Fauxnad BM20 - Monochrome Madness!

I decided to have a go at a mad monochrome manicure, just for a change.

I used five different bases, one for each nail:
Thumb - Misa Heaven White
Index - Orly Mirror Mirror
Middle  China Glaze Recycle
Ring - Barry M Grey
Pinky - Nails Inc Elgin Avenue

I then taped half of each nail off and painted the remaining part of the nail with China Glaze Millenium.
Finally stamping over the top of that half with Konad black and the stripe design from BM 20.

It does look different, not sure if it works or not?  I think not, I actually preferred it before I added the stripes LOL, ah well, never mind.
But I did love how one side looked grey and the other all striped, cool!

Fauxnad BM10 - ChG Sunset Glow

Another fauxnad today, a very simple one, quick and easy to do.

I used ChG Sunset Glow, an odd but lovely polish I swatched and reviewed here.

I then stamped over the top using the tiny flowers from Bundle Monster, plate BM10, I used ChG 2030 for the design.

This gives a very simple, clean look with the delicate scattered flowers over the nail. As the base polish has a matte finish I decided to seal it using Nubar V for men, its own matte top coat, this mattified the whole look , allowing the flowers to be seen more easily.  The design is still very subtle one though, an understated look I really like.

Fauxnad BM11 - Zoya Kiki

I wore my gorgeous Kiki for a few days a while ago, then decided to have a go at giving her a fauxnad.  You can see the review and swatch of Kiki, here.

I used Bundle Monster plate BM11 and the heart/string design, then stamped using konad black.

Very simple, looks kind of laced-up.  Still think I prefer the wonder of Kiki alone.......

Fauxnad BM20 - Nails Inc Candy/Zoya Harlow

I was intrigued to see how easy it would be to konad with a matte finish polish.  I knew it must be possible, providing you were fast, as they dry so quickly.  So I tried it out over a swatch I was doing at the time, Nails Inc Candy, reviewed here.

I used a design with thick lines, this would allow me maximum time to stamp without it drying too fast for me.  The candy stripe design on Bundle Monster plate BM20 seemed to fit the bill.  So I used Zoya's Harlow as its tones worked well with the base colour. 

 
Success!  You can use mattes if you work quick.  It gives a great finish too, a shiny base with a textured matte finish, very pretty.  I used a TC over it though, as I wanted to bring out the sparkle in Harlow that can be seen when shiny.

The thumb was a challenge as the BM full nail designs are too small for my thumbs, so creative use of the plate was needed, angling off the nail edge worked well enough for me.

Looks like I will be buying more mattes for stamping now :o)

Fauxnad BM02 - Zoya Midori/ChG 2030

I reviewed and swatched Zoya's Midori here.

I decided to add a fauxnad design and decided upon Bundle Monster plate BM02 and the flower design.

 outdoors in sun, 
you can see the design more clearly here

I first stamped part of the design in Konad Princess Chocolate at the base of each nail. I then stamped again using ChG 2030 at the tip of each nail. This gave a nice delicate flower to each nail in two complimentary colours, adding more interest to an already beautiful colour.

I was very pleased with the result and can see this design being used over and over again, very pretty.

indoors with flash

Bundle Monster Plates, Detailed Review and Konad Comparison.

Okay, anyone who uses Konad has probably heard of the Bundle Monster plates by now.
If not then let me help you out,  Bundle Monster is the name of an Amazon.com seller that has created their own fauxnad plates.  There are currently 21 plates and they are the same kind of thing as Konad, various designs etched into the round metal plate.

There are some really cute designs too, I actually bought mine for one single design! LOL  Sad eh?  Sorry, but the lipstick design was so flipping cute it had to be done, see my French Kiss mani here.

They are really good value for money as you get 21 plates for $17.99 plus shipping.  I got mine for $22 including shipping from the USA to the UK.  The shipping was very fast too.  I ordered on Sunday, they shipped on Monday and I got them by Saturday!  Pretty good eh?

Okay, so what do I think now they are here?  Well, as I said, I only bought them for one design, so anything I liked above that was a bonus.  I actually have to say I like from 2 to 4 designs on each plate, so pretty good going.  There are some really fun designs too, loving those. They are packaged in three sets of seven plates, in clear plastic wrappers similar to Konad.  They are the same size as Konad plates too.  All good so far huh?

 

BM plate compared to a Konad plate

Well, it's not all great news........
The plates are just metal, there is a layer of clear plastic on the top that you have to remove before stamping and there is no paper backing as you get on the Konad plates, and herein lies their biggest issue.......they are super sharp!!!  I mean seriously scary to handle.  Luckily I already knew about this before I bought them so I handle them with care, keeping my fingers from the edges, but if you were not aware of this, you could very easily cut yourself, and probably pretty deep too (I have seen a few pics online of BM cuts already, ouch!).

If you get these plates, please do be very careful when handling them.  I would hate anyone to get hurt. When removing the plastic layer I found it best to lay the plate on a paper towel, press in the middle of the plate to keep it firm as you scratch near the edge with your nail, after a few strokes it will begin to come away.  Keep scratching until there is enough to peel it back.  This way you don't put your fingers near the sharp edges. This worked for me, easily and safely.

The lines etched on the plates seem a bit thicker than konad, so a few designs lack detail, but the huge majority are really good.  Though there are a few bizarre ones, chilli peppers anyone ;o) LOL.  
To those that don't know, there is a chilli pepper design that really looks like a scrotum, no honestly, it actually does.....

They don't appear to be etched quite as deeply as Konad plates, but I had a quick try with one design and it seemed to be okay as long as you don't scrape too firmly, otherwise you will remove the polish from the larger more solid designs.  They don't always seem to scrape cleanly either, sometimes leaving too much polish on the surface of the metal, meaning you have to scrape again.  Some practice soon gets it right though, so all good there.
Also the full nail designs and tip designs are small, smaller than Konad, and I already struggle with Konad full nail designs on one of my thumbs, so I will have to adapt these to suit.  Shame as there are some nice full nail ones, if only they were made just a tad bigger.....

 Here are two pics showing the difference in size of the BM full nail compared to Konad full nail, plus the BM tips compared to Konad tips.......Both stamped using Konad Special polish in Black and stamped onto white paper. Luckily they both had a full nail and tip design that was the same on both brands, made the comparison much more accurate. Sizes for both can be seen also, using mm's.

 Full Nail Houndstooth

 See how the BM plate doesn't finish the design as cleanly as the Konad. BM seems to cut off the design whereas Konad ends it more neatly.  Plus the design is smaller, more so on the width, which could cause problems as I struggled with the width of the Konad plates on one of  my thumbs, the BM will not fit my thumb at all now, so some inventive use of patterns will have to be done.  Either turn design sideways and try to match pattern (not easy) or just use a partial design on thumbs in a creative way, or just scrap the full nail altogether and use them as tip designs.

Tips Checkerboard

These have the same neat finish to the pattern but the size is quite different on these ones, 

much more obvious than the full nail ones.  

It may still fit my thumb, but only just, whereas Konad tips give you plenty of room to play.

So, do I think they are a good deal?   Yes
Would I buy them again?  Yes
Do I think they are as good quality as Konad?  No

Okay, so they are a bit on the sharp side, but if you know this beforehand, you can be extra careful and not touch the edges.
The full nail designs are too small, but you can adapt them with some thought.
The designs are good, some cute ones too and more choice is always a good thing.
Above all, they are great value for money, 21 plates for $18, $22 (£15) shipped to the UK, you can't really complain about that, great deal and lots of fun.

I will be having a go at some more designs using these plates soon, so keep watch.  To recap, my French Kiss design posted yesterday can be seen here. In the meantime you can get your own set from Amazon.com marketplace.

Konad/BundleMonster mani - French Kiss!

As soon as I got my Bundle Monster plates, I knew I had to do this mani, it was crying out to be done!!!

The only reason I bought the BM plates was because of the lipstick print design,  how could I not do a French mani and call it French Kiss?  Come on.........

So I used two coats of Zoya Lucy (reviewed here), my goto HG French base colour, love it!  I then stamped in white using Konad M19 for the tips.  One more coat of Lucy over the top, to soften it.......and that is my basic French mani routine.
Now comes the fun bit,  add the lipstick design from BM02 in red and a final top coat and you are done!

 in natural light, outdoors

Simple, quick and lots of fun, a great French Kiss!

Review of Bundle Monster plates coming in the next few days........