Judging by your responses, Konad techniques might be interesting to some of my readers. OK, let's get stamping.
***
Here comes a short seance of a self-therapy:
My environment is totally Konad-unfriendly. My mom, bless her heart, still tells me that bright or, God forbid, red polish reserved for the fallen creatures only. My beloved husband used to roll his eyes ones hear the words "nail art". "Honey, how old are you, exactly? Thirteen?". Yes, he can pursue a PhD in being sarcastic with his wife. I had been drooling profusely over Sara's beautiful Konad manicures (check the links at the end of her post). Yet, somehow I was sure I would look like a retired ho' with a lot of time on her hands (literally) if I would get myself one of these sinful stamps. I have to admit, pictures on Konad official web site did not exactly prove the opposite. So, buying a Konad was somewhat of a rebellious act. I was working late and out of the blue I though: "Hell, this is my life and I just want to have some fun". Hi, my name is Masa and I'm so proud of myself for finally getting a Konad!
***
Konad is a trade name of a company that produces kits for "stamping nail art". In theory, you apply a bit of a special nail polish on the design of your choice; scrape polish excess with a miniature scraper; press a rubber stamp on the design and transfer it to your nails. With the greatest of ease. I wish!
After getting my Konad, I did one - one! - design successfully and then it just did not want to work for me anymore. Instead of transferring countless immaculate "highly detailed, sophisticated designs" to my nails, I was almost crying in frustration. Then I remembered that I have a polish fanatic colleagues and sent out a lot of emails.
Carla G was nice enough to share this link. Please, read the section "Stamp not picking up image" carefully.
Konad's nuts and bolts:
1. Before you begin, file the rubber stamp with your regular nail file - just a touch.
2. Do not try to swipe your polish over the design in different directions in attempt to cover all little nukes and crannies. Swipe with one fast, wide motion. If you work with polish for too long (we are talking seconds here, not minutes), it will dry out right on the plate and your stamp will not pick up the design. Big blop of polish is not necessary at all. Thin layer can produce very good results.
3. Clear both the plate and a scraper after each swipe, with acetone-based remover.
4. Use Konad special polish. I hate "special" products; usually it's just a marketing trick, making you to pay more money for a product equal to a regular, not-so-special stuff. Well, "special polish" does yield better and more consistent results.
5. Experiment with the stamp: try to place it on the design straight, head first; or try a gentle rolling motion.
6. Transfer the design to the nail in one rolling motion.
7. Even if you are a perfectionist, please, do not get mad at yourself. Some designs are just more difficult to work with than others. I still cannot master this one:
For some reason it's almost impossible to pick up completely. I've already wasted gallons of polish on it, and was able to pick the design for 95% just once. Oh well.
8. Buy more polish than you think you would use. You will inevitably waste some while learning ropes.
9. Make sure your top coat is fresh and thin; otherwise it will pull your design and ultimately ruin it.
Some tips and tricks:
1. Stamping over your base coat works well. Great way to refresh an old mani.
2. If you work over the base coat and have smudged the design, gently scrape it off the nail and redo. I use plastic nail tips from Sally's for scraping.
3. Some of regular polishes do work with Konad. For instance, Color Club nail art polishes. One of nail boarders also has mentioned that Misa I Will Survive (glossy black) works perfectly. Go, Misa!
Experiment and have fun!
Special thanks to NOTD blog for inspiration and advice; and to Carla G for the great link!
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After neon intoxication I wanted to paint my nails into something muted, subtle and sophisticated to the extent of being boring. So I've reached for OPI Parlez-vous OPI? It turned out to be exactly what I wanted, but I could not just stop here. When one just got a Konad stamper, creativity itch is inevitable. I used plate #63 with Konad silver. Love the results (ha - I've been wearing this mani for almost 4 days; usually I change every other day).
And another - shadow - pic to show off the design. I've got couple of smudges, but nobody's perfect, right?
Another attempt - the same design in black, over Sephora OPI Run With It.
(You can catch a glimpse of I'm With Brad on a ring finger).
I need more Konad plates.
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As you know, Misa's neon collection is huge - 12 colors all together. 12 colors means a lot of swatching, so with Scrangie The Greatest we have decided to attack you, guys, form both left and right split our efforts. Please refer to her post to see another 6 colors from this collection.
Here comes a disclaimer. I hate neons. The feeling is mutual - neons are not so thrilled about me, either. They look horrid on me. Imagine a very brightly colored shell parakeet pooping on one's nails right after having a big breakfast of neon markers. Now you have an idea of neons on my nails. Plus, neon is very hard to capture accurately. So, please be gentle with me and forgive my not-so-ideal pics.
General observations:
I thought the idea of releasing a neon collection mid-August was rather odd. However, I received these colors on a very dreadful rainy day, and looking at them - bright and smiley as a bunch of over-caffeinated cheerleaders - was very comforting. Not so bad idea after all.
All of the very few neon polishes I have met before were kinda...dense and chalk-like. Misa neon polishes are complete opposite. The consistency is a bit goopy and drippy at the same time; and they dry to a jelly finish. Drying time is fine. Unlike other neons, usually drying to a matte finish, these ones dried semi-gloss.
I had several issues with applications. Consistency does not allow to make three thin layers (which I prefer) accurately. Polish bulged a bit closer to the tips of my nails. The higher the jelly factor, the worse the application (my biggest problems were with Ready, Set, Sunshine and Bikini With a Martini).
Most of them are opaque in three coats.
I wish for the brushes to had more bounce - this would make handling of a heavy polish so much easier.
Enough words, let's move to the pictures.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat is one of my favorites, yet it takes the worst pictures in the whole bunch.
In real life it's a tone or even two lighter and have some hint of orange in it. Think a typical light pink highlighter.
Girl's Night Out is a very, very bright purple; one of the jellyest (is it a word?) in the bunch:
/OK - it shows perfectly on one of my monitors and really meh on another one. Just in case - it's a dark, bright purple/
Ready, Set, Sunshine. Meet your old friend from Driver's Ed - road cone. Or you can think about this color as a carrot which has been consuming way too much energy drinks:
This one has the worst opacity rate: in 3 thick coats you can still see the white part of my nails. My guess, if you flash somebody with nails colored in Ready, Set, the person will go blind anyway and won't mind the sheerness of the color.
Happy Happy is yellow yellow and pretty pretty. I would love to wear it, but it's not my color at all:
Bikini With a Martini is the most wearable, at least for me. Bright magenta in a bottle, it looks surprisingly orange on the nails:
Let's Go Green is a very Honda-Element color, if you know what I mean. Nitrate-fertilized lime with a gold shimmer. Amazing shimmer is exactly the same as in Luminous. Basically, Let's Go Green is a chemical-green version of Luminous (sounds weird, I know). Required 4 coats and still was not completely opaque. Again, I love it, but cannot wear this one:
Please excuse some pink inclusions - I cannot stop playing with my brand-new Konad. I thought neon overload would look cute, but you have to use Konad special polish to get neon-bright results (I used Color Club pink).
OK, ladies, enjoy the colors; and I'm off to polish my nails into something muted, subtle, dark and boring.
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Meaning:
1. Neons have arrived, all 12 of them!
2. I cannot swatch: it's pouring here; and neons + indoor lighting = deceptive pictures.
Here is an uber-ghetto swatch, for your /very questionable/ viewing pleasure:
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First, I just got a confirmation that I'll be getting them really soon.
Second - turns out, Misa did this collection three years ago; way before all major players have come up with marker-colored collections! They wanted to test the market first.
Third - most important, probably - this is a part of the core collection now. Certain Canadian gal should be happy, as well as many others neon enthusiasts.
Stay tuned for swatches!
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...how well these patches work. An actual reason - I wanted to show off one of my old time favorites. Bitches Brew by Lippmann. It was my very first expensive polish; and the very first "bold" color (I used to be all neutrals, modest pinks and sheers kind of gal). Worth every penny: smooth, nice brush, dries quickly and wears exceptionally well. Who am I kidding here - I would get it just for the name.
Stupid weather did not let me capture a delicate, yet deep shimmer. Deep shimmer - does it make any sense?
Patches, oh yes - patches. There is a little bump on a pinky, but I needed to know if Swiss Silk would survive heavy picking on it. It did; and also has passed non-acetone remover test: did not even budge.
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