out. I uh... am deeply terrified of spiders. I know, it's dead! Still, I'll admit that throwing that whole box away may have crossed my mind. It took me a while to work up the courage to flush it down the toilet.

Mom: What are you going to do when you have kids and they find a spider? What if they're scared too? What if they want you to deal with it?
Me: Move. Start over. I'm sure we can just buy new things and move on with our lives.

Yeah. I'm scurred.

Products featured were purchased by me, for my own use. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.

Born Pretty Store Review: Plate m66

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Hi folks! I'm finally back. Today I'll be showing you a stamping design that I did recently. It seems weird that I haven't stamped in what feels like a really long time! This is my favorite plate that I've tried from Born Pretty Store, the online nail art store that pretty much carries everything.

This plate is called m66 and it features bamboo, lily pads, a cherry blossom branch, wild flowers as well as a little figure. I love that the imagines are huge and not confined to the size of a single nail. I used Sinful Exotic Green as the base green, then stamped the bamboo design with both Le Chat Dare to Wear Enchanted Green and Sally Hansen Lickety Split Lime.

This plate is fantastic. Crisp images that are etched deep enough for great transfer. The best part is that I could do like five more different manicures with this, I don't think it will ever get old!

Remember, you can use my code for 10% off at Born Pretty Store! Neat, right?

Product featured was sent to me for review. Links in this post are NOT referral posts- I am in no way compensated if you use the code or the link to purchase any products. For additional information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.