Marianne Nails 2nd Collection Nail Art Stamping Plate Review

Happy Saturday everyone!

Press Sample

I hope everyone is having a great weekend and able to stay dry and warm.  Since the weather is so glum around these parts its the perfect time to sit back and enjoy another epic Lacquer Lockdown style plate review!  Today I'm going to be reviewing plates from the second series release of Marianne Nails.   You can view all of the plates from this release here.  If my memory serves me correctly I believe these plates didn't release until late December of 2014 though I announced them here in October.  I had been anticipating their arrival with something approaching glee, but customs and the USPS held things up a bit which is what kept me from posting this review initially when they arrived at the end January.  Now as usual with my reviews everything is broken up into to sections so feel free to scan through, and don't forget sharing and feedback is caring ;)

Marianne Nails

Run by the capable, kind, and creative mastermind Ghislaine DeBray Marianne Nails is the France based nail art stamping company that hit the scene a little over a year ago and has been thriving ever since.  From my first review these plates have been whimsical, fun, and unique.  The etching was superb and the customer service flawless.  To date Ghislaine has released somewhere around 95 plates not including the XXL plates.  The first series afforded us a more welcome to my brand feel. Different from what other companies offered with a bit of bread and butter thrown in for good measure.  This second release offers us a bit more insight into Ghislaine's creative drives while showing us just what happens when she turns up the dial on her passion for design.  I don't know about you but I'm loving it!

The Plates

This time around Ghislaine changed up her whole visual scheme for the plates.  Instead of coming with the bubblegum pink backing of the first series with the blue and brown external envelopes we get a whole new concept.  Plates in this release come in the large black and white embossed and be-ribboned envelopes you see above.  They are attached on white sliding paper placards that are removed to reveal now white backing.  The whole feel of the plates is super duper elegant.

Sleeve and Packaging

Front

Back

When you pull the sleeve out of cover the plate is attached to the card with double sided tape.   Each card contains the individual number of the plate as well as the run number.

Image Size Comparison

The image size on Marianne Nails plates tend to measure  2.0 x 1.6 cm length by width but they can and do get larger with the infinity/landscape/buffet style plates.  These days it's a bit of a breeze for me to show you comparisons of different image sizes across brands since I made my large chart.  For now I'll mention my common brands as a point of comparison, but if you are interested in a broader comparison across many brands you can click here to view a comprehensive chart I created with measurements from most brands of stamping plates.  

Bunny Nails HD B: 2.5 x 2.0 cm
Cici & Sisi: 2.0 x 1.5 cm
Fab Ur Nails FUN 14: 2.2 x 1.7 cm
Messy Mansion: 2.3 x 1.8 cm
MoYou London Pro (Non-XL): 1.5 x 1.3 cm 
MoYou London Pro (XL):  2.2 x 1.6 cm
MyOnline Shop MJVIII: 2.2 x 1.7 cm
Pet'la: 2.4 x 2.0 cm 
Vivid Lacquer: 2.0 x 2.0 cm

Swatches

As usual with my reviews I swatched out the images I using Wet N' Wild Black Creme and either my gold standard XL marshmallow stamper from Bunny Nails (4 years old) or as in this case my marshmallow stamper from Magno Nails (larger diameter for stamping).  I only switch to Konad Special Stamping polish or Mundo de Unas in the event I am unable to pick up an image which I didn't have to do with any of these images. 

I'm watermarking my swatches more consistently now because I have found my swatches posted on various sites with my watermarks removed as if they were someone else's.   I put a lot of hard work into these reviews and having someone else take credit for that work isn't really something that appeals to me :/  But let me know if you think they should be a little less opaque since I'm playing around with them a bit to see what will work best.

Again for those that don't know 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 that it can support stamping with a polish that is not meant for that purpose.

Stamping Polish Comparison

Next up is the stamping polish comparison which is still highly requested.  If you have other brands of polishes you'd like me to include in the future let me know and if I have them I will add them in! This section is just what it sounds like I compare how 2 selected images across the plates I reviewed stamp across a variety of brands of polish.  For well etched plates this usually makes no difference i.e. you will see the images stamp crisply across every single brand of polish including those that are not created with the intention to stamp.  As you may know from my prior reviews I've never had an issue with the etching of plates I received from Marianne Nails so as you can image these swatches are also quite flawless across all brands.

Stamping Polish Key:
WnW = Wet N' Wild Black Creme
WnW FM = Wet N' Wild Fantasy Makers
Konad = Konad Special Stamping Polish in Black Gold
Rica = Rica in Blackout
FAB = Fab Ur Nails in Black
SH InstaDri = Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Rapid Red
Moon  = Moon Nails Supply (color name? came in the metallics mini set)
MdU = Mundo de Unas in Black (#2)
Handy = Handy Nails in Wine
CC FOIL = Color Club Foiled in

Final Impression

So here we are at the finish line.  I have to say that this collection from Ghislaine in general really made my heart soar.  If the first collection was an introduction to her style the second is an homage to her artistry.  A lot of plates in this second set made me go "I absolutely have to have this plate or die trying!"  It was that serious and when I look at the swatches I know why.  Lol  I tried to choose plates here across a variety of styles that would appeal to different tastes but the truth is everything made by this company is  superb.  The level of detailing that goes even into the packaging is beyond astounding.  And I can say with confidence that this is the ONLY company on the market that personalizes each individual plate shipped to buyers to this degree.   Combine that with flawless etching, eye catching designs, reasonable pricing, and insane customer service and you have to ask yourself what in the hell you are waiting for if you haven't bought these plates already!

Has it been a year since I discovered this brand?  I don't think so but I seriously cannot wait to see what more Marianne Nails has in store for us because if prior collections have been any indication its going to be INSANE.  I also can't wait to create some nail art with these plates especially the avian plate and the landscape ones so stay tuned for that.  You can purchase Marianne Nails plates on her webstore (click the link in pink).  Each plate retails for 6.50 Euros (which let me tell you is significantly cheaper than MOYou London prices since its in Euros and not GBP).

While you are over there you should also check out her XXL plates which I will also be reviewing soon, but they are a huge bargain for the number of images you get!  And finally while sleuthing around on the site I found out they also stock some of those jelly soft stamping pads that I reviewed a while ago!  So in short better get shopping lol.  Thanks for reading and please don't forget to leave any comments or questions you may have!  I also love hearing about others experiences with these plates.  Happy hunting and I'll see you next post....

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