Mundo de Uñas stamping polishes

A couple months ago I joined the Facebook group Adventures in Stamping, where other nail stamping enthusiasts post pictures, tutorials, and stamping tips on a daily basis.  This is where I was introduced to the amazing stamping polishes by Mundo de Uñas.  Made in Mexico, these polishes are specifically made for nail stamping, and the polishes are extra thick and pigmented for best results.  These polishes are not to be used as regular nail polish, however, as the consistency is too thick.

After seeing hundreds of photos from women who use this product, I knew I had to give it a try.  If you stamp on a regular basis, then you know that only a fraction of nail polishes out there are suitable for stamping, and this creates limitations in color selection.  And most polishes (except for whites, metallics, and some bright cremes) do not stamp well over dark colors like black or navy.  Luckily, Mundo de Uñas has created a brilliant and affordable solution.  Her specialty stamping polishes are far superior to other stamping polishes, and there are tons of swatches out there to prove it.  Plus, with Mundo de Uñas you get a huge variety of color options and very reasonable shipping rates.  I ordered the following 8 polishes, and with the shipping it cost about 35 dollars.

For what these polishes accomplish, it is truly an amazing deal and I will be ordering more very soon!  To see the full color chart, visit the Mundo de Uñas Facebook page (linked above), and if you want to place an order you will need to do so through the Facebook page as well.

To test out my new polishes, I wanted to do something very bright, where the contrast would be difficult to achieve with regular polish.  And these are my very satisfying results:

Can you believe how bright this is??  I feel like my stamping options are limitless now!

For this look I used OPI's Toucan Do It If You Try and Mundo de Uñas stamping polishes in #39 (Avocado) and #27 (Neon Yellow)

So what do you think of my "flower power" mani?  Have you used Mundo de Uñas stamping polishes before?  You should!

Disney Villains Polish Set by e.l.f.: Maleficent

At Walgreens the other day, I picked up the Disney Villains polish set by e.l.f.  The collection comes with twelve different polishes divided into threes (the four villains include: Maleficent, Cruella, Ursula, and the Evil Queen from Snow White).  These 3 polishes are from the Maleficent collection:

The colors include:
"Maude Mauve" (pointer and pinky finger)
"Bubble Gum Pink" (thumb and ring finger)
"Gina Girl" (middle finger)

I really love all the colors in this collection, and each of them applied with a smooth, creamy, and rich texture.  I probably could have only used one coat on the pink and mauve, but I went ahead and did two.  The glitter color in the middle took about 4 coats for full coverage, but it wasn't clumpy or goopy at all, which is nice in a glitter formula.  It's kind of hard to tell, but the glitter has a brownish-purple base with purple, gold, and orange mixed glitters.  I never would have thought to pair these three colors, but e.l.f. did a great job with this combination!  Can't wait to use the other three villainous collections.

You can purchase this set at Walgreens for $9.99 USD, which is a great deal for 12 polishes.  They're not full sized bottles, but they're not as small as minis either.

Shot of the Day: 2013 Halloween Nails #3

Ok so technically this is more of an El Dia de los Muertos look, but it definitely works for the season!

By the way, this base color is 'Iconic Orange' by Finger Paints.  See more swatches here.

Shot of the Day: 2013 Halloween Nails #1

Here are my first Halloween nails of the season!

For this look, I used two of the images from Cheeky's Happy Holidays Jumbo Plate.  They stamped perfectly and I got a lot of compliments at work!  What do you think?

Shot of the Day: Tiger Stripes

So I've kinda gone a little stamp crazy this summer, and to be honest, I've stamped my nails so frequently that I couldn't keep up with all the products I was using.  So for the next few weeks, I'm basically just going to dump a bunch of stamping photos here.  It would take me forever to go back and figure out exactly which polish and product I used in all of my pictures, but if you really want to know a polish color name or stamping plate ID, just say so in the comments and I'll do my best to track it down.  Enjoy!

China Glaze base color:

And now for the tiger stripes:

So what do you think of my mani?  Pretty wild, huh?  :)

Shot of the Day: Finger Paints Iconic Orange

If you haven't noticed, I am absolutely loving the neon nail trend!  I took a little trip to Sally's the other day and couldn't help but purchase this little beauty:  Iconic Orange by Finger Paints

Isn't this color amazing?  And this is only two coats over a base coat of OPI Nail Envy.  A lot of neon shades require a white base coat to really make the color pop, but not this one. 

And OMG the application!  This polish is basically magic...it goes where you want it to go.  It was so creamy and smooth and I didn't notice any staining when I removed it.

Needless to say, I am very impressed with this polish (this is my first Finger Paints polish) so of course I had to  go back to Sally's to get more.  If you're looking for bright summer neon shades that are easy to apply and highly pigmented, look no further than Finger Paints!

Shot of the Day: Jesse's Girl Carolina Beach

As you know, I'm a little obsessed with neon polishes these days, and I love this bright color from Jesse's Girl Polishes.  This brand of polishes is a bit difficult to find in my neck of the woods, so I only have 2 colors, but I really love them both.  This color is called Carolina Beach and it is super duper bright!  I used three coats to get this effect, and while the application is a bit challenging as the the polish is very quick-drying and has a matte effect, it's totally worth the extra bit of effort.

Sorry for the poor quality of this photo, but you get the idea.  And in the sunlight, Carolina Beach is splashy and neon. This is a great color for spring/summer!  It wavers between a peachy-coral and a bright orangey-pink.

I also want to mention that Jesse's Girl polish stays on a loooong time.  Like I said, I only have two of their polishes, but both colors lasted on my toes for about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks with no chips.  Both times I have used OPI Nail Envy as a base coat and Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Anti-Chip Top coat.

Shot of the Day: Neon Mani with Nina Ultra Pro (Solar Flare)

Well, I've decided that I want to join the neon bandwagon.  I always thought my skin tone wouldn't be very conducive to neon colors, but then I kept seeing all these beautiful neon manicures and I had to try it.  After a trip to Sally's, I came home with these little babies.  

For my first neon mani, I went with the Nina Ultra Pro in Solar Flare. It's a super bright highlighter yellow that is pretty blinding.  This polish is not for those who want a subtle pop of color, but I freakin loved it!  I could not stop staring at my nails!

See?  It's crazy bright in the sunlight!  I used OPI Nail Envy as a base coat.  The first coat of Solar Flare was pretty thin and sheer, and it dried surprisingly matte.  The second coat was better, but I got the color I was looking for on the third coat.  Some people like to do neons over a white base, but I was just experimenting with this one, and I'd say a white base isn't necessary.  Finished with a coat of Seche Vite and the color shines even brighter. Wow!

Have you jumped on the neon bandwagon?  What neons do you love?