Friday, May 30, 2014

Happy Birthday Bundle Monster: 5 Year Celebration & Nail Art Contest

Hey stamparistas,

Bundle Monster is turning 5 years old this June! How awesome for them.  I can still remember Bundle Monster was the first set of stamping plates I ever purchased almost 5 years ago.  Prior to that I had been buying the individual Konad plates and wondering when another brand was going to hit the scene.  Then along came Bundle Monster with a 25 plate set at such a good price.  It was game over and I was in love.  Now 5 years later I have every single set they have created and still love the brand today! Since Bundle Monster also wants to celebrate their anniversary and decided to host a 31 day birthday themed nail art contest.  Let's take a look...


The challenge will run from June 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014.  You can post your mani's on  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.  You just have to make sure to use the hasthtags #BM5thBDay and #BundleMonster and make sure to use at least ONE Bundle Monster product in your mani.  Pretty easy right?  The best part is once a week for the month of June Bundle Monster will pick 5 random winners to receive a mystery nail art prize package. Plus you can enter as many times as you want.  Not bad eh?  So get excited ladies and start thinking up some good ideas for Birthday themed nail art! Thanks for reading and see you nest post...

MoYou London 31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 16 Youtuber

Hey stamparellas,

I thought today's theme was going to crush me.  Why? Because I had no idea what this concept should entail.  I thought Youtube means I need the logos or something right? I don't have them on MoYou London plates.  I have them on other plates that can't be included.  Then I thought hey I started on Youtube well before my blog or any other social media accounts.  Youtube was the birth of Lacquer Lockdown.  I only created the blog because Youtube kept deleting my info box and all the relevant details I put there.  The blog was my backup insurance and then it became more prominent than my Youtube channel.  So I figured why not create a mani from one that started me on this path with MoYou products? Then everything became easy...

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Suki Collectio, Suki 02, Suki 06, Suki 08, stamping, nail art, Polished by KPT Pomergranate, Polished by KPT Sunday Morning, Mundo de Unas Stamping polish, japanese nail art, geisha girl nail art, asian inspired nail art, cute nail art ideas, thermal nail polish, diy nail art, cute nails, nail art idea, bejeweled nails, nail art stamping blog

Mani-louge
Basecoat/Topcoat: Duri Rejuvacote / Poshe Super Fast Drying Topcoat
Basecolors: Polished by KPT Permanganate and Sunday Morning
Stamping polishes: Mundo de Unas #2
Stamping plates: MoYou London Suki 02, 06, 08

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Suki Collectio, Suki 02, Suki 06, Suki 08, stamping, nail art, Polished by KPT Pomergranate, Polished by KPT Sunday Morning, Mundo de Unas Stamping polish, japanese nail art, geisha girl nail art, asian inspired nail art, cute nail art ideas, thermal nail polish, diy nail art, cute nails, nail art idea, bejeweled nails, nail art stamping blog

My Geisha girl nails were originally done using the Konad special plate and stamper.  I really can tell this was from so long ago because of  how I created my gradients etc.  Lol I can only shake my head seeing that today.  I've come a long way that's for sure.  This time I decided to let a thermal do the talking and the gradation.  That meant PolishedbyKPT Sunday Morning and Pomegranate - blue and pink to white thermals respectively.  That was the hardest part - picking the bases.  I own every single Suki Collection plate.  It's one of my favorite collections bar none from MoYou and I really hope they keep adding plates to it.  Having all the plates made it easy to look through and find the elements I wanted.  The point of this mani wasn't to do things verbatim from the prior mani, but to take something I loved then and put my spin on it now.  Yes, I needed the geisha girl and the flowers and a few jewels, but everything else was going to be in my current style.

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Suki Collectio, Suki 02, Suki 06, Suki 08, stamping, nail art, Polished by KPT Pomergranate, Polished by KPT Sunday Morning, Mundo de Unas Stamping polish, japanese nail art, geisha girl nail art, asian inspired nail art, cute nail art ideas, thermal nail polish, diy nail art, cute nails, nail art idea, bejeweled nails, nail art stamping blog

You can really see the thermal transitioning in these last two pictures!  Love these polishes so much!
 Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Suki Collectio, Suki 02, Suki 06, Suki 08, stamping, nail art, Polished by KPT Pomergranate, Polished by KPT Sunday Morning, Mundo de Unas Stamping polish, japanese nail art, geisha girl nail art, asian inspired nail art, cute nail art ideas, thermal nail polish, diy nail art, cute nails, nail art idea, bejeweled nails, nail art stamping blog

So what do you think? I feel that because I took elements of who I was when I started out and who I am now years later I got the best of both worlds. I love stamping, but I also forgot how much I love studs and rhinestones, and all that girly stuff.  I really enjoyed this mani.  It flowed which has been rare in this challenge.  I hoped you liked it and thanks for reading! See you next post...
Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Hot Off The Stamping Press: MoYou London Tourist Collection Expansion!

Hey lacqueristas,

The stamping press is steaming!  Sizzling lol.  I actually forgot about the MoYou London weekly releases because I felt like maybe they didn't release a set last week.  Then I realized that the Bridal Collection expansion was last week, and that I'm losing track of all the plates coming out because they are coming otu everywhere!  Today I've got the latest plates from the Tourist Collection to share with you.  Honestly I feel like this collection is also one of my favorites along with the Explorer Collection mainly because it gives me the option of so many designs from all around the globe.  So let's see what MoYou has come up with for this week.




Kira's back and ready to travel light after all she's going back and forth across the globe this week.  Detinations are Instanbul, Paris, Delhi, and Sydney

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, Tourist Collection, MoYou London Toursit collectin.  Tourist 18, Tourist 19, Tourist 20, Tourist 21, new nail art plates 2014, new nail art image plates 2014, new nail art plates 2014, paris nail art, france nail art, delhi nail art, middle eastern nail art, austrailia nail art, syndey nail art, cute nail art ideas, diy nail art, nail art stamping blog

Welcome to Instanbul! Can I just say I'm delighted lol. Super cute plate loving the fez hats and the palace abstracts and carpet in particular.  This plate reminds me so much of being a kid and watching Tiny Toons with my grandmother on Saturday morning.  Does anyone remember that animated cartoon sung by They Might Be Giants?  No well luckily I found it! Hehe you're welcome :)





Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, Tourist Collection, MoYou London Toursit collectin.  Tourist 18, Tourist 19, Tourist 20, Tourist 21, new nail art plates 2014, new nail art image plates 2014, new nail art plates 2014, paris nail art, france nail art, delhi nail art, middle eastern nail art, austrailia nail art, syndey nail art, cute nail art ideas, diy nail art, nail art stamping blog

This plate frustrated me.  I find myself asking why is Kira going back to Australia and why is she repeating images we've seen and own on several other plates in a larger size?  The are 5 new images on this plate.  The rest are repeats.  I really dislike it when MoYou does this.  Why not just create all new images for the plate instead of smaller ones?  I realize though that's a slightly unfair expectation given not everyone has talons as long as mine.  Still though...

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, Tourist Collection, MoYou London Toursit collectin.  Tourist 18, Tourist 19, Tourist 20, Tourist 21, new nail art plates 2014, new nail art image plates 2014, new nail art plates 2014, paris nail art, france nail art, delhi nail art, middle eastern nail art, austrailia nail art, syndey nail art, cute nail art ideas, diy nail art, nail art stamping blog

Hello teacup elephant.  You are obviously going to be so happy in my new home!  This is Delhi and I am in love!  Reminds me slightly of the Loja BBF Indian Asian plate especially the doors on the mosque.  Regardless I must have this plate for the baby elephant alone htough the palace and the turbaed males are also well done!

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, Tourist Collection, MoYou London Toursit collectin.  Tourist 18, Tourist 19, Tourist 20, Tourist 21, new nail art plates 2014, new nail art image plates 2014, new nail art plates 2014, paris nail art, france nail art, delhi nail art, middle eastern nail art, austrailia nail art, syndey nail art, cute nail art ideas, diy nail art, nail art stamping blog

The final plate for this release is Paris.  All the images excpet for 5 are once again recycled.  Ugh.  I really really hate when they do this!  The cameoed girls also look like Barbie.  I actually used the XL version of this plate last week for one of my challenge manis.  For me this one is a pass but I love the XL plate version.

So what do you think?  For me this is another disappointing release the Instanbul and Delhi were my two favorite plates with the rest falling flat for me because of the repeating patterns.  Plus I feel like I was gipped out of 2 new/really new plates with novel images.  Oh well.  For those that don't have these plates these could present an excellent argument for the case of buying them now.  As usual plates will be available Friday and retail for 4.99 Euros.  Don't forget you can also get 10% off using my code Tamira10.  Hope you enjoyed this update and see you next post...
Monday, May 26, 2014

Hot Off The Stamping Press: Messy Mansion Nail Art Stamping Plate Teasers!

Hello stamperellas,

I feel an evil cackle coming on.  Mwhahahaha! Ok I'm good now.  I think it's no secret that I love Messy Mansion stamping plates.  I mean I really really love them!  I own all of the currently released plates and I regularly stalk her Facebook and website for updates.  Basically I'm in a serious relationship with Julia. I wonder if her husband knows? Lol  So why am I rambling on and on about my love Julia and her brand so much? Well because I have some very special and exclusive news for you.  Messy Mansion is releasing new line of plates.  In fact she is releasing TWO and right here on Lacquer Lockdown you can take a look at plates that have never been seen ANYWHERE else.  Now I won't tease you any further because I hate when people do that to me so lets take a look...


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For those of you who aren't in the know, Julia McGowan, owner and creator of Messy Mansion, currently sales 3 lines of Australian made plates.  Her own Messy Mansion plates, Lily Anna plates, and Emily de Molly plates.  She is also the original creator and mastermind behind the leadlighting technique (you can read more about that here).  In short she is a phenomenon! And now she is bringing us two new lines the first called The Bridal Nail plates and the second is called Leadlight Lacquer.

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The Bridal Nail plates were created after polling several nail technicians on which kind of images they felt they were missing.  The answer was negative space images and thus the Bridal Nail line was born.  Look at the numbers of the plates people.  I don't see plate 01 and you know what that means...lots more plates to come!

Lacquer Lockdown - Messy Mansion, Leadlight Lacquer A3, The Bridal Nail stamping plates, stamping, cici and sisi, new nail art plates 2014, new nail art image plates 2014, new nail art stamping plates 2014, nail art, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, leadlight lacquer stamping plates, leadliight lacquer nail art plates, messy mansion nail art stamping plates,  messy mansion, cute nail art idea, nail art stamping blog

Leadlight Lacquer plates are exactly what they sound like.  Plates that are ideal for the leadlighting technique.  For those lucky ladies down under, as in the land down under, you can purchase Leadlight Lacquer polishes directly from the Messy Mansion ship.  For international ladies like myself plans are still underway to get the polishes overseas to our greedy little paws.  As you can see with the Bridal Nails plates the plate numbers aren't all here.  Ohhh...clever clever

Lacquer Lockdown - Messy Mansion, Leadlight Lacquer A4, The Bridal Nail stamping plates, stamping, cici and sisi, new nail art plates 2014, new nail art image plates 2014, new nail art stamping plates 2014, nail art, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, leadlight lacquer stamping plates, leadliight lacquer nail art plates, messy mansion nail art stamping plates,  messy mansion, cute nail art idea, nail art stamping blog

So what do you think? This is why I love to blog people! I love love love these plates!  Every single plate I've purchased from Messy Mansion has been perfectly and flawlessly etched.  Even the tiniest lines are crisp and every time I go back there are new and innovative plates that make me think, I need that!  I would pretty much be willing to set up a second account that links me directly to the Messy Mansion shop so the plates can just flow seamlessly from her to me.  Lol!  In any case I have no idea when then these plates are coming out.  I'll keep you posted and for now just enjoy all the drool worthy options. 
Saturday, May 24, 2014

Hot Off The Stamping Press: Pueen Cosmetics Encore Collection Teaser 2 (UPDATED)!

Hey stamparistas,

Happy Saturday! A ll I can here in my head is the song from Britney Spears going "gimme more gimme more gimme more..."  You ladies know I really enjoy stalking.  Lol it's so much fun and the best part is then I can come and share it here and not feel like a crazy lady IRL because my readers share my passions and obsessions equally! Ok maybe not equally since I'm a little crazy but whatever close enough right?  So for those that haven't caught up Pueen Cosmetics is at it again and are in the midst of creating a new collection of plates.  You can read my initial announcement here.  My suspicion is that the set is already done and they are simply waiting for them to come over from their manufacturer.   Today they gave us another sneak peek behind one of the plates from this collection.

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 If you are like me and enjoy some magic eye maneuvers you can see the actual mockup of the plate underneath the nail designs.  Clever marketing right?  So here's two pieces of news that Pueen dropped on us with this teaser.  First, these plates will be releasing in June.  Awesome! Second, these plates will be double sided.  Interesting...I have often wondered myself why plates haven't been doublesided.  Since when you look at how Pueen packages their sets they are back to back in the faux leather holder.  So I feel like this has been a long time coming.  I'm interested to see how and if this effects stamping and a little excited because my stamping plate collection is starting to take up a lot of real estate in my home!  So what do you ladies think? I really continue to be super duper impressed with the Pueen creative minds.

 Updated to show the other side of the 1st plate - Side B

Lacquer Lockdown - Pueen Cosmetics, Pueen, Encore Collection, Pueen Encore Collection, new stamping plates 2014, new nail art stamping plates 2014, new nail art image plates 2014, new image plates 2014, new nail art plates 2014, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, new nail art ideas,

Updated again to show you 2A


Lacquer Lockdown - Pueen Cosmetics, Pueen, Encore Collection, Pueen Encore Collection, new stamping plates 2014, new nail art stamping plates 2014, new nail art image plates 2014, new image plates 2014, new nail art plates 2014, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, new nail art ideas,


Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the Encore Collection and I'll keep you posted as more news trickles in.  Thanks for reading and see you next post...

MoYou London 31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 15 Love

Happy Friday lacqueristas!

I'm both happy and bummed that the end of the week is here because it means a new rotation waaah but that's ok cause it's still Friday! Anyone have any exciting plans for the 3 day weekend?  I'm sleeping, doing laundry, and maybe the movies.  I realized I have gotten so far behind in these 31 nail art challenge posts.  I'm just too exhausted the last several days to create a mani, photograph, edit pictures, post to instagram and then do a blog post.  But I said that was going to happen didn't I lol.  Nevertheless I have put up a lot of posts this week including the new teaser photos from Pueen Cosmetics soon to be launching plate collection so go check it out!  Now onto Day 15 and oh lord love...

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Comic Collection 05, MoYou London Princess Collection 10, MoYou London Mother Nature 05, stamping, nail art, shoujo manga nails, shoujo nail art, japanese nail art, love themed nail art, valentines day nail art, Orly Satin Eloquence, Orly Satin Style, Orly Satin Gala, Mundo de Unas stamping polishes, nail art stamping blog, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, easy nail art, gradient nail art, love nail art

Mani-louge
Basecoat / Topcoat:  CND Stickey / Sally Hansen Diamond Flash
Gradient: Orly Satin Eloquence Satin Style and Satin Gala
Stamping polishes: Mundo de Unas #1, 2,  Color Club Hot Like Lava
Stamping plates: MoYou London Princess 10, Comic Collection 05, and Mother Nature 05




Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Comic Collection 05, MoYou London Princess Collection 10, MoYou London Mother Nature 05, stamping, nail art, shoujo manga nails, shoujo nail art, japanese nail art, love themed nail art, valentines day nail art, Orly Satin Eloquence, Orly Satin Style, Orly Satin Gala, Mundo de Unas stamping polishes, nail art stamping blog, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, easy nail art, gradient nail art, love nail art 
Hail the Comic Collection!  Totally underrated and underused IMO.  I say that knowing I myself am guilty of not taking advantage of these awesome plates.  Let's pause and talk about shoujo manga.  I don't know if you've realized it yet but I am clearly a otaku.  When it comes to tween-teenaged romance nothing beats shoujo which is basically comic books aimed at teenage girls about those doki doki heart fluttering moments when you work hard and achieve your love with the most popular guy in school and life is great...oy! Even though I've read a ton lol they just kill me.  Totally unrealistic and ridiculous, but that's the point of a good comic right?  So why am I talking about this instead of the art? Because I pulled Comic 05 with the sole intention of creating a lovey dovey mani themed around the shoujo genre.

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Comic Collection 05, MoYou London Princess Collection 10, MoYou London Mother Nature 05, stamping, nail art, shoujo manga nails, shoujo nail art, japanese nail art, love themed nail art, valentines day nail art, Orly Satin Eloquence, Orly Satin Style, Orly Satin Gala, Mundo de Unas stamping polishes, nail art stamping blog, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, easy nail art, gradient nail art, love nail art

So for the life of me I can't recall which holo I used for the accent polish here.  I'm sure it will come to me and I will update it later definitely an indie pink linear.  So thoughts ladies? I kind of wish I'd let the hearts play out along the edges instead of flowers but I'm still so pleased with this main.  Note the blush on kissing couples cheeks lol that was my special effect ;)  Anyway sorry to be running so far behind on these posts.  IRL I'm already at Day 23!!! Thanks for reading and see you next post...
Thursday, May 22, 2014

Hot Off the Stamping Press: Pueen Cosmetics Encore Collection Teaser

Hey stamparellas,

I totally forgot to post this little teaser that I saw on Pueen Cosmetics Facebook page the other day!  For those who stalk this is probably going to be a source of agony and desire for many out there.  As apparently Pueen is launching another set of plates.  Ooooohhh yeah baby!  If my suspicions are correct this is going to be a followup infinity style set of plates to the Stamping Buffet Collection.  After all with a name like Encore Collection one has to at least expect this much...

Lacquer Lockdown - Pueen Cosmentics, nail art stamping blog, nail art stamping, new nail art stamping plates 2014, new nail art image plates 2014, new nail art plates 2014, pueen encore collection, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas

Now who's excited to stalk along with me? Lol.  You can follow Pueen Cosmetics Facebook here.  I can't wait to see how these new plates look since the mockups are so cute!  Lol I bet you ladies think my lord the plates just keep on coming.  For me the best part is just watching to see what creators will come up with next.  I definitely need to break out a few more of the my Pueen plates and do some nail art in celebration.  Happy hunting and see you next post
Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Loja BBF Nail Art Stamping Plates Update & Review Part 2

Hey stamping fanatics,

I'm back with another Loja BBF review and update from my last post.  If you don't know anything about this brand I will give you a brief synopsis here, but you should go read my first review and breakdown of her products for more in depth information plus swatches of plates 1-17.   Loja BBF is a new Brazilian based indie plate and polish maker.  Cris's plates are divine and feature a lot of well aimed themes such as Hunger Games, Alice in Wonderland, and yes lace print.   There is a great deal of whimsy and novelty built into the now 25 plates she has released thus far.  Today I will be showing you swatches of 3 plates I initially had problems with as well as the last remaining 2 plates, from the initial 20, that I was able to obtain recently. 

Loja BBF

What you should know about this brand is that the owner Cris is a woman of rare business acumen and standards.  When I first purchased my plates and did the review I had 3 plates that had some etching issues (too shallow or too deep).  When I wrote to Cris she responded immediately and said she would send out replacements, but what you don't know is that she was also in the midst of creating a massive order of 100's of plates for a group buy.  She quickly corrected those plates that I pointed out as troublesome before sending them off in what must have been an insanely exhausting one woman show.  Professionalism and standards that are top notch with responsiveness to customer concerns has earned her my lifetime loyalty and it should yours as well.


The image plates  below were the 5 I received including the ones that were replaced as well as the new ones that I was waiting to arrive.






Dimensions and Measurements


Image Size Comparisons

MoYou London Plate Pro 08 (non-XL) - 1.5 x 1.3 cm
MoYou London Plates  Explorer 10 (XL) - 2.2 x 1.6 cm
Bunny Nails HD B - 2.5 x 2 cm
MJ Plate VIII - 2.2 x 1.7cm
Fab Ur Nails Fun 2 - 2.2 x 1.7 cm
Vivid Lacquer 007 - 2.0 x 2.0 cm
Cheeky Jumbo 2013 - 2.0 x 1.5 cm
Bundle Monster CYO - 1.7 x 1.9 cm

The Plates

As I stated before these plates do not come with a blue film over them they come in a removable paper sleeve ready to stamp.  When quality checking as always I use Wet N' Wild Black Crme unless there is an issue with image pickup in which case I switch to my gold standard polishes Konad or Mundo de Unas.  I also use my gold standard XL sticky/squishy stamper. That said here are the swatches of the plates I initially had problems with as well as the remaining 2 plates.

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This time I also decided to give you better close up's of the images since they all fit onto one sheet and the viewer on Blogger doesn't necessarily expand with the detail required to clearly see the images. I wanted to point out that I have mislabeled BBF18 at the bottom (last swatch).  It should actually be BBF 19.

Lacquer Lockdown - Loja BBF, Loja BBF nail art stamping plates, nail art, stamping plates, new plates 2014, new stamping plates 2014, new image plates 2014, new nail art plates 2014, indie stamping plates, stamping, moyou london, konad, pueen 2014

You can see even the tiny waves I had so much difficulty with became relatively easy to swatch out here.

Lacquer Lockdown - Loja BBF, Loja BBF nail art stamping plates, nail art, stamping plates, new plates 2014, new stamping plates 2014, new image plates 2014, new nail art plates 2014, indie stamping plates, stamping, moyou london, konad, pueen 2014

Plate 15 was a bit more challenging to swatch since it has a several infinity style images that had to be broken up in agrgregate parts as a whole to swatch.  Still the quality was excellent.

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Overall Impression

If you were on the fence about this brand don't be.  My replacement plates were absolutely flawless! To the degree that I only had to scrape and stamp once for each image except for the one when I mis-stamped which was personal error.  Talk about fantastic!  I think that Cris has perfected the level of etching she wanted and if anything these plates are even more perfectly etched than my 1st batch.  The last two plates I was missing are also phenomenal!  I absolutely cannot wait to try out plate 18 for an indian themed mani.  I think every new brand with have a few hiccups with production and etching when they are getting their start.  I've seen it happen many times even with large brands, but when the quality and innovation is this excellent it's worth sticking to and supporting a newcomer to the market!

I also look forward to trying out the newest plates released by Loja BBF.  If you haven't seen them read about it here.  Overall I would say, as I said in my prior review, this brand is awesome.  However I can finally say beyond a doubt the quality of the plates is wonderful and you know I love the images to death!  You can purchase LojaBBF plates by emailing Cris at lojabbf@gmail.com.  Plates retail for $7 USD and she ships worldwide.  I hope you enjoyed this updated review and thanks for reading! See you next post...

Hot Off the Stamping Press: MoYou London Bridal Collection Expansion!

Hey lacqueristas,

For those of you who don't know MoYou London released a new collection last week called the Bridal Collection consisting of 4 new plates.  These plates had both a mix of extremely novel and beautiful lace patterns as well as some lovely dovey imagery of the more traditional western wedding themes.  You can read more about it here.  Last week MoYou informed us they would also be releasing 3 more plates this Friday from the same collection.  Let's take a look shall we?

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London Bridal Collection

 Katie's back and apparently she's running with a pack of hens....

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Last week I was very on the fence about these plates and this week has pretty much removed all my doubts.  I am not a fan of this collection.  Are these plates kittzhy and cute? Yes.  Do I think these images would make for a fun mani for a bachlorette party? Yes.

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Larger images from the smaller plate with a few more quips regarding hen's parties which are essentially bachlorette parties in the UK for those that were a little confused about the hens etc.   The one think I will say is that the typography on these plates is gorgeous!  They really did a wonderful jobs with the fonts.

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And again larger images in the XL variety of the smaller plates.  I have to admit I find the final fling before the ring image equal parts disturbing and amusing lol.

So am I alone here when I say this didn't really do it for me? Where do I begin? This collection is so not what I wanted it to be. I was hoping for a little more than farm animals and lingerie.  I really wanted to see images from other weddings around the world paticularly African, Japanese, and Indian (Asian not American Indians) themes.  I wondered about the question too of introducing gender equality themes into these plates as well since the UK has been so forward and progressive on these matters.  Alas!  These are cute, but the versatility is extremely limited in terms of multiple uses.  IMO it might be worth getting the lace plates from last week, which I did, and moving on, which I I'm doing now.  If you are interested in purchasing these plates.  They will release this Friday on the MoYou London website.  Plates retail for 4.99 Euro and don't forget to use the code "Tamira10" to maximize your savings if you haven't already.  Thanks for reading and see you next post...
Tuesday, May 20, 2014

MoYou London 31 Day Nail Art Challenge Day 14 TV Show

Hey lacquer ladies,

There are mani's that fail.  Lol I have them more often than you might think especially when I'm indecisive.  I do feel though I should show you when I fail a mani so that you can see even experienced stampers fail.  This was my challenge entry for day 14 of the MoYou London 31 Day Nail Art challenge.  The theme was TV and I knew right away this was gong to be tough.  I have a lot of plates so I could do anything which of course didn't help.  The biggest issue I had though is that I don't really watch TV.  I haven't owned a TV in 6 years and TV isn't a huge part of my life.  When I do watch I watch anime (yes - dweeb but Naruto Shippuden and Fairy Tail kick all the ass) or I watch a lot of K drama.  Thinking back on the last real TV show I was watching it would be True Blood or Summer Heights High.  So I floundered.

lacquer lockdown - moyou london, moyou london princess 02, moyou london princess 07, moyou london time traveler back to the 70's 01, MoYou  London Mother Nature 01, stamping, nail art, elevation polish, elevation polish avalanche, elevation polish Mt McKinley, Elevation Polish Streetside NYC, cute nail art, diy nail art, easy nail art ideas
Mani-louge
Basecoat/Topcoat: CND Stickey and Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Topcoat
Base colors: Elevation Polish Mt McKinley, Streetside NYC, Avalanche (old formula) and Elberus 2
Stamping polish: Konad Special Polish in Purple, Sally Hansen InstaDri in Fast Fuschia
Stamping Plates: MoYou London Princess 02 and 07, Time Traveler Back To The 70's 01 and Mother Nature 01
 
What I should have realized is that I didn't have to do this challenge based off a TV show I watched, but maybe one that I could work into a mani.  Afterwards I had so many great ideas for TV show inspired mani's but what I came up with was based on a K drama I'm currently watching called The Witches' Romance.  It's about a woman on the verge of 40 (omg gasp - kdrama is so terrible for a woman's ego) who is single (see what did I say), successful (to the point of being called a witch because she will go to extreme lengths to do her job), and falling in love with a man 15 years her junior.  Oy! Lol I love this kind of nonsensical story so I tried to capture all these elements in my mani.  It ended up looking like something from BeWitched and it wasn't that good either...ugh

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At the end it wasn't even that I didn't feel my idea translated.  It was the fact that the execution was poor because I ran out of time.  Daily challenges on top of work means pushing things right down to the last minute.  Oh well I can't say this was a complete fail, but I'm definitely not satisfied with my work.  And there we have it day 14.  I don't even want to ask your opinions because I know this was wretched lol.  Thanks for reading and see you next post...
Sunday, May 18, 2014

Hot Off The Stamping Press: Topatopa Nail Art Stamping Plates!

Hey nail art addicts,

Aren't you happy that you follow my blog? Because every time I discover a brand of plates and nail art products that make me squeal I come right here to share it with you! Lol.  Ahem now speaking of squealing I have another new brand for you today hot off the stamping press.  Topatopa is a France based stamping plate maker that has created plates that are too adorable for words! The company is run by Samantha who is exceedingly sweet and kind.  Yup you know I already contacted her to get the deets.  Can I pause for a second to say how astonished and in awe I am of all these ladies all across the world that can speak so many languages and we are all united by our love of nail art! I have "met" so many wonderful people!  Now let's see these plates shall we?

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 All photo credits courtesy of Topatopa

 Tally me banana lol! This one is perfect for the upcoming summer and all those tropical vacations. 

The back of the image plates in case you wanted to see it :)


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Tribal beats and chevrons. Yes now we are talking people! You know I love me some chevron nail art and patterns.  Oh so many plans already...

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Ah ah stop stop everything!  I need all the tribals all the tribal nails ever!!! I will never ever ever get tired of this trend.  I don't even a consider it a trend because tribes have been around as long as mankind was a social animal.  In short forever thus all the tribal patterns are necessary ;) Wait am I the only one still in love with tribal nail art? I hope not!

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Another summer perfect pattern.  Nautical themes can never be wrong in the heat of the summer on a hot beach or boat, even a cookout.  I love  it!  This is also a perfect plate for doing a little preppy style nail art a la J Crew ;)

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Are you getting the feeling mustaches are in? Lol they are everywhere.  Love the birds and the sugar skulls!

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More abstracts.  Love it!  That pattern directly in the middle is one of the toughest to create using stripping tape or nail vinyls believe me I have tried. I also give bonus points for any brand that has lightening bolts.  They are rarer than you think... 

So what do you ladies think? Aren't these plates adorbs! Topatopa plates retail for 2.75 Euro (roughly $3.77USD) so they are quite affordable.  Another pleasant surprise is that the shipping was also super affordable at 4.55 Euro for all 6 plates.  You can find the plates along with stampers and striping tape  at the Topatopa boutique.  Since I am an addict and all the nails must be stamped these plates are on the way to me and I'll keep you posted on a review and some nail art.  Happy hunting and thanks for reading!  See you next post...

MoYou London 31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 13 Childhood

Happy Sunday lacqueristas,

I don't have an AIS post today as likely I won't be able to get to it with the daily MoYou London challenge eating up a majority of my time these days.  Whine moan and complain right? Lol nope! I've pretty much hit my stride minus the post for day 14 because that one was a doozy, but otherwise I'm feeling good kinda floating through these challenges now.  Today I've got Day 13 nail art for you.  The theme was Childhood.  Ah the nostalgia ;)

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Pro 04 XL, Pro 04 XL, MoYou London Princess Collection 10, Princess Collection 10, MoYou London Princess Collection 09, Princess Collection 09, stamping, Mundo de Unas stamping polish #2, nail art, lisa frank inspired nail art, lisa frank nail art, summer nail art, neon zebra print nails, zebra print nails, star nail art, stars nail art, neon nail art, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, easy nail art idea, strawberry naisl, strawberry french tips, stamping, Orly, Lililacquer
Mani-louge
Basecoat/Topcoat: CND Stickey and Sally Hansen Diamond Flash Topcoat
Base colors: Lilacquer Selkie, IMN Northern Lights in Silver, Orly Tennis Ball Neon, Ablaze, Hot Tropics, and Tropical Pop, Essie Shake Your $$$ Maker, Color Club Endless Summer
Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas #2
Stamping Plates: MoYou London Pro XL 04, Princess 09 and 10 

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For this challenge I decided to create a mani with elements of things I loved as a child. And what I loved when I was a child was simple - Lisa Frank, Minnie Mouse, strawberries, anything bright colored, and stars.  I still love all of these things which is kind of surprising though I no longer collect Lisa Frank items.  When I think about it my mother always said I was her most difficult child - a picky eater, sickly, and finicky about everything.  Lol lord things have so not changed! I guess we are who we are from the moment we are born until we die and if we are lucky we learn enough to change some of our poorer bad habits ;)  

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So how about you ladies are their things that you still love as a child that stuck with you as an adult?  Did you like the mani?  I think it was fun and bright!  I hope you liked my day 13 post and are enjoying the warm weather, if you have it, this weekend.   Thanks for reading and I'll see you next post...
Saturday, May 17, 2014

MoYou London 31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 12 OOTD

Hey lacqueristas,

Who thought of OOTD as a challenge? Ugh I am seriously not one to complain about my work attire because I love what I wear everyday on the other hand nothing is inspirational about scrubs.  I mean nothing.  It's like wearing pajamas to work everyday comfy, but certainly not fashionable.  I was a little at a loss unfortunately then I decided to take my two most frequently alternating scrub colors and create a gradient and a nautical theme to match my gym bag that gets carried to work.  Lol. What a mess but whatever works right?

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Pro Collection 01 XL, Pro Collection 01 XL, MoYou London Sailor Collection 01, Sailor Collection 01, stamping, nail art, nautical nailsm, anchors, stripes, gradient nail art, summer nail art, beach nails, spring nails, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, Color Club Age of Aquarius, Sinful Colors Savage, Mundo de Unas #30, Orly Rage

Mani-louge
Gradient: Sinful Colors Savage and Color Club Age of Aquarius
Glitter accent: Butter London Scallywag
Stamping polish Mundo de Unas #30 and Orly Rage
Stamping plates: MoYou London Pro XL 01 and Sailor 01

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One thing I have to say about this challenge is that my Pro plates are getting a workout.  Of all the plates halfway through this collection I would say the Pro are the most versatile hands down offering you lots of combos to create a very of nail art.   This came out like gangbusters! In short it ended up being a lot cuter than I thought it would given all my dismay and hemming and hawing about how my daily outfits are nothing to write home about lol.  What I got were some awesome #nautical #nailart!

Lacquer Lockdown - MoYou London, MoYou London Pro Collection 01 XL, Pro Collection 01 XL, MoYou London Sailor Collection 01, Sailor Collection 01, stamping, nail art, nautical nailsm, anchors, stripes, gradient nail art, summer nail art, beach nails, spring nails, diy nail art, cute nail art ideas, Color Club Age of Aquarius, Sinful Colors Savage, Mundo de Unas #30, Orly Rage

So what do you think? Not bad for a set of scrubs and a gym bag right? I got style I got class ;) ;)  Note to shelf must use more of my Butter London polishes.  Isn't Scallywag divine!!!  Thanks so much for reading and see you next post...

#nautical #nailart #MoYouLondon #stamping #lacquerlockdown
Friday, May 16, 2014

2014 Nail Art Trend Alert: Lace

Hey lacquer ladies,

I wanted to fire off this post about lace as it seems everyone these days is losing their minds over these delicate bits of cloth transposed onto their nails as art.  I myself am a huge fan of lace nail art and I've often admired my fellow freehand nail art blogging friends who have been able to recreate favorite patterns of lace on their nails as well.  One of the reasons I'm so excited for all the lace plates that have been making their way around is that now I can create the same looks but best of all with precision and reproducibility.  I also wanted to make everyone aware that if you are looking for lace patterned plates there are a host of options out there.  I tried to list everything out in order of when they hit the market so let's get started...

Pueen Cosmetics

 Photo credit: Colores de Carol

It turns out Pueen in all their Love Elements glory got the jump on this whole lace thing doing a few sweet versions for those who love lace and apparently love.  These represent a great value for anyone looking to pick up a good set and also get some lace along the way!  This set generally retails for $18.99 and can be found at a variety of stores thus shipping depends on where you order.

Bunny Nails


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This plate represents one of the first full size nail lace designs, and launched in Nov/Dec of 2013.  This plate was part of the Bunny Nails Everyday nail art series, and as usual with everything she does these plates are quietly and beautifully making a statement about her creativity and attention to detail.  This plate retails for 17.99 with free worldwide shipping.

Emily de Molly

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I honestly forgot about this plate amongst all of the lace which is a shame because these patterns are exquisite.  These EdM plates launched in Dec/January just a little after the Bunny Nails plates.  I also think EDM02 has a lace-quese pattern but because it wasn't as fine and detailed as these I didn't include it.  EdM plates are available at Messy Mansion and retail for $7 USD + $2.50 shipping worldwide. 

Loja BBF

Lacquer Lockdown - lace nail art, lace nails, bridal nails, special occasion nail art, special occasion nails, stamping, Bunny Nails, BuN A, Emily de Molly, EDM01, Loja BBF, BBF 04, BBF21, Dashica Beauty, Infinity Nails 48, MoYou London, Bridal Collection 07, Bridal Collection 04, Vivid Lacquer, Messy Mansion, MM44, VL028, lace, nails, diy nail art, lace nail art trend, cute nail art ideasThe initial release of 20 plates featured this stunning plate followed by the one below which I announced yesterday.  When they first hit the scene the surge of interested customers was insane! A lot of ladies were queuing up to get their hands on these patterns.

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With the second release little has changed, and ladies are still clamoring for the goods.  These plates retail for $7 USD and $10 shipping to US from Brazil.

Messy Mansion

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This plate was announced several weeks ago and has been causing a tremendous uproar on many of the stamping groups I'm in.  My thought is it was around this time and the release of the Loja BBF plates several months prior that the true buildup and demand for lace nail art started taking off.  This plate retails for $7 USD + 2.50 worldwide shipping.

Vivid Lacquer



It's been around 2 months since these plates were announced and the pre-sale went live.  This plate was also announced around the same time as the Messy Mansion plate.  Definitely a mark of the demand for lace in the nail art community.  I can't wait for mine to arrive in a few more weeks!

Daschica Beauty

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I am not entirely sure when this plate released.  There are a ton of abstract type plates that are borderline IMO for what we would call lace however I know that this plate was released prior to the last set of 25 plates I announced roughly 3 weeks ago.  So I placed it in the timeline around the same as Messy Mansion and Vivid Lacquer.  Infinity plates retail for 4.99 Euro and shipping is based on amount and destination address.

MoYou London

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As you recall I announced these plates on Wednesday as part of the Bridal Collection which released today for sale.  As you can see these two plates feature a host of lace for the most eager lace loving enthusiast.  In standard MoYou style they are available in both the XL and standard sized variety.  These plates retail for 4.99 Euro plus shipping.

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So what do you think ladies - lace in or out or just a pass? As you can see there is a lot more out there than what one may have initially thought.   Lol in all honesty until I sat down to write this post I'd forgotten how many options I had myself, and who knows how many more options we will have in the future as this trend continues to take off.  In fact given how many brands of plates out there I wouldn't be surprised if I missed some. There are 3 more plates releasing from the MoYou Bridal Collection in 1 week, and may get some more lace then as well! I really hope this post was helpful for those looking around for lace stamping plates and wondering what your options were.  Thanks for reading and see you next post...