Konad Dupes - MASH Set back in stock!

Wait no longer! The MASH Set of 25 is back in stock. When I wrote about these originally they quickly went out of stock for quite awhile. You can read my original review here.

Most of the plates are good quality exact dupes of Konad. I really really love this set. It is $9.99 + shipping on Amazon. Only 5 of the plates I received were not Konad based.

I have no idea how many they have in stock, but last time they sold out fast after I wrote about it.

More amazon finds for nails!

So while waiting for the MASH kit to be back in stock... Still no word on that. Sorry ladies. I began searching for other new items out there. I love amazon, mostly because I usually have gift cards there from family.

First is the new FASH kits.. Why they have almost the same name as MASH I dont know. They offer both a Starter kitand both a 21 or 25 plate kit
. Some designs will be redundant to my collection, but thats OK.

Next is a little mini kit, although slightly higher per piece. It's offered by VkShop
and has 7 plates total plus a stamper and scraper.

MoYouoffers exact Konad dupes at a slightly easier to swallow price. They sell plates individually, and range from it seems $2.99-$4.99. However, their most interesting item is their Pro Plate 1andPro Plate 2Which are like the Konad Salon case kits, only at $39.99 ea... I Kid you not...


On the higher end of the spectrum, there is at least 1 Konad pro kit A for $100+6.99 shipping being offered by An individual seller. The kit goes for $134 ish on other websites and since Konad doesn't allow coupons much anymore, I think this is a good deal.


For people who like Konad, but can't swing the idea of the total price these are some great options!

French manicure with nail stamp

I had a huge family emergency recently. It tied me up time-wise and emotionally. This is why I haven't posted, I didn't even have the time or energy to even think about doing my nails. Obviously, family comes first. Things have settled.

My daughters birthday party is coming up and I need to sport some nice nails and toes. I finally figured out the french plates and how not to stamp all wonky. I used exact Konad Knock Offs
Konad - M45
with Nakomi m45. Im still waiting to see if these EVER get back in stock. Really ladies, I'm on pins and needles just as much as you all are.



Figuring out the french plates was a bit harder then other designs. I watched a youtube tutorial that says to angle the design upwards instead of straight. This worked relatively well. Then I began practicing on bare nails (like this design) by going slow with the stamp and following my own curvature in the nail bed. This helped me get the "feel" even better.



I later practiced (but did not snap shots) over a fully painted nail. My best advice is to not blindly stamp the french design, watch what you're doing from a side angle. This will allow for perfect curvature every time. If using Konad special polish it is still slightly pliable after application, you can push certain designs up or remove pieces of the design. Over another color polish it is harder but doable.



You can see a few areas I could've cleaned up, but I ran out of time. Although this easy french design has almost become 2nd nature I still am always on a time crunch. I'm hoping to do a french design over my nails for the party. I want to do my toes too, but the french designs are just wide enough for my thumbs and will not fit my big toe. That makes me sad because it's the reason I wanted the french set to begin with! (I love french pedicures!)

Valentines day nail art

So I had a few (literally) minutes to play around some more with my Naokomi/Mash
set. So I did a Valentines day design. It included cute little hearts. Awww.



I used Nakomi m78, which is an exact dupe of Konad m78
. The quality of the plate is superb, although some of my stamping was funky. This was due to using red konad polish and a red stamper. I couldn't tell if the image was perfect when picking it up. Usually, I check the stamper first, and if its not up to par I start over. Red on red was not a good idea.



For the base polish I used OPI Birthday Babe
(anniversary collection 2006), which really, I don't see much of a difference from Kyoto Pearl. If you already own one, I wouldn't go out of the way to purchase the other.



interestingly enough, the whole nail design was almost too big for most of my nails. Unlike some of the other knock off brands. I really enjoy this pattern and hope to sport it for the next week.

What are you doing for Valentines?

MAC Nail Design

Now that the new year has rolled in, its time to start thinking of spring. At least, thats my reasoning! It has been warm here, even after the huge snowstorm. I hope it stays warm.

Today I did a new design for my nails. I used M.A.C. Bad Fairy for the base. I'm still so in love with the color. The pink works so well with the orange glow that shines in the light.



For the design I used GCOCL plate m76 which looks like branches with leaves. I used Konad Black
special polish. It actually looked amazing alone over Bad Fairy.



To finish, I used teardrop shaped teal sparkles from Viva la Nails. I covered a few of the leaf designs on the nail stamp. I think it worked out really nicely. Unfortunately, the sparkles are big, and my nails are quite curved. So they flaked off pretty fast.

All in all, I'd definitely do this design again sometime soon, even with the sparkles. Next time I'll pay better attention to placement.

Winter nail design for New Years

What a crazy week. My internet has been acting funny, I think its the wireless base and not actually the cable - hence the delay in posting. I had prepared the posts but could not get online to post.

For the next few days I'll be with family and friends celebrating Christmas (we have several gatherings to go to). Then even more on New Years, add on the fact that my nieces birthday is Jan 1. So I wanted to post the design I'll be sporting on new years.



The base I did with OPI Ski Teal We Drop
, which I reviewed in an earlier post. It's a lovely navy (however, in some light it looks forest green). I do like the shade, mostly. I'd like it more if it never appears forest green.



For the Snowflakes, I used GCOCL plates, which are like the cheaper version of Konad nail art plates. The plate I used was m10. The paint used was Konad Sky Pearl
which is a mid-light blue with shimmer. The shimmer is not usually visible after stamping, but the color is lovely.
If you haven't tried nail art stamps before, I highly recommend it. The expense adds up buying plates, but they last forever and you can reuse them indefinitely.



I tried not to center the large snowflakes so I could add partials to the sides to make it look more like falling snow. I love how the look came out. It's probably one of my favorite nail stamping designs.

Holiday Pedicure

In my in laws houses there is a *VERY* strict no shoes rule. So the holidays require me to have my toes nicely done.

I just rubbed heavy lotion on before the pictures, so it shows up in a few of the images.



I started with silver nail polish. I used Wet N Wild precious metals(Lilac Available on Amazon
). Then I used water decals on the big toes for the flowers. I could've painted flowers on, but I was in a rush. I really don't like water decals too much, working with them is a pain. I think I work with them improperly.



After I finished the rest of the toes with little red foil strips in a pattern so it almost looked weaved in. I wish I hadn't run out of time to apply top coat as some weren't sealed down. However, it still looks really good.



Probably one of the only videos I'll include for a bit. My Holiday wishes from my family to yours.

North Point iBand - Feliz Navidad (instruments are iPhones, iTouch, and iPad)

Fun nail art

What a week it has been. First, my iPhone "breaks" into an infinite boot loop. I only use linux, so I had to hoof it to my sisters to use her computer to restore it. Since I had no backup I lost everything.

Add to that, more christmas shopping. AND I prepared my post and found out 2 images I saved somehow became unusable(or unreadable). Bummer.

I did however get 2 great images of my funky nail art. I was going for an almost japanese look of cherry blossom branches and cool tips.




I started with OPI Glamour and Glitz, a fun cool gold color. I then used acrylic white paint and a nail art striping brush to do curvy branches. Then I used a small dotting tool to make what looked like flowers.




I finished with "Dazzlings" in round from Viva La Nails. The color I used was like a purple, and I don't see it available on their website anymore.

I'm so glad it's finally night time here. Hopefully, I can get a good nights rest. I'm not going to count on it though. Both my daughter and I are coming down with a cold. However, on a bright note, the holidays are here and seeing her so happy (even when she is sick) is so wonderful.

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Nail Designs

Woo, Christmas is almost here. Which is actually why I didn't get to post my nails up yesterday. See, my brother from Florida made a surprise visit. So I spent some time with him.

Anywho, to help me get more lifted and into the spirit I went a little wild.






I used MAC Mean and Green as the base, then some sparkle/glitter from VivalaNails. It turned out OK I think. I tried to make trees on my index and ring finger, but they were a bit funky.
I do really like it though, and the green base with pink sparkles from the MAC nail polish works well for the season.




Today we finished MOST of our shopping. We have a few last second gifts to get. "Tweens" are so hard to shop for. They want big gifts, but we can't afford them. So we're trying to be very particular in what we get for them. The rest of the nieces & nephews are young.


Tree Up Close

Wish us luck, and enjoy the holidays! I'm going to go bake cookies with my daughter.

Toe Nail Designs

So I realized I left my whole mani kit at my dads last week. Luckily, I had some back photos that helped me get by. I'm going to be picking up the kit on Friday, yay. Basically, it has everything I need (cuticle creams, clippers, polishes, nail art stuff).

One of my back designs I was saving for later was again another toe french. This time, with white tips (oh white polish why do you curse me!) I used OPI Nail Polish Alpine Snow
.

For the artsy stuff I used nail art items from Viva La Nails which were given to me for review.



The cool star sparkles are actually "Dazzlers", and the pictures do it no justice. When they capture the right lighting they shine back beautifully. The only downside is they are thicker than most glitter.
It requires a few good top coats to seal them in so they don't snag off.



The bottom flower design is from their white nail stickers collection. They're also thick, and kind of like a foam. A real pain to put topcoat over. I suppose the only good thing is they give a 3D effect, AND theres some silvery sparkly spots on it, so it's not just white. Still, if ordering I'd probably pass.

I promise, new nail stuff up here monday and no toes!

French Pedicure

Having some more fun with my items from Viva La Nails items I received. I wanted to share a really simple pedicure design I did but I got a lot of nice feedback on.

I love doing french pedicures, unfortunately, I hate using white nail polish(only because of the issues that come with white nail polish... Not white enough, too sheer, too many coats required). So often, for my toes, I do a color french pedicure.

I started with OPI Designer series in Exclusive to paint my french tip on. I used a craft brush with acetone to create a smooth smile line (Designer series works great for this application).

After, I applied 1 coat of base coat on and added a few close matching pink pieces of glitter. I think these are actually super glitter? It's hard to tell because nothing was labeled in my review kit and I cannot find rounds on their website besides the dazzlings, which are much larger.


I finished with a couple layers of top coat (allowing each to dry first.)

Do French!

I love all variations of the french manicure. From the crazy to the simple pink & white. I feel like it makes my nails and toes generally look better, and it can hide tip flaws when the rest of the nail looks nice. I usually work with a white tip and a clear coat. Sometimes I go a bit wild, when I can.
My main problem with French manicures is that I chip my nails often. I hate spending forever trying to do a perfect french, to only have it chip within 24 hours.

A fun french manicure

For these nails I used square french tip guides, which didn't come out perfect as I removed them too soon. They should be left on just long enough for the polish to begin to set but not to completely thicken/dry. Remove too soon and you'll smudge, remove to late and you'll pull strings or chip. I usually leave the guide on about 60 seconds after painting the tip. You also want to try to get as little polish on the actual guide as possible.

Oops, I painted on a hair :(

For the colors I used MAC Earthly Harmony for the base, and OPI Ski Teal We Drop for the tips. It makes for an amazingly lovely combination. These two polishes were born to co-exist!

In this photo, you can kind of see the orange sparkles in Earthly Harmony

It needed a tiny bit more pizzaz in my book. After painting I used a water decal on my middle fingernails only. I found one in my Viva La Nails setup where the colors matched perfectly, at least the teal did. The flash made the blues look lighter but in real life they looked exactly the same.

Working with water decals is a pain, I'll do a how to post soon

I finished with Rimmel London 10 day lasting finish. Which as of now is my new favorite top coat. My manicures have been lasting anywhere from 2 days to over 1 week longer (on my toes, where I change things less often). I kept this design on my nails for about 4 days before the chipping began on my thumbs. During that time I got quite a few comments.

So what do you think? Posh and pretty?  Or over the top?

Polishes were purchased by me. Water decal was part of a blogger review pack from Viva La Nails.

Viva La Nails Part 1 review

Viva La Nails Sent me some items for review. These opinions are %100 mine.

I finally received my Viva La Nails pack. Which was a huge unexpected smorgasboard of items.

Glitter, Crushes Seashells, Water Decals, Stickers + more

I wanted to do a specific review on the company. I ordered my package on 8/11 and didn't receive it until 2 months later. However... The customer service was amazing. So I'll explain what happened.

My first order went through to them and was sent into the vast system of international mailing quite fast. However, I waited... And I forgot... In September(about 20 days later) I realized nothing had come in the mail. So I contacted Viva La Nails customer service to let them know I never received the package. They said no problem. 

I waited again and nothing. I felt like giving up. I went back to check my customer service inquiry and they had asked me to confirm my address again (which I totally didn't see) so this time around it was "my bad". I confirmed the address and within 7 days my package was here. YAY! So I can only assume that without issues thanks to USPS or international posts that I would've received my first package fast and on time.

The customer service was fast, friendly, and understanding. I also wasn't expecting so much stuff!

Viva La Nails carries tons of professional and home nail art supplies including genuine Swarovski crystals, Water Decals, Nail Stickers, Konad items, rhinestones, crushed seashells, striping tape, fimo canes, and more. Pretty much any nail art item you might need all on one place. Then they also have buffers, files, and other tools.

Prices range from about USD $1.21 in their sale section and up. The company is from the UK so prices are in British Pounds (GPB). Shipping is about USD $4.75 but free for orders over $80 to the US.

A French Manicure

It snowed this morning! Eek! I really dislike snow, and cold. It's actually just mild and windy now and most of the snow has melted.

Last week I was sporting a french pedicure on my nails for most of the week. I decided to also do a french manicure and test out my new nail art brushes.



For the finger nails I used OPI alpine snow (2 coats) and then fixed the smile line with acetone & a craft brush. It may not have been the best idea because the Alpine snow does not remove well with acetone. It took me forever to get decent smile lines and even then they were a bit off.

I then applied 2 base coats which I let dry, then I used acrylic paint (like craft store paint) in white with my new nail art brushes and dotter to do the design.



The beauty about using acrylic paint for the nail art is you can wash it off with warm water and soap and start again if you make a mistake. Once done I sealed with 2 coats of Rimmel London 10 day lasting finish. Which BTW is a great top coat. My nails didn't chip for many days.



For the toes I used acrylic paint for the smile line too. It worked OK. I say ok because on the big toes with the paint becoming lumpy after requiring 2-3 coats of paint for good coverage. I did the nail art with acrylic paint also and again sealed with 1-2 coats of top coat. With acrylic paints its a good idea to cap the end of the nail (essentially, paint the free edge/tip). If water reaches the acrylic paint it will begin to wash away.