Paging MNA! or anyone else who knows about nail stamping...

I've found that polishes with a thicker consistency work better. I like the nail products from Born Pretty, you can find stamping polishes here: http://www.bornprettystore.com/bornpretty-stamping-polish-c-268_94_709.html?ver=8383

Ohh thank you!

Yw! I haven't tried the polishes but I have ordered nail foils, decals, and other tools, shipping was surprisingly fast.

If I order some I will let you know how they work!

Nail stamping?

I have trouble with too. More transferring the paint to the stamper. What were mna's tips? I'd love to hear?

Bumping because I saw MNA.

Bumping so MNA will hopefully see this

I just saw it!! Sorry!!

Definitely do it while the polish on your nails is still slightly tacky. I use a quick dry topcoat, Seche Vite. If I polish my nails, starting left pinky through right pinky, by the time I finish one coat, they're ready for a second, then topcoat. (Be aware that if you do thicker coats, let them dry a bit more before using Seche, as it WILL wrinkle thicker spots of wet polish, and be sure to wrap the polish at the tips, so the free edge is coated. It extends the life of your mani and prevents shrinkage!)

In my experience, immediately after top paying one hand, the nails tend to be good to stamp (if I keep using the same order!) and the polish will be just tacky enough to transfer the stamp. You have to work quickly so the polish is wet enough (the stamp itself) to transfer. Clear stampers are awesome and available through AliExpress super cheap! After stamping, topcoat again, cleanup (liquid latex can help with this if you brush it around your cuticles. Otherwise a cuticle brush dipped in pure acetone works wonders!) and you're good!

Be sure to clean plates with a cotton pad no 100% acetone, no additives, because the additives can build up in the etchings and make it not transfer well.

There are some great stamping polishes out there, but a lot of the Sinful Colors $2 polishes work, especially their black and white!

Hope that helps!!

Oh! My favorite plate brands are MoYou London (these are AMAZING!!!), Bundle Monster, and Born Pretty (these take forever!) MoYou has a New York distributor, so they get stuff to you super quick!

@mna I'm so exited that there is someone here who is as obsessed with polish as I am!

Watch tutorials on YouTube.... There are a ton!!!

@Jakki: I make polish! . My brand is Shinespark Polish!

Ahhh! I am all about anything 5 free!

@Jakki: Yayyy! I'm actually also working slowly on a nontoxic, peel off line, but it's slow going. :/

@mna I can't imagine how much work that must be!

OH I just saw you commented. My issue is getting the stamp on the stamper? Any tips?

I also had no idea to do it on the nails when tacky, I always waiting till dry to not smudge.

Wow! i just saw all these responses!! oops!! @Kathryn that was my issues at first and MNA told me to use an old giftcard or something other than the metal scraper that generally comes with the design tray! that worked beautifully.

I didn't think about doing it while my nails were still tacky i will definitely try it that way! I can't wait to try this out some more! yay!

and @Scruptious basically you have a metal stamping plate with a design etched in to it. you put polish in it and scrape off the excess. push the stamp on the design to life the polish out of the etching and then put it on your nails! it's a really neat process... i just can't get this stupid set i bought to work! lol

I decided i wanted to save money and not get a pro mani for the wedding and now i am just stubborn and bound and determined to make this set work ha

Why would the gift card work better? lol

@OGKathryn: you may have to prime the stamper first. I recommend buffing the head with a magic eraser. Some of the best stampers I personally like are the marshmallow squishy ones, or the clear ones off of AliExpress. I have actually never had to prime either of those (I have a couple of each!) though I have had to buff some of the more firm stampers, and it's a pain in the butt. :/

ETA: another tip, is to use a VERY light touch, and rolls the stamper on the plate instead of pressing, in the opposite direction of scraping.

As for the gift cards, most sets come with either a plastic scraper (which doesn't usually scrape well) or a metal edged one, which can scratch the plates/damage them over time. You should also definitely make sure to clean the plate between each stamp, with pure acetone. I use a folded cotton round (fold in half, then in half again into a triangular shape,) and hold it with a pair of scissors, lol, with the pad in the blades. It makes it easier to throw away without touching the cotton.

I definitely recommend the Seche Vite topcoat though. It is NOT 5-free, but it dries SUPER fast. Like, I can redo my nails, and within 10 minutes shower with no smudging, denting, or damage. It's awesome.