Palm Tree Nails

My friend showed me this pic of Alexa Chung's nails and asked me how easy it would be to get the look, so I  grabbed my white nail polish and Konad plates to give it a shot:

I used three coats of China Glaze White on White and stamped the palm tree from fauxnad plate M01 (or B70).  The green fronds are Konad special polish and the trunk is China Glaze Unplugged.  I know the shape of the palm trees look different from Alexa's (hers were probably free handed with acrylic paint) but with my lack of coordination, Konad was the best I could manage.

Review: Shany Fauxnad Plates

Edit (4/11): Please note this review was written in January 2011 when the price was $15.  As of April, it looks like the price on Amazon has gone up significantly (~$38) and it may continue to fluctuate.

I'm always on the lookout for a good deal on fauxnad plates to add to my collection, and I saw a new "brand" pop up on Amazon in December called Shany.  The Shany plates looked similar to the Bundle Monster plates but they were selling for a little cheaper ($15 vs. $18) and came with four more plates (25 plates vs. 21 plates).  I was curious so I went ahead and ordered them, since I wouldn't mind having dupes of some Bundle Monster plates that I've lost.

As I suspected, 21 of the 25 plates are identical to the Bundle Monster set, numbered B1 through B21.  Here are pics of the 4 "extra" plates:

As far as I can tell the metal is the same quality as the Bundle Monster plates, though one of my plates wasn't cut properly and looked like the machine had taken a bite out of it:

If you already have the Bundle Monster set then the Shany plates are duplicative, but if you were thinking of buying Bundle Monster I'd recommend these.  60 cents a plate is a pretty tough deal to beat, especially considering original Konad plates sell for ~10x that at $7 a plate.  Though I don't think the Bundle Monster / Shany plates work quite as well as Konad, the majority of images do work and the quality is fairly close.

As always with fauxnad plates, remember to remove the thin layer of plastic on top and be careful of the sharp edges.  I've accidentally cut myself on the edge of a fauxnad plate before, which I didn't believe was possible until it actually happened to me.

Hope that's helpful!  Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

OPI Baby It's Coal Outside

Above is Baby It's Coal Outside from OPI, which is a black polish with silver microglitter.  I stamped a silver flower pattern from Bundle Monster plate BM12 using China Glaze Millenium but I don't think it was an ideal combination.  I really liked this pattern but I think it looks a little grainy due to the shimmer / glitter in the base color.

OPI Ink - Matte & Glossy

I wanted something cute and elegant for my manicure today so I used OPI Ink with silver flowers and rhinestones.  OPI Ink is a gorgeous dark purple shimmer.  I muted the shine with matte top coat and then stamped a flower pattern from Bundle Monster octagon plate M02 (Konad m6) along the side of each nail in silver.  For the finishing touch I added a tiny rhinestone on each flower.  I'm secretly crazy about rhinestones but I have trouble incorporating them in wearable looks.

Above is what OPI Ink typically looks like.  As you can see, it has a very intense shimmer.  After putting it on I decided to go matte because I really wanted to use Konad with rhinestones and I was afraid the combination would be too much.

This picture is right after applying the matte top coat, before I started stamping.  I love how quickly matte top coat dries.  I've tried a few brands of matte top coat and so far I like Essie's and Rescue Beauty Lounge's the best.

Continue Reading . . .

Jade Is The New Black

I was never much of a fan of green nail polish until I saw Jade Is The New Black from OPI's Hong Kong Collection.  It's a nice dark green that's eye catching without being over the top.  I experimented a little with incorporating a holiday theme by stamping a poinsettia on one finger:

In the design above, the white base color is OPI She's Golden, which is a pearlescent white with subtle gold shimmer.  I used the poinsettia from Bundle Monster octagon plate M57 using Konad polish in red and green.  I wanted to try something different on my other hand so I used the houndstooth pattern from Konad plate m63 in white below:

Not sure how I feel about the houndstooth but it was fun to try!

OPI Yodel Me On My Cell

My sister is visiting for the holidays and she wanted a manicure using OPI Yodel Me On My Cell, which is a turquoise blue shimmer from the new Swiss Collection.  I just picked it up a few days ago and I think it's a great color.

The gold vine pattern is from Bundle Monster plate BM20 using China Glaze 2030.

Continue Reading . . .

Holiday Nails Pt. 1

Winter is such a great season for nails--I love playing with darker tones, reds, and metallics.  Today I'm wearing one of my favorite deep reds, OPI's Little Red Wagon, which is from the 2008 Holiday in Toyland collection.  I thought it could use a little embellishment so I stamped a design from Bundle Monster (fauxnad) plate BM11 using China Glaze 2030.  The design reminds me of Christmas lights--perfect for the holidays!