Pueen Nail Stamp Starter Kit Review

Good afternoon folks!

Today I'll be discussing the Pueen Nail Stamp Starter Kit that I recently purchased at Walmart for $9.98.

So what all do you get for $9.98? Everything you see here:

• Stamper: You'll get a single-ended jelly stamper. This is on the smaller side, and won't pick up an entire image on the plate enclosed. However, I found that it's rather easy to hold despite it's small stature. The head came ready to stamp right out of the box--I didn't even have to wash it with warm soapy water. The head is a bit firm for my tastes, but by no means as hard as the rubber heads of old. In my limited experience with this stamper, it does seem to work better if you push down on the image rather than roll, and then roll the image onto your nail. Everyone is different, however, so a different technique might work better for you.
• Scraper: You'll also get the typical crown-shaped Pueen scraping card. For me, this was a bit difficult to control. It's much smaller and more stiff than the Bundle Monster scrapers I'm used to. The one good thing about this card, though, is that it's nearly impossible to scrape too hard. 
• Plate: This kit comes with Pueen's Nail Party 01 stamping plate. The plate itself is very thick and sturdy, and the designs are well etched. There's a good variety of designs to choose from, so I think there's something here for everyone. I'm a big fan of the amoeba/blob pattern myself. 
• Polishes: No kit would be complete without some stamping polishes. Pueen included the two basics, black and white. I'll warn you, though: unlike some stamping polishes, these should not be used as regular polish. They will crack when they dry! They do work well for what they're intended for, however. Just out of curiosity I pit them against Bundle Monster's black and white stamping polishes. As you can see here, they're pretty much identical. (This is the image that's under the glare in the above photo.)

Price wise, this kit is a fairly good investment. I'm not sure it would be the greatest for beginners, though. While the stamper head isn't bad, it can be a bit finicky if you're not used to stamping. Still, $10 for a 5-piece set isn't too shabby. 

But if I knew before I purchased what I know now, would I still purchase the kit? Ehhh, probably not. Maybe I've just gotten used to Bundle Monster products, but I think I'd probably go for one of their kits instead. While they are more expensive, you get a lot more stuff and have much larger variety to choose from. 

With that being said, if you see a Pueen stamping plate you like, grab it! Their plates are phenomenal. Even their small round plates are very well etched and easy to work with. As I mentioned in the last post, I also picked up their Fairytale Lovers 01 plate, and I'm absolutely in love with that thing. Worth every penny and then some. 

More Walmart Stuffs!

Good evening folks!

So... I was naughty again. I bought more nail stuff. 

I saw NailStamp4Fun's video on the new Pueen Nail Stamp Starter Kit a couple of weeks ago. I figured, well, I need to grab some batteries for my son's toys, so I'll just pop into Walmart and take a peek at it. 

"Take a peek" turned into a mini-haul:

As you can see, I did go ahead and pick up the Pueen set for $9.98. I'll be reviewing this and comparing it to BMC products after I've had a bit of time to play with it. 

Hanging right next to the starter kit was a very interesting Pueen stamping plate called "Fairytale Lovers 01" for $3.88. This plate is gorgeous. There's not a single image on this plate I don't like. I'm not in love with the hearts image, but I do still like it. Every other image on this plate is stunning, breathtaking, awe-inspiring! Or should I say mani-inspiring? I cannot wait to play with this! 

And of course, since I was wandering through the nail stuff, I had to take a gander at some polish. Pure Ice didn't have anything that I needed, Sally Hansen is still on my shit list, Color Club hasn't yet made it to my Walmart, and Sinful Colors was nowhere to be found. However, Wet 'n' Wild had a couple of colors worth notice. One was a gorgeous sky blue that I cannot remember the name of--but I put her back, since I have soooo many blues already. But this garnet burgundy beauty I just had to bring home with me. Her name is "Burgundy Frost" and she cost me a mere $0.93. Don't let her name fool you, though. She is not at all a frost finish. She's a lovely luster with an easy two-coat formula. 

All in all, a pretty good haul for only $15!

Budget-Friendly Feature -- Wet 'n' Wild Ready to Propose

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!

Today I'll be featuring Wet 'n' Wild "Ready to Propose". This is a lovely gold polish that I purchased at Walgreens for $0.99. 

I have a tendency to prefer my gold polishes a bit more on the yellow side, but I have to say that this is probably my favorite gold that I own. It definitely leans more brown than yellow, but it's not that murky kind of brown that you can find in some golds (Sally Hansen "Golden-I", for example). 

The formula on "Ready to Propose" is phenomenal. It glides on smooth, isn't too runny, and is opaque in two easy coats. It's also great for stamping and water marbling. It does have a tendency to show a wee bit of brush strokes, though, so if that's something you abhor... this may not be the best option for you. I, of course, don't mind brush strokes at all, as I've mentioned before. 

The only downside to this polish isn't so much about the polish itself, but the entire line in general. I always have an issue with the Wet 'n' Wild Wild Shines not letting go of their brushes. You know... when you go to open your bottle and the cap comes off but the brush is still stuck in the bottle? Argh! I know this can happen with any brand, but it sure seems to happen a lot more often with the Wild Shines. And you know what I find a bit humorous? I have some Wet 'n' Wild polishes that are about 20 years old (no joke! still use 'em!) that very rarely have the brush-sticky issue. 

So, is "Ready to Propose" worth the $0.99 I paid for it? Absolutely. I mean, you really can't go wrong with something that cost you less than a dollar. And this is such a pretty color, with a great formula, that works with all types of nail art. I highly recommend! 

Budget-Friendly Feature -- Bundle Monster Wavelengths

Greetings folks!

Today we'll be featuring Bundle Monster Wavelengths--one of their metallic creative arts polishes (stamping polishes).

I paid $11.99 for the entire metallic set. The set includes six polishes, putting each one at only $2.00. I can't remember for certain if I purchased these on Walmart.com or bundlemonster.com... I think it was the former and I got free shipping.

Wavelengths is a gorgeous royal blue metallic. As of yet, I haven't used this as a regular nail polish, so I can't say anything in regards to application or longevity. However, as a stamping polish, this stuff is phenomenal. The formula is thick enough to fill your image and stamp easily, yet thin enough that you don't have to worry about dragging polish clumps around. (Yes, I've had that issue... I won't mention any bornprettystore names.)  :p

I also haven't had any problems with it staining my stampers as some blues have a tendency to do. 

Overall, this is a great stamping polish that I know I can rely on to stamp beautifully every time.

So is it worth the two bucks? Yes, indeedy. For $2.00 a piece, the entire collection is worth it--even though the gold is a little dull and the pink is definitely not metallic. All stamp wonderfully and in my opinion are a great deal.

Stamping with "Splash!"

Greetings folks!

Today I'll be doing a quick run-through of this stamped mani:



For my base coat I used Pure Ice "Bottom Line" ($1.97 @ Walmart). 

I then applied Wet 'n' Wild "Black Creme" as my base color ($0.99 @ Walgreens).

The stamping plate I used was Bundle Monster's XL-02 ($3.20 per plate @ Walmart.com). I used the jumbo clear stamper that I got from Born Pretty Store for $2.99. 

Then I broke out my Pure Ice "Splash!". Now, I honestly didn't think this would stamp, as it's a very sheer, very shimmery polish. But boy, was I wrong! It stamped like a dream. I would suggest using some kind of protective barrier, though--liquid latex, tape, etc. The shimmer did not want to let go of my skin!

As usual, I topped off the mani with Seche Vite ($2.08 @ head2toebeauty.com).

The overall look is very subtle, but when the light hits that gorgeous blue shimmer... I just heaved a dreamy sigh... it flares to life. 

It just goes to show that it never hurts to try anything and everything. Even if you think it's not going to work, it may surprise you and end up becoming a stunning manicure!

Gifted Goodies

Good afternoon folks!

Today I'll be sharing with you some of the goodies I received over the holidays. But before I do that, I'd like to give some quick updates on some of the products I've already talked about.

First up, we have a couple of Wet 'n' Wild polishes: "Be More Pacific" and "Ready to Propose". Both of these are stainers. I wasn't terribly surprised about "Be More Pacific", as greens, blues, and dark reds do have a tendency to stain--especially in the lower budget brands. But I was rather shocked that the gold stained. It turned my fingernails brown! Honestly, though, staining isn't a major issue to me; my nails are always painted anyway.

As for the Born Pretty Store stuff, the stamper works beautifully. I love it. But the stamping polishes are garbage. They not only stink to high hell, the white doesn't even work at all! The black is okay, but not very pigmented. The nail studs that I purchased are okay, but the special shapes (hearts, stars, etc.) are too big to lay flat on my nails. However, I have very narrow nails with a very strong c-curve, so this might not be an issue for most people. 

I've also figured out how to get the Nicole Diary stamping plates to work (mostly). I was so used to working with the BMC XL plates that I was scraping and pressing my stamper too hard on the smaller, less deep images of the ND plates. It's still going to take some practice, but I think I can get all the images to pick up now.

Remember when I said that Jess warned about China Glaze "Combat Blue-ts" drying super fast? She wasn't kidding. You can get away with three strokes... maybe four if you're quick, but that's all the wiggle room you have. If you try to manipulate it too much, you'll end up picking up the polish you already laid down. Still, it's a stunning color, and the matte look is awesome, so I feel that it's well worth it.


Alright, let's get into the new stuff, shall we?

So, I know I said I was on a "no buy" for a while, but there were a couple opportunities I just couldn't pass up. 

The first was Zoya's Black Friday sale. Uhmmmm HELLO! Zoya for $3 a bottle?! How could I not take advantage of that? 

Prior to this sale, I didn't own--nor had I even tried--any Zoya polishes. So when the chance arose to snag some for so cheap, I was all over it. I wanted to see what the hype was about! I didn't go too crazy, though. Originally I had 9 polishes in my cart, but I reigned myself in and only ended up buying four. These beauties are "Ember", "Tangy", "Elisa", and "Katherine". 






"Ember" is so amazingly luscious. When I first received it, I was worried. I thought, Oh hell, this looks a lot more orange than it did on my monitor. But then I swatched it. I am so in love! I know this sounds crazy, but if I ever run out of her, I might actually pay the full $10 for another bottle. She's a bright orangy-red with an amazing luster--damn near chrome-like. "Tangy" is a funky, fun green shade unlike anything I had in my collection. "Elisa" is a gorgeous crimson red. I'm not normally a fan of reds, but this Zoya is amazing. "Katherine" is a deep purple jelly. I wanted a jelly because I'd like to try pond manicures and jelly sandwiches. I've never worked with jellies before, so I was a little surprised at how streaky it is. However, I'm still excited to work with it. All of these polishes just glide on like butter. The hype for Zoya is well deserved!

Another deal I wanted to take advantage of was the $5 off coupon from Sally Beauty Supply. I was given this coupon when I went in to grab some acetone and nail wheels. You could get $5 off any purchase of $5 or more. So I figured I would grab China Glaze "Tis the Sea-Sun" from their recent Seas and Greetings holiday collection. Surprisingly, I didn't have any corals in my collection, so this was a great addition. Between the coupon and my Beauty Club Card, I paid $1.49 for the polish. 




Now on to the presents! My dad did a great job picking out some polish for me--so good, in fact, I can't help but wonder if he had help from his wife... hee!  He sent me the 12-piece Kleancolor metallics collection. Now, in reviews I've seen online, the original collection that was released two years ago had a "Metallic Black". Whether it was a packing error or whether they've replaced that original black I'm not sure, but in its place I received "Golden Nightmare" which is a black with gold micro-glitter. The other colors in this collection are white, orange, red, pink, mango, yellow, green, sapphire, purple, fuschia, and aqua. 


These colors are soooooo gorgeous. I'm in love with the entire collection. A lot of these are one-coaters. The white does take two, but... it's white. That's to be expected. They're amazing on their own, but folks... if you slap a glossy top coat on 'em... they come alive!  I've heard that Kleancolor polishes work great for stamping, too. I can tell you, though, that the white and the "Golden Nightmare" do not work. I think they have too much shimmer/micro-glitter. The price point is great, too. You can get this whole set on Amazon for $11.99, which puts each polish at only a dollar!

Unfortunately, there are some downsides. These polishes do stink a bit. And... they bleed. I'm not sure what it is, but once you put a top coat on these bad boys they will melt right before your eyes. If you're doing a plain mani, this is a boon. But if you're trying to do nail art, it's definitely a bane, as can be seen in this photo of a recent mani. I thought perhaps I hadn't let it dry long enough, but that proved not to be the case. I let the other nails dry overnight, and the next morning made sure to float my top coat. Yet I got the same result. I sat there and watched in horror as it bled more and more as the top coat dried. 

Still, for the price and the color payoff, I think these polishes are great.




I asked my mom for Sinful Colors "Snow Me White" for Christmas, but as per usual, she took it 18 steps further and got me all these goodies!


The first item was a package of plate sleeves from Bundle Monster that hold various shapes and sizes, along with a pouch that can hold my stampers, scrapers, and other stamping supplies. These are sturdy sleeves with metal ringlets--they'll hold up for a while! The only downside is that they're not completely clear, so it's a wee bit hard to see the images through the plastic.

She also got me a 25-piece round plate set from Bundle Monster (plates 301-325) and a 25-piece round plate set from Pueen (plates 01-25). It's taken me a bit of practice to get used to these plates, as I had the same heavy-handed issue that I did with the Nicole Diarys. But both sets have some awesome images. I'm excited to use them! 

Instead of the Sinful Colors polish I asked for, Mom got me the Bundle Monster duo of "BAM! White" and "Straight Up Black" stamping polishes. Both work great. "BAM! White" is very opaque! I highly recommend! 

She also got Bundle Monster's "Poli-Peel", which is a liquid latex barrier. I haven't tried this yet, but I'm betting it's a lot better than the crap I got from China. Especially since said crap is now completely dried out and unusable. Pbbt. 


That's all I have for you today! Now that the holidays are over hopefully I can catch up on some of the manis I've done. 

Have a fantabulous day!

Delectable Diamonds

Good afternoon all you shining happy people holding hands!

(Please forgive me... I'm on some pretty strong muscle relaxers, so I'll be even more odd than usual.)

Today I'll be discussing this here diamond manicure:

I started off with my Bridge the Ridge base coat. I then applied two coats of Color Club "Winter White".

Using BundleMonster's XL-10 plate and their "Electromagnetic" gold stamping polish, I stamped on the diamonds. I used my new BundleMonster double sided clear stamper, and it worked like a charm. I can't wait to try some double stamping with this puppy!

I topped the mani off with Seche Vite, as per usual. 

Next up? I have no idea. Probably either a gradient or a water marble...

Want sneak peeks of the manicures featured here, as well as some bonus manis? Feel free to follow me on Instagram @jennravenwing. Fair warning: there will be a smattering of adorable baby pics as well!

Hundred Dollar Birthday Haul

I know, I know... I said I was going to do a "BornPretty Bitchfest" post next, but I decided against it. Why? Because we all have enough negativity in our lives, and me going on a 400 word rant doesn't help the situation. And now I'm extra glad I didn't, because BPS actually came through at the very last second!

So let's get on with the haul! So... technically I spent a bit more than $100, but $16 of that was shipping. I snagged some great deals, though!


First off we'll start with the three items I ordered from Born Pretty Store. I did pay the extra $3 for tracking (which didn't work) so in total my order came to $12.87. 

The first item was a 3-piece stamping set--jumbo clear stamper, scraper, and lid--for $2.99. That's a steal! I really wanted a lid because keeping cat hair off my stampers is almost impossible. I haven't yet tested the stamper out, but it feels nice and squishy and semi-sticky. The scraper is pretty small and incredibly stiff, so I probably won't use that. 

The next item I ordered was some studs for $4.89 (they're now on sale for $2.99... go figure). It's a mix of silver and gold studs in varying shapes and sizes. There are approximately 200 pieces in this little tiny wheel. What I like about them is that they lay fairly flat--they don't stick up crazy high on the nail like my rhinestones do. Working in the food industry, the last thing I want is something snagging on my nail decor and it ends up in someone's dinner. 

(I do wear gloves when I'm around food but still... you can never be too careful.)

The last thing I got from BPS was a set of black and white stamping polishes for $1.99. I wasn't really looking for black, but I needed a good opaque white and they had this set of 5ml bottles, so I figured what the hell. I haven't tested these yet either...

Hey, gimme a break. I just got this stuff TODAY.  ON MY BIRTHDAY.  That was a close one, Born Pretty... verrrrry close. I ordered on October 11th... 


Next up we have the three L.A. Colors polishes that I picked up from Family Dollar for $1 a piece. 



The first is called "Sunkissed" and it's... it's... phenomenal. It's a burnt orange with tons of gold shimmer. 

The second is a pink! I don't know why but I've been gravitating towards pinks lately. Maybe my hormones are still messed up from becoming a mommy, who knows. But this lovely polish is called "Pink Sizzle" and oooooh does it sizzle. 

The third is called "Dazzle" and it is very similar in color to "Pink Sizzle" but it has lots of luscious silver shimmer.





Another thing I purchased was a "big ticket" item. This baby cost me just under $30, but I did get free shipping. Since my polish and nail art supplies were beginning to spill over the lovely shelves that my mom built for me, I decided I'd get a bonafied nail polish rack. Tada!

I got this rack on ebay. I've calculated that she holds about 102 polishes. Unfortunately I didn't count how many I had before I ordered her. Including the birthday polishes I got, I have 130.

Now, for a polish collector, 130 bottles is chump change. For me, however, it's quite a lot. Therefore I'm now on a "no buy" until after Christmas (at least!). Gotta save up my monies to spoil my little boy for his first Christmas! 

Anyway, I've got my favorites in the rack and a few in my "boo box". Doesn't it look spiffy? And now I have room on my shelves for all my nail art supplies! Yay! What's that? Why yes, my favorite color is blue! 



Next in my haul I made an order from Nabi. Nabi has a shop on ebay, which is where I purchased mine, as well as on Amazon. These are all-around great polishes, but they do have one downside: they do tend to get pretty thick after a while and unfortunately polish thinner can't always save them. Nabi does have a wide range of colors, though, and they're inexpensive. In fact, the more you buy, the more you save. A couple of years ago I bought a lot of 20 polishes for $24 (iirc). She's got a deal now on ebay where you can get 20 colors of your choice for $20 and some change. I went for a much smaller lot this time and purchased three of Nabi's "Metallic" polishes for $6.36 with free shipping. That puts each polish at $2.12.

The first one I got was "Metallic New Gold". I've been looking for a really yellow gold for a while, and I thought this would hit the spot. Unfortunately, it's got more shimmer than base. At two coats, it's not quite opaque (as can be seen in the swatch). I'm hoping three coats will get me there, but I haven't tried it yet. It is definitely the color I wanted, though.

The second polish is "Metallic Champagne". This is another pink, and although it's quite a bit darker than I expected, I really do like it.

The third Nabi is "Metallic White". I wasn't sure what to expect from this. How could a white be metallic? But it does indeed have a metallic--almost frosty--finish. I was amazed at how opaque this was at one coat, but did two on the swatch anyway. It does show brush strokes a bit, but that doesn't really bother me all that much.





I also decided to give head2toebeauty a try, since I had heard Phoebe talk about the site a lot on her YouTube channel. Fair warning though: their shipping is not cheap! I paid $12.97 for shipping, bringing my grand total at the e-store to $52.16. But it was so worth it!

Why was it so worth it? Seche Vite, my friends. Seche Vite. They have a "professional kit" that includes a regular .5 oz bottle, as well as a 4 oz refill bottle. That's equivalent to nine bottles of Seche Vite... for the jaw-droppingly low price of $18.75!!!

WHAT!?!?!?

Yep! Seche Vite for TWO DOLLARS AND EIGHT CENTS PER BOTTLE!! Even if you tag on the shipping cost for my whole order, that makes each bottle only $3.52. That's less than half the price Sally Beauty Supply charges. Score!!

I also snagged a polish corrector pen for 99 cents. I'm not so keen on this just yet. Don't get me wrong--it works well. However, it's very stiff and it hurts my skin. Maybe after a while it will soften up a bit? I hope so, because in the meantime I'd rather just use my angle brush for cleanup.

I got that liquid pump for $5.95, hoping to put acetone in it. The description for it said it could hold "polish removers" and didn't say anything about not putting acetone in it like the other pumps did. Sadly, when I got it, there was a note inside that said "DO NOT USE ACETONE". Well... fack. So now it's holding my cuticle oil. It's also incredibly noisy to pump. I hate to say it, but I would definitely not recommend this particular pump.

And of course, I purchased some polish. China Glaze for $3.25? Color Club for $3.50? Yes please!

The first swatch is Color Club "Winter White". And yes, it is very similar to Nabi "Metallic White". This is a frosty finish, though, and has a bit more of a silver tone to it. As with most frosts, it does show brush strokes a smidge. Again, though, I don't mind.

The other Color Club is "Grand Dame" from... the English Garden Collection, I believe. You guys... these are my first Color Club polishes and I can now see what all the fuss is about. I think I'm in love. Grand Dame went on so smooth! It's easily the best polish I've ever worked with. It's a beautiful deep silver. I don't think this is a duo-chrome, but it sure does pick up colors around it. It's almost mirror-like.

Next we have China Glaze "Jolly Holly" from a holiday collection a couple years back. I've been seeking a nice forest green, and this one is lovely! 

The second China Glaze is probably my favorite polish in this whole entire haul. When I saw Jess swatch this in her review of the Rebel Collection I just knew it had to be mine. I present to you "Combat Blue-ts". It is a gorgeous matte blue with the slightest blue shimmer. Gah, I'm drooling just looking at it. See? I must be hormonal with all these pinks and mattes and whatnot. Jess did warn that it dries super fast, so you shouldn't manipulate it too much. I didn't have any trouble with the swatch, but then... a nail wheel is much easier a canvas than real nails.

They also sent me a free 100/100 grit nail file. I'll probably never use it, but it was a nice gesture. If you haven't yet checked out head2toebeauty, I'd say give it a go. I'd certainly buy from them again.

I also snagged six polishes from Walgreens. Know how much I paid for all six? $2.42 including tax. That's 40 cents per polish!

...But I totally cheated and used my rewards points for $5 off. Go me!

The first one is Sinful Shine "Kryptonite" from the Kylie Signature Collection. This was on sale for $1.49. It's an absolutely stunning teal with green and blue shimmer. It's a little thin, so depending on your application you may need three coats. I did two for the swatch.

The second is Sinful Shine "Kalypso", also from the Signature Collection, and also on sale for $1.49. Did I mention blue is my favorite color? This one is breathtaking. It's a luscious cobalt blue with blue shimmer. There are two coats on the swatch, but again you may need three if you tend to apply thinner coats.

The third--oh, look, another blue!--is Sinful Colors "Midnight Blue" which was marked down to 99 cents. This color lives up to its name. I'm already picturing the starry night manicure that I could do with this beauty.

On to number four: Wet 'n' Wild "Grape Minds Think Alike". All of the Wet 'n' Wilds were 99 cents. This one doesn't remind me of grapes at all. It's much more berry-like in color, which is precisely what I wanted. This could potentially be a one-coater, but I used two for the swatch.

Number five is Wet 'n' Wild "Ready to Propose". This is a nice, simple gold. It's a hair or two lighter than Sally Hansen "Golden-I". I bought this because I really want a good gold for water marbling, and I think the Nabi I purchased isn't going to work. 

The last polish is Wet 'n' Wild "Sparked". I've been eyeballing this for a while now, but I tend to shy away from glitters. I finally decided to snatch it up and I'm glad I did. This is a very dense (though not quite "Studette" dense) pink and silver glitter. I believe the base is a very light pink, but don't quote me on that. The swatch is two coats, and I think it could easily be opaque if you used the sponging method.

And that concludes my hundred dollar haul. But wait! Wanna see what my mommy got for me? Yes, I'm now 38 years old and my mom still spoils me rotten. 

I don't have any prices on this stuff, 'cause, y'know... that'd be rude to ask. But I wanted to share all the fabulous goodies I got for my birthday!

First up, because my Born Pretty tracking said that my package was still in Asia, my mom got me a BundleMonster double-sided clear stamper (with caps!). I've already tried this puppy out, and I love it. The only (minor) negative is that in order to see through it, you have to take out the end that you're not using. I worry that that may shorten the life of the head. Otherwise, though, it stamps like a dream. It also came with two card-scrapers, which I have discovered I like better than the standard scrapers.

She also got me two more pump bottles that are much quieter and that are safe for acetone! Yay! Now I just have to figure out what I'll put in the second bottle. 

The last nail-related item she got me was a set of five stamping plates from Nicole Diary. Regrettably, they're not the best. They're very thin. So far I haven't had much luck picking up the images even with stamping polish. I'm hoping the Born Pretty stamper is sticky enough to help. There are some cute images on the plates that I'd really like to make use of!

Alright, this long ass post is finally done! Next up? Delectable Diamonds!

Frilly French

Short story time!

It's 12:30 at night. I have to be up at 8 to go to work. I'm exhausted, and I know my son will be waking up soon for mommy milk. I need to go to bed. But...

...My nails are bare. 

Oh no!!

That is simply unacceptable. I must do something with them. Something quick and easy. Stamping? No... too messy. Watermarble? Ha! No way. Gradient? Uhmmm no. Something with striping tape? Pbbt. Might as well stay up all night if I wanted to do that. Plain polish? Hmm... tempting, but I just did that. What can I doooo?

Aha! French tip! Quick, easy, classy. 

I slap down some Bridge the Ridge and make a grab for my Finger Paints "Paper Mache". I'm halfway through my second coat when I hear my little guy stirring in the next room.

Shit! Dry faster, paint faster! Faster, faster, faster!

Finally the second coat is on and dry. The youngin' seems to have gone back to sleep. Whew! Disaster averted. I snag the Seche Vite. We're in the home stretch! First four nails, done! Twist the hand to get the thumb...

FACK!!

I've smudged my middle nail... Appropriate, since I'm now cursing and flipping off random inanimate objects in the room. 

But it's now 1 a. m.  Screw it. I need sleep. I finish top coating the rest of the nails. I can do something more with the mani tomorrow after my ten hour shift. 

I double check to ensure the Seche Vite is dry, change into my jammies, and crawl into bed. After a bit of flip-flopping to get comfy and to make sure I won't get sheet marks on my nails, I close my eyes and prepare to surrender to dreams.

And, of course, that's the very instant my son wakes up crying for his next meal. 

Sigh. The joys of motherhood...

The end!

But, thankfully, not the end of the mani!

The next day at work I kept trying to think of something that would add a little pizazz and also help me cover up that smudge. Then I remembered something that I had seen Yagala do... a frilly, fancy french tip using stamping. 

Game on! I used BundleMonster's XL-06 plate and the same polish I had used for my tips. This was the end result: 

It's a bit more... delicate than I'm used to, but I liked it nonetheless. Besides, it distracted from the smudge nicely. Though, if my brain wasn't so sleep deprived, I probably could have done some "polish surgery", as Colette calls it. Ah well, live and learn.

Next up? Target treasures!

BundleMonster Booty

Greetings folks!

Today I'll be going over the BundleMonster goodies I ordered from Walmart.com a couple of weeks ago.

First up we have the BundleMonster stamping plates. I got a collection of ten extra large stamping plates for $31.99 with free shipping. There are twelve full size images--images that cover the entire nail--per plate. That's a total of 120 images to choose from. Break down the math and that equates to just under 27 cents per image. Good luck finding a Konad plate for that price! Generally speaking, Konad plates tend to go for around a dollar per image.

I got the ten-piece XL set #1, BM-XL01 through XL10. There are also sets #2 and #3 available for the $31.99. They have other sets available as well, but these are the best deal in my opinion.

These aren't your typical "cheap", shoddily made, so-thin-you'll-cut-yourself plates. BundleMonster puts out some high quality stuff, and these plates are no exception. They have a sturdy plastic backing and arrive at your door with the blue protective film. They stamp very well, even with most regular polishes.

I also snagged the BundleMonster Creative Art Polish Set #3 for $11.99. There are six stamping polishes in this set, putting each .4 oz bottle at $2. Not too shabby, right?

This is their "metallic" set of stamping polishes. Going from left to right, we have: "Wavelengths", which is a nice royal blue metallic; "Optical Illusion", which is a metallic purple; "Seeing Rainbows", which is a spunky--yet not all that metallic in my opinion--pink; the burnt orange/coppery metallic "Visionary"; a deep burnished gold called "Electromagnetic"; and finally "Chromo", which to me looks much more gunmetal than chrome.  And then as an added bonus, there's the cat hair that always makes a cameo in my photos...

Also, if you're curious which stamper I use, it's the Winstonia double-sided semi-squishy stamper. I paid $4.95 for this, but unfortunately the price has gone up a bit since then. I believe they're now either $5.45 or $5.95. You might be able to snag one on ebay for cheaper, though. I'd kind of like to get a colored head since stamping white polish is a bit tricky, but that's a luxury I'll probably have to pass on.

Anyhow, I'd recommend the aforementioned BundleMonster plates and polishes to anyone. They work very, very well and can add a lot of dimension to your manis. If you're anything like me and can't freehand paint to save your ass--not even stick figures--then stamping is definitely the way to go.


Next up? Golden glittery goodness!