NOTD: Messy Mansion MM86XL + The Lady Varnishes Evil Like Me (Or, snowflakes at night)

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!


I cannot believe January is almost over, I'm not even ready for 2017 yet! But, like it or not, pretty soon it'll be February, and that means winter is slipping slowly away.


So, I think this will probably be my last winter mani of the season. *sigh*


For this mani, I wanted to use Messy Mansion MM86XL, filled with snowflakes and lace galore:

Messy Mansion MM86XL

I started with a base of The Lady Varnishes Evil Like Me, and stamped with Messy Mansion Dogwood Pink and Hydrangea Blue:

Messy Mansion MM86XL over The Lady Varnishes Evil Like Me

Messy Mansion MM86XL over The Lady Varnishes Evil Like Me

Messy Mansion MM86XL over The Lady Varnishes Evil Like Me

In the vast corners of my imagination, this is what a beautiful snowstorm looks at night. Cool and frosty and magical. :)


You can find the plate in Messy Mansion's store, and don't forget to follow them on Facebook and Instagram for updates and inspiration!


Happy stamping,
M.

Review: Born Pretty Store Harunouta L031 (or, French Snow!)

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!


Yes, it is still extremely cold here. Yes, I know that my version of extremely cold is nothing like how extremely cold elsewhere in the country and the world. Still, it's much colder than usual, and so I'm inspired to share another cold winter mani today!


I'll be using Born Pretty Store Harunouta L031, which I reviewed in this video:

Video~

And here's a still shot of the plate:

Born Pretty Store Harunouta L031

This is definitely a Christmas-themed plate, but there are some fun winter images on here, and my favorite part of this plate is the cool steampunk-esque lacy clock at the top!


All the images are different sizes on this plate, so here's a look at the plate with a ruler, so you can get a sense of how big the different parts are:

And the most important part of a stamping plate is how it stamps, so let's take a look at that:

These were stamped with an XL crystal stamper, which can be finicky with smaller lines, but these held up pretty darn well. :)


For my sample mani, I started with a base of Spellbound Nails Eggnog Latte, and then sponged a gradient of Spellbound Nails Gingerbread Latte over it. Then I stamped the snowflakes from the bottom of the plate with Messy Mansion Chalk:

Born Pretty Store Harunouta L031 over Spellbound Nails Eggnog Latte and Gingerbread Latte

Born Pretty Store Harunouta L031 over Spellbound Nails Eggnog Latte and Gingerbread Latte

What do you think? I love how Gingerbread Latte adds some sparkle and a little dash of red--the layered effect is fun and bright. And I love that the snowflake shapes are very forgiving--you don't have to place them perfectly (and you can see I had some shaky hands when doing this mani--for them to still look very sweet. :)


You can find this plate in Born Pretty's Store, and you can use my code(MCL91) for 10% off your order. And follow them on Instagram for lots of fun inspiration!


Happy stamping,
M.

Review: UberChic Beauty Love & Marriage 03 (with sample mani featuring Spellbound Nails Peppermint Mocha Latte!)

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!


I'm back today with the last of the newest releases from UberChic Beauty, Love & Marriage 03, just in time for Valentine's Day! Here's the video review I did for the plate:

Let's take a close-up look at the plate:

UberChic Beauty Love & Marriage 03 plate

Plate size: 9.5 cm x 14 cm
Full-nail image size: 1.7 cm x 2.1 cm (5/8th of an inch x 6/8ths of an inch)


What I love best on this plate: So many layering images! And you probably know I'm not a big fan of hearts, but I was surprised to find quite a few heart images on this that I just adore--my favorites are the double hearts with the smaller hearts inside the bigger hearts--this just looks like a perfect mother and child image to me. :) I also love that there are hearts in different sizes, which makes for cute laying (see below!), and I'm over the moon for the little candy hearts you can stamp with whatever expressions you want. 


As far as the smaller elements, here's a look next to a ruler so you can get a feel for their relative size: 

So how do they stamp? Check out these swatches:

Seriously, just look at the detail on that lace. And these are done with a clear stamper. Darned impressive.


For my sample mani, I started with Spellbound Nails Peppermint Mocha Latte, which has called out to me for Valentine's decorations since I first saw it. Then I first stamped some teeny hearts with Messy Mansion Holly, and then the larger interlocking hearts with Messy Mansion Red-y Or Not:

UberChic Beauty Love & Marriage 03 over Spellbound Nails Peppermint Mocha Latte

UberChic Beauty Love & Marriage 03 over Spellbound Nails Peppermint Mocha Latte

UberChic Beauty Love & Marriage 03 over Spellbound Nails Peppermint Mocha Latte

I love this sooo much, and that's saying something for someone who normally doesn't like hearts at all!! I love the way the glitter plays with the hearts to create three layers of size, and the colors keep every thing from going a little too sweet. I would wear this all Valentine's Day, every Valentine's Day.


You can find this plate in UberChic Beauty's store. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram, and there's a Facebook group dedicated to sharing all things UberChic Beauty, if you want to check it out.


Happy stamping!
M.

Review: Messy Mansion MM84XL (or, pretty winter sweater)

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!


I'm back today with Messy Mansion's MM84XL plate, one of two plates that feature amazing sweater-type textures. Here's the video I made reviewing the plate:

Let's take a close-up look at the plate:

Messy Mansion MM84XL

This plate is great, of course, for anyone who knits, crochets, or sews. I do some sewing (yes, have even made clothes for myself!) but crocheting and knitting never quite worked out for me (trust me, you don't want to see the results--an unfortunately number of polyesters lost their lives in the process). But what I personally love about this plate is the textures. Brick-type patterns, braid-type patterns, wide patterns, tight patterns. You can use these behind other images for a ton of looks, or by themselves for a sweater-type look. And don't forget about that lace image--this one has a more hand-crocheted doily sort of look, very different from most of the lace images out there.


In terms of size, the full-nail images are 3/4 of an inch wide by 1 inch tall (approx. 1.9 cm by 2.54 cm), and here's a look with a ruler so you can get a feel for the smaller images:  

How does it stamp?

I got excellent detail with these images. If you're using a clear stamper, I suggest a very gentle scrape so you can get the details with the super-fine lines that clear stampers can get finicky with. :)


For my sample mani, I wanted to do a warm winter sweater mani, since it's been cold around here and I've been digging out snuggly clothes! I started with a base of Spellbound Nails Merry & Bright, then stamped my image with Messy Mansion Red-y Or Not for a tone-on-tone look. To finish it off, I stamped accent nails with MM82XL in Messy Mansion Soft Gold:

Messy Mansion MM84XL over Spellbound Nails Merry & Bright

Messy Mansion MM84XL over Spellbound Nails Merry & Bright

I love how warm and cozy thi is, and I love how the glitters shine through the textural pattern to make it look like a slightly sparkly sweater. This was another one of those manis I didn't want to take off.


You can find this and other awesome plates in the Messy Mansion store, and don't forget to follow them on Facebook and Instagram! There's also a Facebook group where people share Messy Mansion manis if you want to check that out, too. :)


Happy stamping,
M.

Review: UberChic Beauty Party Time plate (+ mani featuring Girly Bits Polishes!)

(Press samples ahead!)

Hello!


Today I have another new UberChic Beauty plate to share with with--their new Party Time plate! Here's the video I did with suggestions for using it:

Let's take a look at the plate:

UberChic Beauty Party Time plate

Plate size: 9.5 cm x 14 cm
Full-nail image size: 17 mm x 21 mm (5/8th of an inch x 6/8ths of an inch) 


What I love about this plate: I love that this isn't just a birthday plate, you can use it for any type of celebration, including weddings, anniversaries, New Year's, bachelorette parties, mardi gras, whatever, there are little touches on here to help you customize for whatever. I also love the layering images she's putting on her plates more an more, especially the ribbons, those heart-shaped balloons, and the cupcake! That screams out for a pop-art mani to me.


As for the other images on the plate, here are two shots with a ruler to help you get a feel for how big those are:

And how does it stamp? Check out these fine lines stamped with a clear stamper:

Pretty impressive! Also, if you're wondering how to get the layering images to line up, I made a video showing my technique, which you can find here.


For my sample manicure, I had to play around a little more with that awesome layered balloon image! The polishes from Girly Bits Cosmetics Codename: Duchess collection (see my review here) screamed out to me to be used with this plate, since the colors are so fun and the glitters in the collection are pretty much already a party in a bottle. So I started with a base of Girly Bits Cosmetics Just The Tip and Holy Sh!tsnacks!. Then I stamped some of my balloons using Girly Bits Phasing and some using Girly Bits White Wedding; I stamped my outlines with Girly Bits Little Black Dress, leaving a little bit of a gap so I'd get a watercolor sort of look. I ended up with a little warping over the curve of one nail, but not too bad. Here's how it turned out:

UberChic Beauty Party Time plate over Girly Bits Just The Tip and Holy Sh!tsnacks!

UberChic Beauty Party Time plate over Girly Bits Just The Tip and Holy Sh!tsnacks!

I love how this came out!! I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull off having half-and-half balloons on the nail with the glitter gradient, but it worked and I love it! Also, how can you not be in a happy, party mood when you look at these glitters? I mean, seriously. ;-)


You can find this plate in the UberChic Beauty shop; right now you can get 15% off your order when you use the code UBERGOOD15 at checkout. You can also find some UberChic Beauty plates in the Girly Bits shop, too, so check that out if you run over there to look at the polishes. And don't forget to follow UberChic on Facebook and Instagram!


Happy stamping,
M.

Before & After: Zoya Merida + Messy Mansion MM79XL

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!


Today I have another serene winter scene for you--I'm really enjoying winter this year since we're actually getting rain and cold weather in my neck of the woods after several years of drought! No snow, of course, but I can dream about it, which is probably why I love this type of nail art.


For my base, I started with Zoya Merida (also available here), a gorgeous deep forest green scattered holo:

Zoya Merida

I chose this to capture the complexity of winter pine trees, and then I stamped the big reversed tree image from Messy Mansion MM79XL in Messy Mansion Chalk:

Messy Mansion MM79XL

Here's how it looked after that step:

Messy Mansion MM79XL and Bundle Monster BM-H02 over Zoya Merida

Then I added made a decal of the cardinal image from Bundle Monster BM-H02:

Bundle Monster BM-H02

I stamped the decal with Messy Mansion Carbon, and colored it with Messy Mansion Red-y Or Not and Banana Bender. Here's how it came out:

Messy Mansion MM79XL and Bundle Monster BM-H02 over Zoya Merida

Messy Mansion MM79XL and Bundle Monster BM-H02 over Zoya Merida

What do you think?! I love how this came out, and I love looking at it. The holo creates a deep dimension that makes it look like there's a bunch of needles, and I love the snow accents. And while I've never seen a red cardinal in real life, I did once come out to find a yellow cardinal on my bird bath, and that was a very cool moment that this reminds me of. :)


Happy stamping!
M.

New Product Alert: Huston Lowell Nail Art Plates

(Affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!


A little birdie just told me about this stamping plate set from Huston Lowell...I haven't used it myself so I can't vouch for the quality, but word on the street (okay, in the Facebook groups) is that they pick up well, although the images are on the smaller side. So if your nails work with smaller images, you might want to check these out:

They're $14.99 for ten plates, and if you're a prime member, that includes shipping. Quite a deal!


Happy stamping!

M.

Review: UberChic Beauty Collection 14

(Press samples and affiliate links ahead!)

Hello!

UberChic Beauty just released some new plates, and today we're gonna start of my reviews with Collection 14. Here's my video review of the collection (I also have video reviews of the Love & Marriage 03 plate and the Party Time plate up on YouTube--blog posts coming soon):

Let's take a look at some still shots. First, 14-01:

UberChic Beauty 14-01

Plate size: 9.5 cm x 14 cm
Full-nail image size: 17 cm x 21 mm (5/8th of an inch x 6/8ths of an inch)

My favorite images on this plate: I adore the sunbursts of diamond shapes, and love that she gives both positive and negative versions of the images. I love the fleur de lis, and her henna designs always make my heart flutter. But the highlight of this plate has to be the butterflies!

UberChic Beauty 14-02

Plate size: 9.5 cm x 14 cm
Full-nail image size: 17 cm x 21 mm (5/8th of an inch x 6/8ths of an inch)

My favorite images on this plate: the layering mosaics (I'm gonna play with those and some square glitters) and the pinwheel-type flowers. I also love both the realistic flowers, and the illusion images are sooo fun. :)

UberChic Beauty 14-03

Plate size: 9.5 cm x 14 cm
Full-nail image size: 17 cm x 21 mm (5/8th of an inch x 6/8ths of an inch)

My favorite images on this plate: So many, but my favorite part is all of the images with diamond shapes, especially the several perfect for layering. I also love the lotus-y flowers, the hexes, and the gradated mesh.


Here's a shot with a ruler to help you get a feel for the size of the irregular images:

 

 

So how do they stamp? I did my stamping test with UberChic Beauty's XL crystal stamper, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Navy Fleet and Lightning:

 

I'm super impressed with how well those fine lines come out with a clear stamper--Look at the tiny detail on that rose!


For today's manicure, I started with a base of The Lady Varnishes Depressed Robot and Hello Ground; both of these will release on January 20th. Then I stamped two images from 14-02, with Girly Bits Flame, and then I added some circle glitters:

UberChic Beauty 14-02 over The Lady Varnishes Depressed Robot and Hello Ground

UberChic Beauty 14-02 over The Lady Varnishes Depressed Robot and Hello Ground

 

UberChic Beauty 14-02 over The Lady Varnishes Depressed Robot and Hello Ground

I love pulling out the colors of the glitter when I do nail art, and since the glitters are multichrome, I used the gold and the rust glitters to capture two of the predominant colors and the blue to go with Hello Ground. The color scheme on this is very soothing somehow, and have a retro-70s sort of feel.


I'll be back shortly with manicures from the other two plates; in the meantime, you can find this collection in UberChic Beauty's shop, and don't forget to follow UberChic Beauty on Facebook and Instagram. :)


Happy stamping!
M.