Proud Beauty Bloggers Of Color Present: Orange

Hey lacqueristas,

This is an inaugural post for me! I joined this group about a month ago when it first started called Proud Beauty Bloggers of Color.  The concept is pretty simple -  it's just many women of a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds that blog about beauty.  Now I'm not sure I classify myself as a "beauty" blogger per say, but somehow they invited me along anyway which I thought was really nice.  I missed out on the groups first post so I thought I couldn't miss this months theme which was a manicure devoted to the color orange.  My regular viewers already know that's like a no-brainer for me since I love orange and own a lot more of the shade than is probably common in my polish collection! And of course I could never just choose one. So here's what I came up with....

I am holding a coral bottle because my camera went insane when I tried holding up my nails and the orange bottle simultaneously :/

Hot Off The Stamping Press: MoYou London Tropical Collection Expansion!

Happy hump day lacqueristas,

How's everyone doing? I feel like this week is flying and as usual for Wednesday it's time for another release from MoYou London.  This week they are expanding on the Tropical Collection that released last week (you can see those plates here).  The release was wildly popular apparently and I read several reports of ladies having problems getting onto the site and also of the plates being sold out at one point. Currently that are all up and available again so the site must have restocked, but I this collection is hitting a lot of hearts hard lol my own included.

Say hey to Coral again! I don't know she's still talking about quitting jobs and flying away, but I say keep yours and save all your money for plates and polishes ;)

Hot Off The Stamping Press: Nailways Back To Basics Nail Art Stamping Plates!

Hey stamperistas,

Remember how I said the press is sizzling? It really is and because it's so hot I am a bit behind in all the plates that have launched over the last few weeks, but I'm doing my best to catch up and stay on top of them for everyone!  Today's post is all about Nailways.  I really like this company though I'm not sure I've put up too much art from them so I'll have to rectify that.  This Danish based company has about 6 Collections out to date and I have all of them except their new Back To Basics Collection which launched about 2 weeks ago so let's take a look....

As usual this is a collection that consists of 4 individual plates that have different concepts as a part of one underlying theme.  In this case the collection is just what it sounds like - basic images and designs that can be used in various ways.  First up is the 123 ABC font plate.   IMO probably one of the most useful and dynamic plates I've seen in a while because essentially you can mix and match the letters and they give you various sizes to work with -in the range of small, medium, and large - smart.

Next up is the the Block It plate.  Essentially a plate that pays homage to block shapes and has a lot of interlocking block abstract patterns as well as single images.  Another plate which IMO has a great deal of potential depending on how it's used.  I like this one a lot actually!

Lines plate.  Exactly what it sounds like honestly this whole collection is very smart and in blogging about it it's made me want all the plates even more because of the variety of ways in which I could redesign the patterns of these plates into nail art.

Shape That plate is a bit more flexible with the theme.  I dislike that there is a repeated full nail pattern on this plate from the Block it plate.  This one is cute but probably my least favorite amongst the 4 plates.

What do you think?  I feel like this is a very simple release with very well thought out images.  What I would consider a excellent set in the arsenal of a new or seasoned stamper if you want your basic shapes all on a few plates and from one collection.  These days that's important to me.  I probably have about 5 different plates with letters all different sizes and fonts and no with the variety seen here in one single plate.  The great part about Nailways s that you can purchase the plates individually or as a collection.  These plates retail for 3.95 Euro per plate or you can get the entire set for 14.95 Euros. Plates can be purchased here.  Happy hunting ladies and thanks for reading!  I'll see you next post....

Hot Off The Stamping Press: Pet'la Plate Summer 2014 Nail Art Stamping Plates!

Hiya stamp champs,

I am trying to space out all the new nail art stamping plates that will be releasing or have released recently so as not to overwhelm your wallet and your brain. Lol! There are a lot of good ones out lately right?  Today I'm gonna talk about one of my favorite new brands Pet'la Plate, the indie Hungarian brand with the beautiful gold toned plates, that I introduced here.  The truth is this brand has been around for a little bit so even though I recently discovered them.   Petra, the owner, has already been quietly gearing up to introduce her latest collection - Summer 2014.  And lucky duckies that we are there's also a little promotion going on simultaneously to sweeten the deal, but I'll talk about that a bit later.  For now let's take a look at the new offerings.

Aloha is a Hawaiian themed plate packed full of images that are nostalgic of summer - beaches, shade, shells, etc.  I find this plate to be perfect for the the current season plus you all know I love ocean themed plates!

Summerics is a bit  more of the same Hawaiian theme.  I love this plate for the sunset image alone and the palm trees!

OhNomNom is exactly what it sounds like.  A plate aimed at those with a sweet tooth and a love of fruit.  I'd put this one in the basic category as in good general images to own in your stash if you don't have them already.  Kudos to the martini image - I like my dirty and dry with extra olives ;)

Golden Russian is a plate that reminds me of the kind of designs that initially drew me to the Pet'la brand. Don't get me wrong a brand needs room to grow and I love everything I've see so far but.. Bold, abstract and in your face - lol I like these designs the best. And this one is perfection from top to bottom!

Tu-Turkey-Key.  Oh my.  Be still my heart! I absolutely adore this plate like the  title it is utterly intricate and utterly beautiful!

Oorie.  Seriously another heart stoppingly beautiful plate.  Super detailed and I love it!

Puzzles.  Exactly what it sounds like - mazes, detailed abstracts, puzzles, brains and patterns.  Lol this is a plate that has a lot of offer.  Image in the top row 4th from the left is so intricate! I like the one a lot. The brain is perfect for Halloween ;)  Lol yes I am thinking that far ahead.

Seven Sins.  Hmm this one for me is a little different.  I like the mirrors, horses and guns. Lol  yeah I'm strange. But those pistols are perfect for some spagetti western themed nail art ;)

Shenanigans.  Strong finish lol.  I actually already own this plate since I purchased the first set during a group buy and had the opportunity to pick up one more for the road.  This plate is gorgeous.  I love the text and the animal print the tribal.  Pretty much everything!

So what do you think? Pet'la has a pretty awesome deal going on right now where if you purchase 4 plates you get a fifth random one for free (the Summer 2014 plates will be excluded from this random selection).  If you buy 8 plates you'll get 2 plates for free with the same caveat. Not bad eh? This is basically like saying you get free shipping on your plates since shipping to the US is roughly $9-10 USD.  You have to enter the code - WOHOO2014  to your order to receive your free plates.  Plates retail for $10.65 USD per plate.  They can be purchased here.  You can follow Pet'la on Facebook for the latest updates as well.  Happy hunting and I'll see you next post...

Hot Off The Stamping Press: New DRK Nails XL Designer Series Plates!

Hey stamp champs,

Happy Saturday!   I'm bringing you a little good cheer this morning as well!  If you follow me on Facebook (which you really should - yes shameless self promotion) you might have seen the the two plates I'm going to talk about a little bit today since I shared them as soon as they went up.  As you know I'm deep into my infatuation with the newly revamped DRK Nails and their Designer Series plates.  Well low and behold when I looked up Friday they released two more plates from the same series in XL configuration and boy do they impress!

You just feel like you died and went to heaven didn't you? I mean how can a plate be so EPIC!!! What's more this is the largest landscape/full image/infinity style plate I have ever laid my eyes on.  Lol sorry Pueen not even the Encore collection can't stand up to this massive beauty.  And what's more the detailing once again looks exquisite.  I can't stop staring at this gorgeous plate! How about you?

I want to talk a little bit more about this plate for a couple of reasons.  First  and foremost, this plate is dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi, and if you know your patron saints well (or attended enough Catholic institutions like myself) you'd know he's the patron saint of animals.  This plate has been a very close to the hearts of the designer Ana Clara Prado and owner Katia Ferrera. $2 of every purchase of this plate will go toward a Brazilian organization called Sulpa which assists in rescuing abandoned animals.   I also want to urge you to take a look at this plate on the website using the magnifier as the picture does absolutely no justice ins displaying how beautiful and intricate the designs on this plate are. I will be honest even I hesitated when seeing this plate until I did that and after seeing them I was blown away!

Thoughts? Did you look at the Saint Francis plate up close like I advised? What did you think?  Ok now for the finer deets.  If you are Brazilian local you can purchase these plates homeside and if you are like me a US based fanatic you too can purchase these plates stateside (woot!).  They retail for $22 USD per plate + shipping.   You can purchase the plates here and again follow DRK Nails on Facebook for updates.  I was so enamored I ended up getting both.  Happy hunting stamparellas and I'll see you next post....

DRK Nails Cool Tone Abstract Nail Art

Hey varnished vixens,

Press Sample

God I can't stand all this heat! Yesterday it was well into the high nineties here in the District and honestly I wanted to melt.  So today I thought I'd cool down with a little blue tinged neutral nail art and of course as promised I wanted to take my new DRK Nails plates out for a spin.  If you didn't see it I posted a review of the 2 Designer Series plates yesterday (read here).  My impression of these plates is that they are gorgeous and affordable with some of the best etching I've seen to date.  Of course this meant I couldn't wait to play.

Mani-louge

Basecoat/Topcoat: Duri Rejuvacote / Poshe Fast Drying Topcoat

Base color: Zoya Taylor

Accent colors: Zoya Darcy, Essie Bikini So Teeny, Fashion Playground, and Find Me An Oasis, Color Club Age of Aquarius, Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac

Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas #3

Stamping plates: DRK Nails Designer Series D1 & D2

Image from lower riight hand corner is the repeating pattern

I love nudes - polish, lipsticks, and shoes! They are so flattering and they work with everything under the sun.  Because I chose Zoya Taylor as the base every other color popped by comparison.  And as I said before the detailing on these Designer plates is truly exquisite.  You can go through a lot of the manicures I've created on this blog and Instagram but you won't find anything like this!  I can't stop staring at my nails.  The pattern that's featured the most is from the DRK DS 2 plate while the accent is from the DRK DS 1 plate.

So what do you think?  I really adore how this turned out as you can tell! I only wished it was as cool outdoors as the color palette is for this mani lol.  If you're interested in purchasing the DRK Nails Designer series you can find them here for $6.50 per plate plus minimal shipping.  You can also follow DRK Nails on Facebook for updates on newly releasing plates.  Yes that's right there are whispers of new XL plates coming out soon and hopefully we'll also see an expansion of this series! I hope you enjoyed the art and I'll see you next post....

These products were sent to me for honest review.  For more information see my Disclosures Policy.

A Luxury Brand Launches: Christian Louboutin Rouge Nail Polish!

Hey lacquer ladies,

Today I just want to chat a little bit about the new line of super duper luxurious lacquer premiering from Christian Loboutin Beaute, and of course a bit about the controversial price point that has everyone raising eyebrows.  As many of my followers know I love a good Louboutin! I've designed several different manicures around them and I'm blessed and fortunate enough to own a few pair as well.  So of course I was thrilled to hear that Msr Louboutin was launching a nail polish line which in my opinion was long overdue.  At least I was until I saw that $50 price point for the first of 30 shades set to release in August.  Then I decided ok yeah $50 is way too much to spend on a single 0.4oz varnish even if it is from the master of my shoe universe.  But like a moth drawn to a flame I found I just had to do some investigations.  I wanted to know why the price point was set so high.  After all it's not the first time I've seen expensive polish - Azuture anyone?

It turns out that like everything else Msr Louboutin crafts he was extremely meticulous in this undertaking as well.  The bottle, crafted by Pochet, itself is a work of art composed of 16 facets that were hand flamed to smooth the edges.  The boxes that each polish will come in are also crafted by hand.  Apparently it takes 22 weeks alone to craft just the bottle!  Then too Msr Louboutin wanted to ensure that ladies got the most richly pigmented polish possible without the "gloop" factor aiming for quality along the lines of the most flawless Japanese lacquer. If you are interested in even more details you can read about it here.

Photo credits: George Chinsee

So what do you think after hearing a bit more about the polish? Somehow after seeing all the attention to detail and craftsmanship, even more than what I mentioned here, I can't really begrudge that $50 price tag.  I think the point of this polish is that it's supposed to be a full blown experience and the bottle much like the shoes are supposed to be showcased as a work of art.  The same way I spend more for indie nail polish - Enchanted, Liquid Sky Lacquer, Rescue Beauty Lounge, etc I have to expect that something coming from an uber luxury brand will be that much more expensive than a polish I might pick up at the local drugstore.  We pay more for the labor and individual attention indies provide to each polish they make.  Well I won't say that I will be rushing out to grab a bottle just yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if that one shade of rouge made it's way into my display cabinet with its sole sisters.  I'm really curious as to how others feel about this so please comment away! Thanks for reading and see you next post...

DRK Nails Designer Series Nail Art Stamping Plates Review

Hey stamperistas,

Press Sample

Let's just jump right into it.  You may recall my posting about DRK Nails recently reopening their doors and also coming out with a few new stamping plates along with their reopening. If not you can read about it here.  In any event I was thrilled since I missed out on a few of the XL plates with the closure of Ninja Polish and also because the new plates looked unbelievably pretty.  So today I have these two plates for review as well as a little bit of insight into my experiences with the new website. So let's get started...

DRK Nails

For a quick refresher this is a Brazilian based company run by the sweet and super responsive Katia Ferriera.  These hot little tickets of stamping awesomeness were once fairly difficult to obtain due to their location and popularity.  Once upon a time you could get them at the now closed Ninja Polish, but now a-days you can get them right here stateside from the DRK Nails shop.  This brand recently reopened doors bringing us the much coveted XL A-D plates and some new hot tamales called the Designer Series.  These beautiful plates were mainly designed by Adriana Portas and are entirely unique from any plates I've seen today.

The Plates

Each also come with a blue protective film once you remove them from the clear plastic wrap. They are backed by a hard plastic frame, similar to those that we have seen from MoYou London and the Dashica Beauty Infinity series, with a superficial DRK nails logo sticker on the back of the plate.  Let me point out to you now all the DRK Nails plates come with the new plastic hard backing.  The XL A and D plates I purchased also had them.

General Dimensions

The plates themselves measure 13 cm tall x 7 cm wide, and feature 10 full sized nail images.  These images "kiss" for lack of a better word on the plate so when I measured out the size I measured from the extreme outer edge to extreme outer edge of each design.

Full Nail Image Size Comparison

The images do vary a bit as you can see, but the full sized images for these plates measure 3.0 x 2.0 cm (length x width). Most of the images have a little border surrounding them that is the same for every image. I did include that border in the measurement of the length.  Regardless even without the borders these plates are going to work well for anyone with medium to long length nails.  As usual I included a few other full nail image sizes below so that you can compare brands.

MoYou London Plate Pro 08 (non-XL) - 1.5 x 1.3 cm
MoYou London Plates  Explorer 10 (XL) - 2.2 x 1.6 cm
Bunny Nails HD B -  2.0 x 2.5 cm
MJ Plate VIII - 1.7 x 2.2 cm
Fab Ur Nails Fun 2 - 1.7 x 2.2 cm
Vivid Lacquer 007 - 2.0 x 2.0 cm 
Cheeky Jumbo 2013 - 2.0 x 1.5 cm
Bundle Monster CYO - 1.9 x 1.7 cm
Cici & Sisi - 2.0 x 1.5 cm

The Images

As with all my reviews when swatching out the images I used Wet N' Wild Black Creme.  For a change I did not use and my gold standard XL marshmallow stamper from Bunny Nails (3 years prior), but instead used my Magno Nails stamper which is also a marshmallow stamper.  The reason I chose to do this is that I wanted to increase the amount of image I was picking up per swatch and the Magno Nails stamper has a bigger diameter.  I did not require  Konad Special Stamping polish or Mundo de Unas for these plates as the etching was superb.  Don't forget you can click on the images to enlarge them for greater detail and clarity.

Note: I want to say this clearly after engaging in some discussions about stamping and quality of images and plates in general.  The reason I choose to stamp with Wet N' Wild Black Creme for my swatches is because it's cheap and readily available. Furthermore it is the lowest quality polish I can use for stamping.  What does that mean? It means I don't expect images generated by WnW to have near the clarity of those generated using a polish designated for stamping.  Stamping polishes allow an image to stamp with even more clarity and crispness than regular polish.  Period.  In short if I have a plate that stamps well with WnW polish this is my assurance that indeed the etching on these plates is excellent enough to support stamping with a polish that is not meant for that purpose.

Final Impression

This is the second review I've put out in about as many weeks that has plates that are absolute flawless. In fact these plates are etched so fantastically and required so little effort for me to pick up and transfer that it was almost ridiculous!  It's been a while since I've had such effortless stamping in a new to me brand.  Once again I didn't have to use one trick, change polishes, or switch to a even softer marshmallow stamper.  This is another example of an owner that was extremely meticulous when it came to production and their tester plates, and the quality of these plates is truly a testament to that.

I'm not sure how these designs will translate on the smaller nail crowd as they are quite large but they are so beautiful I'd think it'd be worth the undertaking.  One thing that really blew me away with these plates is just how freaking crisp every single image was transferring considering I was using Wet N' Wild!  Another piece of great news for you stamping fanatics?  DRK Nails products are now stateside. Yup that right and the shipping is crazy reasonable.  We are talking $2-3 and the first class option also comes with tracking at no extra cost.  Unbelievably affordable pricing for shipping right?

So basically I just talked a good game.  You might be wondering given these were sent for review whether you can adhere to what I say regarding these plates.  The answer is yes.  The minute the shop opened I rushed to get XL plates A and D which were missing from my collection and yes they are equally superb.  Plus I let my swatches do the talking and as you can see they are on point.

You can find DRK Nails plates here. You can also keep updated on the latest and greatest from the brand via Facebook.  The designer plates retail for $6.50 USD + shipping and the larger XL plates are $22 USD + shipping.  They are all currently available for purchase.  I hope you enjoyed this review and stay tuned for some nail art using these pretty plates. P.S. I also took the liberty of purchasing a few of the new DRK stamping polishes so stay tuned for that review as well. Thanks for reading and happy hunting!  I'll see you next post....

P.P.S.  If you are having issues with your order you can email DRK Nails at contact@drknails.com

These products were sent for my honest review for more information please see my Disclosure Policy.

Hot Off The Stamping Press: MoYou London Tropical Collection

Happy hump day lacqueristas,

In the spirit of moving on with the week I've got the latest collection and set of plates that will be released by MoYou London this Friday.  Yay welcome the newest collection to the MoYou family - the Tropical Collection.   Honestly I'm crazy excited for this collection as the plates are so cute and utterly appropriate for the summer.  Plus the mascot and I have very similar hair ;)

Say hello to Coral.  She has some silly rules regarding vacationing and the like, according to MoYou, but she a super chill lady ;)

Ohhh they started out on a super strong point!  Several ladies in one of my stamping groups said this plate looks similar to the style of Dashica Beauty Infinity series plates.  It's about how the motifs are laid out rather than interconnected as MoYou often does.  However I will say since MoYou is the company that created the landscape/full plate image/Infinity style plates this is just more of the same of what they've always been excellent at.  Furthermore, as much as I love my Infinity plates I truly don't believe the Dashica plates ever quite hit a uniform theme in one cohesive image i.e. there will always been some random elements thrown in there - fairy castles, tigers, etc.

For the smaller nail ladies some feathering leaves and more floral motifs.  I love it enough to heavily inspect the XL version and make sure none of the images are missing from those that are here!



As soon as I saw this collection Fiona Apple's song Bird of Paradise popped into my head.  These plates are a hot knife and I am a pat of butter.  Dangerous...

The feathers are glorious! I must have this plate absolutely MUST!!!

Oy I am really in love with this plate though essentially this is the non XL version of the above images! It's so pretty and has loads of potential for decaling. Sometimes I get the smaller images for accents and my smaller nails.  Also the time in which I will have to rock shorties is right around the corner...
.

Yes! That is all just yes! Oh and give me please :)

So what do you think?  I have to say despite having the cheeky jumbo tropical plate and other plates with these themes these are the best by far that I've ever seen.  I love how they chose to mix in the birds and the feathers as well.  It was love at first click.  In any case as usual plates retail for 4.99 GBP.  Shipping is currently free to the US and Canada.  You can also use my code "Tamira10" to save 10% if you haven't used it already.  These plates will release Friday morning on the MoYou London website.  Happy stamping ladies and thanks for reading!  I'll see you next post...

Travel Nail Art feat Winstonia On The Road Nail Art Stamping Plate

Happy travels lacqueristas,

Press Sample

I've been wanting to get this post up for what feels like way too long.  In fact I've only had it for 2 weeks, but alas too much has been going on and my camera chose an inopportune time to flake out on me.  Oy!  In any event today I have some cutesy travel nail art for you using one of the new Winstonia Store plates called On The Road.  You may recall I reviewed this plate about two weeks ago along with the Wedding Bliss plate (here).  Since then Winstonia has released about 4 or 5 more plates that I adored and purchased, but for today it's happy trails to you and all that...

How cute is the boat?

Mani-louge

Basecoat / Topcoat: Duri Rejuvacote / Poshe Fast Drying Top Coat

Base color: Essie Find Me An Oasis

Accent colors: Essie Sand Tropez, Orly Glitz

Stamping Polish: Mundo de Unas #1, #2, #

Stamping plate: Winstonia On The Road

What do you think?  You could totally make this a destination nail art by incorporating some other motifs into the design using other Winstonia plates.  My favorite part of this mani is the little stamp that reads "Passport to Winstonia"  Lol it looks so cute and so official at the same time!  I had a lot of fun playing with this plate What I love about these little Winstonia plates is that there are literally so many different types you can purchase depending on the art you want to create.  I just got that barbecue one and I can't wait to use it! Anyhoo these plates retail for $4.99 USD + shipping.  You can save 15% using this link here.  Happy stamping lacqueristas and see you next post....

This product was sent to me for honest review for more information see my Disclosures Policy.

Summer Leopard Gradient Nail Art feat Marianne Nails Stamping Plates

Hey lacqueristas,

It feels like it's been way too long since I've posted any nail art! In the meantime I have been firing off post after post of stamping plates that have been releasing one after the other like a mad woman!  I can think of at least 3 big brands that will have new releases coming in the next 2 weeks and there are still more and more out there! Insanity right?  In any case after posting my review for the Marianne Nails plates, you can read that here, I have been itching to take some of my plates out for a test drive!  So that's what today is all about...

Mani-louge

Basecoat / Topcoat: Duri Rejuvacote / Poshe Fast Drying Topcoat / Essie Matte About You

 Gradient: Zoya Cole and Thandie and Essie Geranium

Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas # 1

Stamping plate: Marianne Nails MN13

Accents: 3mm nail art studs from Born Pretty

I took one of the most basic plates of the many I purchased from Marianne Nails and created magic using a technique that I always fall back on for beautiful simplicity - gradients.  I love how a gradient can transform simple nail art into something complex, and of course you know I love leopard print.

The only thing that could make this better is if I played around with the tribal patterns on the same plate. Ahem and of course I did which means I created essentially 2 different manicures just by changing the accent nail. I'm a little mad because right as I was getting ready to take the picture I banged the tip of my accent nail.  Sigh...

What do you think?  I love how this turned out especially the matte formulation! I also got a lot of compliments on this mani particularly the variation with the studs.  You'll be seeing a lot more nail art on the blog using my new Marianne Nails plates, but if you are interested in purchasing these you can find them here for 6.50 Euros.  It's good to be back to stamping it's been way too long even though it's only been a week or so.  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post...