Stampicure of the Week: Blizzard

I had a hankering to try Zoya Kristen this week because (as you may know) the Midwest was pummelled by a blizzard the day after Christmas. I thought that Kristen would be the perfect wintery weather blue and I was so right. I knew there was a reason I bought this a long time ago!

I had to add some snowflake stamps to it! I used the Bundlemonster 2012 set's full nail snowflake design and HB23, a cheapie plate I got from a Chinese company awhile back. 

I stamped all but the ring finger in Konad White and then did the ring with Pure Ice Silver Mercedes. I used the HB plate to add little snowflakes in the opposite stamping color over the full nail design. 

I am pretty darn proud of this one. My nails have been really suffering from my job and the holiday season (even before Thanksgiving) has been suuuuuuper busy and totally crazy. I hope to have more time to devote to my nails and blogging again!

Nail Stickers -- A Review

I bought some nail strips from ebay ohhhh 3 months ago and have just now decided to wear them. I felt like they were a trial-run type thing and I wanted to use them for a "special occasion" which turned out to be just another boring day. Oh well, I can accurately describe how they wore through a boring day and at work!

Here they are on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nail-Polish-Strips-Nail-Art-Stickers-Nail-Decals-Foil-6180-/130728046705?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item6422b91a7a

I got design J-074 which is an Eastern European type floral design. I LOVE IT! Reminds me of Russian art pendants.

The package:

Now, I don't usually like to make fun of poor English too much because I know that we Americans are not terribly good at foreign languages ourselves. I was a little confused as to what the protective layer was and then I realized it was the little sheet of plastic that had fallen off of them when I opened my package in September. ><

I began by laying down a thick base coat first. Please do this when using nail stickers. You don't want to pull up your nail when you remove these!

2 coats Seche (also, got this cuticle salve on Birchbox with a credit long ago and it smells SO GOOD even if it isn't terribly moisturizing)

They work really well, surprisingly enough. They aren't nail polish but stickers (unlike the Sally Hansen strips). You really have to burnish them as you lay them down and once they are on -- but it is easy to do. Once they were on (curvy side toward eponychium for me) I could push down the ends and then push them off with an orange stick or cuticle nippers. Then I buffed the edges to get the rest of the sticker sealed over the edge. I HATE when I see nail stickers put on with a weird gap or hanging edge near the free edge :( I just know they will be ripped off.

These will not work well for someone who has a C curve to their nails. I have no C curve at all unless I buff the edges of my nails downwards, which I do when I have bad peelies. 

The strips lasted about 2-3 days. I took them off after a shower by peeling them off when everything was moist and damp. The base coat I had used under the stickers was dyed HOT PINK. O_O I have no idea why. It was so weird. There was a faint yellow tinge to my nails when I used remover on the base coat but it went away. I had no nail damage but the stickers did bubble and start to peel off after 2 days. One chipped on the side in the 2nd day. 

Verdict: 

Not really suitable for those with a C curve OR for a multi-day manicure. I would only use these again for a special occasion.