ABC Challenge - M is for Model's Own featuring Born Pretty Stamping Plates

 Press Sample

 *Product(s) Featured provided for review. Please see Disclaimer/Legal Page for more information** 

Hello Lovelies! I meant to have this post up yesterday, but man! The universe had other plans. Not only was my computer having issues with my photos (figured out that my memory was full and I had to get rid of a TON of stuff), but the response to Kalli's story has been...well, incredible. I never dreamed that so many people would be touched by her story and what she has been through. I'm so grateful that people have been sharing it and taking it to heart. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. I am just overwhelmed by all of your supportive and wonderful comments. This community is just wonderful and I am so blessed to be a part of it. 

Today's ABC Challenge post is brought to you by the letter "M". Since it is still Autism Awareness Month, I went for another blue shade, Model's Own Aqua Violet. 

Aqua Violet is a gorgeous duochrome shade that shifts from a stunning teal blue to purple. I've been sitting on this polish for a good year now, and this was the perfect opportunity to try it out.  I also knew from the moment that I saw this polish that I wanted to use a cheetah stamp with it. I recently received this really cool stamping plate from Born Pretty Store that has an awesome cheetah image. I used that plate and Konad black to stamp the cheetah image, and I am very happy with the results!

This is also my first tie stamping my stilettos, and I'm over the moon with how it turned out. I was hesistant to go full stiletto (my left hand is squared, even after my huge break and with nubbins) since I wasn't sure how they would look stamped and I love stamping enough to not want to give it up.  Now that I've stamped them, I'm leaning more towards going stiletto on both hands!

This is 3 coats of Model's Own Aqua Violet, stamped with Born Pretty Plate QA8 and Konad Black:

     


























Look at that duochrome! Love!! I think this is one of my top duochromes ever. And I really dig it stamped!

I was also very impressed with the Born Pretty Store stamping plate. The image is deeply engraved and transfered almost perfectly. I had no issues with having to re-stamp a single nail with this one.   The images are wide enough to fit my nails, which are fairly wide on my left hand. They were also long enough to cover my talons, which aren't exactly short. 

Here's a peek at the image plate:

I love these images. I can't resist a good checkerboard image, and check out the skull and crossbones!! I can't wait to use that one! 

You can check out this plate by visiting BornPrettyStore.com and searching for product ID 4938, or by clicking here. This particular plate sells for only $1.99!!! Can you believe that???? Born Pretty Store also has a ton of brand new image plates, so be sure to check it out!

  Born Pretty Store is one of my favorite places to shop for nail art supplies, and they have everything from detail brushes, to stamping plates and polishes, to water decals, studs, glequins and rhinestones. Shipping is free worldwide and incredibly fast. Don't forget to use my coupon code below to save 10% off your entire order (click the image to go to the store)!

What do you think of Aqua Velvet and the cheetah design? 

Don't forget to check out all the other awesome M manicures that the ladies have posted!






I'll be back tomorrow with Flakie Friday and a holo!

Thans for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber    


*Product(s) Featured provided for review. Please see Disclaimer/Legal Page for more information** 

Press Sample

Tip Top Nails South Africa: Solar Flare

Hello again lovelies! I told you I was going to be spamming you all over the next couple of weeks! :)

My second polish to share with you all today is from Tip Top Nails South Africa. Solar Flare is from the Nail Chic Collection and is an ultra-bright Neon Orange. The name is really fitting, and as soon as I got it on my nails I knew I had to stamp this mani!

I've really been missing nail art lately, so you may see some nail art swatches as opposed to just plain polish. For this color, I decided that I really wanted to add some flames. Really, what goes better with a bright Orange polish called Solar Flare!?!

This is 2 coats of Solar Flare topped with Tip Top Nails Toughen Up Top Coat and stamped with Mash-48 and Konad Black. Some of the images didn't transfer perfectly, but it's not noticeable IRL so I don't mind :)

I'm not usually a fan of Orange, but I'm finding myself gravitating toward it lately. This is by far the brightest Orange in my stash, and despite it making me look ultra-pale, I love it! The flames really make it for me...I love bright, fun manis and this was so much fun to wear.

Formula:
Tip Top Nails South Africa has one of the best creme formulas I have ever come across. Not too thick, not too thin, never gloppy, and no thickening up halfway through your mani.

Application:
Solar Flare applied beautifully. This polish glides onto the nail smoothly, staying right where you put it. Despite being an ultra-bright neon polish, Solar Flare dried ultra-shiny and quickly. You do need to be a bit careful not to touch your skin, and I recommend using a good base coat (I used Tip Top Nails Toughen Up) since this does stain slightly.

I'm very impressed with what Tip Top Nails South Africa has to offer.  Their formula is seriously one of my favorites, and their colors are all bright and beautiful. You can check out Tip Top Nails South Africa via the Tip Top Nails Website (clicky clicky!) as well as Facebook.

What do you think of Solar Flare (and my flame nails)? Would you rock this bright Orange?

Be sure to check back tomorrow for an ABC Challenge post and more polish goodness!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber

**Product featured provided for review. Please see legal/disclaimer page for more information**

A-England Holy Grail (revamped) and some stamping!

Morning lovelies! Happy Monday (ducks thousands of objects being thrown at her for saying that)! Actually I'm not even close to happy, having broken a corner off a nail on Saturday and losing more length that I really was prepared for. Hopefully they grow fast, and I can re-shape them the way I like. I wasn't about to go back to nubbins, so you guys are going to have to live with the less than perfect shaping. :(

Also, this post is kinda long and pic heavy - here's to you, Anonymous, who said that I didn't have enough pics compared to my text (what??????)!

It's going to be a busy day here at KLK....the Giveaway is going live today! First, some warning: The polishes are still in transport stage since I decided to start early. I will post the pictures of the actual prizes as soon as they are all in my hands. Until then, I'm going to be linking to swatches of them so you can still see what is what.

What? You came here to see some polish as opposed to just reading my babbling? Well, let's get on with it then!

Today I have another beauty from A-England to share with you. I'm sure you are all aware that Adina recently revamped Holy Grail from the Mythicals Collection. You may also be aware that Although I love Gold on other people, I rarely wear it since it does really weird things to my skin tone. However, I couldn't resist the sheer beauty of the new Holy Grail.

This version of HG is more of an Antique Gold Foil, boasting flecks of copper, bronze and a golden green. This combination is sheer perfection, and makes this polish a bit of a chameleon. In some lighting conditions it is a glowy, bright gold, in others a shimmery golden bronze with olive highlights. It really is stunning (and occasionally blinding since it's a foil and light just bounces right off it!) and I'll be the first to admit my pictures do it no justice. I'm not going to be as wordy as I usually am with A-Englands today, since I have so much to get done. :)

This is 2 coats of Holy Grail over The Knight, and topped with The Shield. 

I do love this revamped version of Holy Grail. I still need to order the original HG, so I can't do a comparison, but the Original is more of a Yellow Gold shimmer from what I can see in swatches. Also gorgeous, yet somehow plain next to this new version.

It's also just brilliant how Adina brought new life to Holy Grail by revamping it. It's also awesome for nail art, you can see how I combined Holy Grail and Beauty Never Fails below:

As always, Holy Grail's formula is true to A-England's high standards, and application was sheer perfection. 2 easy peasy coats for opacity, no streaking or glopping, and superior shine, even without top coat!

And now, bonus stamping! The moment I saw HG I knew I wanted to stamp using that baby. So after a day of wear (and some impromptu shaping - sorry for the naked tips) I grabbed my Red Angel Plates and Konad Black and came up with this:

 I love how this stamping came out. The pattern is so complex, if you look at the gold it's one pattern, focus on the black and it's another. I was testing out a new item for review with this as well, and didn't get perfect transfers on all nails, but it's good enough IRL that I wasn't too concerned.

What do you think of the new Holy Grail? Are you loving it as much as I am?
Stay tuned for the giveaway to go live later today!!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing!
-Kimber

KKCenterHK Stamping Plate Review!

Hello Ladies! Happy Sunday! Today I have a happy little stamping mani to share with you!

I've seen products from KKCenterHK before, but I had no idea that they have Nail Art supplies as well. And let me tell you, they have a veritable ton of products. Obviously I had a hard time picking something to share with you all.  I did finally manage to make up my mind, and the first product I want to share with you is, of course, a stamping plate!

First of all, these images are soooo cute! I am just in love with these little guys! I'll be honest and admit that I have no idea what this symbol means, but I love these images anyway.

The image plates come packaged in individual resealable bags, and have a clear protective film over them. The film is on there really well, so there is no way they are going to lift and leave the plates open to scratches during shipping. At first glance, I noticed the images were nicely etched and clear. The sides of the plate are a bit sharp, so you do have to be careful handling them, but I don't consider that a drawback.

Image plate SPPMB66

The above image is the plate in it's packaging. Nice and cozy! Please excuse the smears, this is post use.

And, here is what the stamps look like on the nail (forgive the index finger. I got a little happy with the topcoat):

My pics came out a little wonky since I had some oil on the lens that I didn't notice until way after the fact, but I think you get the point here. These images stamp VERY WELL!! I was very impressed! I used Sally Hansen Cherry Red as my base, and stamped with Konad Black. I am overwhelmed by the cuteness of this mani. I'm really digging it!

The images are deeply etched, but not so deep that you end up having to scrape multiple times or with a puddle of polish at the edges. They transfer easily and clearly (I did not have to try to pick up an image more than once, which is highly impressive), and are just as clear on the nail. The only smearing I experienced was my own fault - I had a cat hair stuck to my index fingernail and went a little hard with the top coat to try and slide it off- otherwise zero smearing. I'm not kidding folks, a perfect transfer every time. I am so impressed with these plates, that I plan on ordering more from them.

This particular image plate is product number SPPMB66, and you can find it either by clicking on the photo of the plate above, or here : N.Nail Plate SPPMB66. This particular plate retails for $5.05, and KKCenterHK ships worldwide. You can also receive 10% off by using code KimbersKorner at checkout.

I'll have some more really cool products to show you in the next week, so stick around!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Polishing (and stamping!)!
-Kimber

**Products show were provided by KKCenterHK for review purposes. Please see Legal/Disclaimer page more information.**