Argyle tips

I was going to do a more Thanksgivingy looking manicure for Thanksgiving, but I couldn't get the dang turkey feather looking stamp to pick up. Then I decided I didn't want to do brownish colors anyway, so I just did what I wanted.
I used two coats of Born Pretty holographic polish in color #7 over China Glaze - Exotic Encounters. I quite like the BP holo polishes and I have three of them, but now that they've raised the prices of them I really don't think it's worthwhile for the tiny little bottles. The design is from Konad plate m60 with Konad special polish in black.

Kaleidoscope stamping

Today I finally managed to get a manicure I was happy with after receiving my new stamper and design plates about a week ago. Since I'm on a limited budget, I haven't bought any new stamping polishes so I found this list of regular polishes which are good for stamping and so tried one that I had. In my previous attempts lately, I've had problems with getting the stamps aligned and with the polishes I was using. I think with more practice I can have even better results.
Relatedly, Fast Track is one of my favorite China Glaze polishes. It applies very smoothly and has a lovely, subtle light gold nude look. 

Polishes used: China Glaze Fast Track and Grape Pop with Moyou plate Kaleidoscope #06

Get the kids to Japan

This is a fundraiser I set up to help James and I prepare our boys to move and transport them to Okinawa when we move there next year. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!



Get the kids to Japan

Terrible stamping

I've never been good at stamping. I bought a cheap set of shany plates and a bundle monster set, along with a mash stamper a couple of years back, but I've never been very successful with it. This led to me not doing a lot of stamping over the years. But now, with all the lovely design plates and big, squishy stampers that have come out in the recent months, I feel inspired to try it again.
Yesterday I spent hours doing this nice gradient and waiting for it to dry, only to ruin it with the crappy looking stamping. Some of my nails only got maybe half of the design transferred onto them. I think this has to do with the small firm stamper I've been using.
But today I was delighted to find my XL stamper and two design plates from MoYou had arrived in the mail! I can't wait to try them. I got one regular and one XL size plate to see which I like better.

Kleancolor Metallic White

I wouldn't call this polish metallic, but it's not bad. It's more like shimmery sheer white snow. This is two coats. Just be aware if you're looking for a metallic white polish, this isn't it.

Dusky purple with gold beads

I hate striping tape. Like, really hate it. It NEVER works well when I try to leave it on my nail, and when it comes to using it to paint over, it usually comes out messy. It also seems like all the striping tape I have is narrower than other people's. I wish I could find some that was 2mm wide. Wider stripes would look so much better.
That being said, this is the most success I've had with using it. Some parts still got a little smudgy, but top coat helped to cover it. This is also my first time trying caviar beads. While I don't like them as a full coverage nail decoration, as accents they are pretty. Or at least they will be until they fall off, which I'm expecting to happen before tomorrow. But since I got six tiny jars of different colors for only 1,000 won at Daiso, it was worth it just to try them.

Also, after breaking three nails I decided to cut them all, which I hate doing as I believe my nails look better the longer they are. I like the square tips look on other people, but I don't know if it works for me. I think my nails are too narrow, or maybe the curve of my cuticles is too deep. 

Polishes used: Essie Ladylike and Chine Glaze Below Deck.