Sweetly Peach

Hello, everyone!  We have a sunny day today - very exciting after all the moody winter weather we've been having.  Today, I'm wearing a very easy, super simple two-color manicure.  This is L'oreal Complete Salon Manicure First Kiss stamped with NYC French White Tip.  The plate is the classic Konad M60.  It's simple and sweet, perfect preparation for Valentine's Day!

I hope you're having sun - and love - wherever you are, Konaddicts!  I think I'm going to try out my Messy Mansion plate with conversation hearts for Valentine's Day, so I'll be sure to let you know how it turns out!

Fall Plaid

Hello, everyone!
Today's nails just scream "Thanksgiving".  The only things missing are the pilgrims!

I've been wanting to do a plaid design in Fall colors.  I experimented for a while and came up with this design.  This a base of China Glaze Life Preserver, stamped with a pearly brown from Nail Savvy.  I used that classic Konad plate, M60, for the plaid.

The plaid was pretty, but I wanted to add some kind of accent, so I chose the lovely Fall leaf on Red Angel plate RA-121 and China Glaze Passion.  As has been true with the other plates, the image is etched a little too deeply, but it was usable.  My leaf came out better when I lightly stamped it on.  If I applied too much pressure  - splat!

Overall, I like the result.  Every time I notice my nails, I immediately think of turkey and cranberry sauce!

Take care, Konaddicts!  Are you as ready for Thanksgiving dinner as I am?

Redo: Flower Gradient

Hello, everyone!  I decided to take a break from the nail challenge to take a another stab at a gradient mani. I started with two coats of Orly French Manicure Sheer Nude.  For the gradient, I used the same colors that I used in my last attempt - Sally Hansen Insta Dri Pink Blink, Konad Special Polish in Pastel Pink, and Kleancolor Barbie Pink.  I finished with the flowers from Konad M60 in Konad Special polish in white.  The dot of the flower is Kleancolor Metallic Gold.

Oh my goodness!  It's sooo much prettier than my last try!  The Nailasaurus picture tutorial made all the difference!

Thanks for stopping by, Konaddicts!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 5: Blue Nails

Hello!  Woo hoo - I'm getting to wear my absolute favorite nail polish today!

This is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away!  I stamped with Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Whirlwind White using Konad M60.  I used rhinestones for the flower centers.

I love this blue!  Stamped with white or with silver, it always looks awesome.  It's a gorgeous color when worn on its own.  Blue Me Away!, however, is not for the faint of heart.  Expect to have a little staining when you remove the polish.

See you tomorrow for purple nails!  Thanks for reading, Konaddicts!

Bright Dots

Hello, everyone!  Today, I have an easy and vibrant mani using Cheeky plate CH10.  I started with twocoats of coats of Pure Ice Free Fall.  I used a final coat of Pure Ice Tease, a magenta with a blue shimmer.

I stamped the dots using Cheeky CH10 and Kleancolor Metallic Aqua.  The aqua looked more purple on the nails, but it worked!  Before picking CH10, I tried the dots on Konad M60.  I liked the Cheeky plate better for this mani.  The dots on the plate blend more at the bottom on the Cheeky plate and I liked that look better for these colors.

It's a simple look, but I love the sparkle!

Shine on, Konaddicts!

Simple Wine and Bronze

Today I'm wearing a simple and easy design.  The base is Sally Hansen Insta Dri Wined Up.  I stamped with Sally Hansen Chrome Nail Makeup in Bronze Chrome.  The plate is Konad M60 (another classic!).

My Red Angel plates are here; we'll see if I can't come up with something using the new plates for next time.  Take care, Konaddicts!

Review: Plastic XL Image Templates

So, as a person on a budget, I was intrigued when I saw what appeared to be a image plate containing 200+ images on eBay for around $25.  Of course it seemed too good to be true, but I was willing to give it a try anyway. They usually look something like this:

Yes, there are a bunch of designs here, but what the ads don't tell you is that the image plates are plastic!  (Ah, yes, there's the catch).

So, do these plastic plates work?  I'll show you what I discovered:

In each of the pictures, the metal plate  (I have both Konad and MASH plates) is on the LEFT, the image on the RIGHT is from the plastic template.

Here are some of the full nail stamps:

In some cases, stamps from the plastic plate look okay.  In other cases, not so much.  The plastic isn't very deeply etched, so the images from the metal plates are more defined and bold.

Here are some samples of other stamps (again, the stamps on the left are from metal plates; the ones on the right are from the plastic template):

Again, some are okay; others not so great.  It's also worth noting -I'm not sure if you can tell here - that many of the "nail tip" type images from the plastic template are smaller than ones on the Konad/Mash plates.

Bottom Line?
All in all, it was worth the ~$25 I paid for it.  At least I got to experiment with the different designs and to decide which plates I wanted to invest in.  If you've got a specific image in mind that you're wanting to use, though, I would recommend that you buy the metal plate (since you won't know for sure whether you'll get a good impression with the plastic template).

So, buyer beware!  If you're buying an image plate on eBay (especially if it seems like an amazing deal!), be sure to ask whether it's metal or plastic!  It just helps to know what to expect.

Thanks for reading!