Laugh, Love, Contour: Nail Art Tools

Press Sample

Happy hump day, dear readers! I hope you have been having a fantastic week so far! I am really excited to have all my guys back home finally, and today is the last "free" day with my oldest baby as he starts kindergarten tomorrow. Needless to say, this is quite a week around here! Now on to today's post!

I have found myself gravitating towards stamping lately when it comes to nail art techniques, and I am delighted to try out this beautiful shifting stamping polish from Born Pretty Store. Galactic Center shifts from a golden green hue to a blue.

I just love this colour! It really pops beautifully against both the background shades I have shown here.

I do have mixed feelings about the stamping abilities of this polish. It is really creamy and smooth to fill the etched areas of the stamping plates. When excess is scraped away and the image picked up by the stamper, the image was perfect! However, when I rolled my stamper on my nails like I normally do, I noticed not all the image rolled off onto my nail. I left it as is so you could see what I mean- the area around the cuticle of the dark nail shows where there is a gap in the stamping. I'm not sure why this happened, but it wasn't my first time using this particular image on the plate nor was this a new stamper. I can only conclude it was an issue with the stamping polish itself. Also, after rolling the stamper on my nails, some areas pulled up slightly to skew the image rather than lay flat on the nail. The was more of an issue along the sides of my nails where they curve.

Even though I had some issues with the transfer of the stamped image utilizing this stamping polish, I still really love the look of this polish. I'm going to have to play around with different stampers to see if that solves the trouble I had with incomplete image transfer. Alternately, I may have to alter my method and lay down a sticky base coat over the base shade first to make it work. If you have experience with this, please chime in below and let me know what worked best for you!

Here is the direct link for this stamping polish. As I mentioned previously, this specific shade is Galactic Center. At the time of this post, it is currently on sale for $5.99 per bottle.

Other products used:
China Glaze: S'more Fun
Zoya: Dovima
Ellagee Polish: Glass top coat
Uber Chic Beauty: Stamping Plate 8-01

I have enjoyed trying out this polish, and I look forward to trying out more from Born Pretty Store. It is a great site to pick up supplies for all your nail art needs!

While you are shopping, be sure to use discount code QWL91 to save 10% off all full priced items in your cart.

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!

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Press Sample

Greetings, dear readers! I hope you have been having a wonderful week! I am finishing up a few last minute things before I head out to Las Vegas for Cosmoprof North America this upcoming Sunday through Tuesday! If you aren't already, be sure to follow me on social media for updates and finding throughout the show! Of course I'll have a post up after I get back, but this way you can get early sneak peeks on what I've stumbled across and couldn't wait to share. Now on to today's post!

In my latest shipment from Born Pretty Store, I received this beautiful dual-sided tool! One end is a firm stone tool while the other is a soft silicone tool. It is meant for gently scraping back your cuticles, but I found the silicone side to be perfect to suit my nail art needs!

As you can tell from these photos, my nails have a bit of a c-curve. This curving makes some techniques a little trickier. While simple stamping is pretty straightforward side-roll of the tool, applying stamped decals is trickier. The silicone side of this tool is the perfect solution to gently push the decals down to fit nicely along the curvature of my nails. Once I have finished with the placement, I can then switch to the firmer stone side and press it down along the intersection of the polish decal and my fingers. Once I have traced along the decal-finger interface with the stone edge, I flip the tool back over the the silicone side to retrace the line. With the slightest wiggle action, these steps break off the excess decal that can then easily be pulled off rather than having to do a harsher acetone cleanup.

Another nail art technique that is trickier for me due to my curved nail beds is when it comes to using nail vinyls. They just don't lay down very well when it comes to the edges of my nails, and I occasionally end up with polish sneaking under the lines and getting a less-crisp image than I prefer. The silicone end of this tool is fantastic as it allows me to firmly press the vinyls down onto my nail without having to worry about any residual oil residue transferring from my fingertips onto my nails or pressing a little to hard with my fingers and potentially denting my base polish.

Now that I have used this tool, I am wondering how I've managed without it previously! It seems so simple, and yet I've found the little things I would struggle with are no longer an issue for me.

It can be purchased from the Born Pretty Store here. Each dual sided tool retails for $2.39, although at the time of this post, it is marked down to $1.99. While there, be sure to check out the other items Born Pretty Store offers to suit your nail art needs.

You can also save 10% off full-priced items with discount code QWL91.

Other products used:

Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer: Welcome to the Coast
Born Pretty Store: Colorful Fairy Tale
Ever After Polish: Mrs. Robinson
Glisten & Glow: Wedding Gown White
Young Nails Caption: Boho Bungalow stamping plate

Until next time, dear readers, have a wonderful day!
XO!