Tone on Tone Stamping.

One of the nail groups I'm a member of on Facebook had a recent stamping challenge which involved tone on tone stamping, although I was too late to actually join in I still fancied giving it a go and here are the results of my effort.

 

 

I used Kiko Mirror Nail Lacquer in 619, Red Peony, to stamp over Kiko 288 from the other day.  Although the name suggests it's a red polish I would say it is very definitely pink.

 

I'm pleased with how this turned out, it's pretty subtle and probably not really noticeable in person unless you look closely but I like the fact that I can still have a stamped manicure without it being really obvious and in your face.

 

Helpfully I can't remember which plate I used for the image but if anyone has a burning desire to know leave a comment and I will go and dig it out and post the number for you. :)

Stamping with Kiko 621 Violetta

Another stamping manicure today using Kiko Mirror Nail Lacquer (621 Violetta), I love stamping with these polishes they just work so perfectly.

 

 

I chose a lilac / violet colour to go over yesterday's Warwick Street.

 

I think it adds a nice extra layer of depth to the fine sprinkles.

Kiko Mirror Nail Lacquer 621 & 622

I couldn't resist picking up a few more of Kiko's Mirror Nail Lacquer when I was away recently because they are so perfect for stamping, this manicure shows exactly why.

This manicure uses two colours swirled together on the plate to give a sort of duochrome stamped effect which I was pretty pleased with.  I stamped over yesterday's Guava by Barry M.

 

The polishes are so easy to work with when stamping and they transfer onto the nail in totally opaque layers which makes them perfect for stamping manicures.

 

It's quite difficult to see the two colours / duochrome effect in full light but it's a bit easier to see it in the dull lighting in the photo below.

 

Here's a quick bottle shot to show the two colours on their own.

 

Kiko Haul!

Every time I come out to visit my parents in Spain we make a little trip to the nearest Kiko store.  Initially it involved an hours drive to get to the nearest one, then one opened about 20 minutes away.  At the end of last year a big new shopping centre opened a 5 minute drive away and in it a Kiko! So now with it just on the doorstep it's dead easy to get to. Naturally I had to pay a visit, especially since all of their nail Polish is currently only €2,50 each.  Here's my little haul...

First up a few colours from the regular range, including a backup of my favourite Kiko nude, 372.

Two gel look top coats (which are great value at €2,50) and a bar cost to try and dirt out my peely, yellow nails.

One of the new Sun Pearl collection.

The remainder of the shimmer Sugar Mats.

Three more of the Mirrors for stamping with.

And all of the rest of the regular, non shimmery, Sugar Mats.

So that little lot should keep me occupied while I'm away and mean that I have plenty to post about when I get back.

Kiko 319 & 621 - Subtle Stamping

I'm so pleased with how this turned out, the colours work much better together than I thought they might and because 621 -Violet from the Mirror range - which I stamped with has such a foil finish my nails looked like foils or wraps.

I had several compliments on this in real life which doesn't happen all that often so I was really pretty pleased with myself and how this turned out.

The Mirror collection really do stamp SO well, I am very tempted to pick up a few more when I am out in Spain next month.

A brief moment of sunshine in Glasgow, that has to be worth photographing. ;)



Nail Junkie Stamped

I decided to stamp over yesterday's Nail Junkie manicure with another of the fantastic Kiko Mirror Collection, this time I used 629 Copper.

 

 

I'm not too sure what this design is supposed to be, maybe some sort of animal print, but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  I used Gals plate GA32.

 

The copper colour goes well over the teal glitter and makes for a nice contrast, and yet again you can see that the Kiko polish stamps really well and it totally opaque.

 

I like the fact that from a distance this stamping looks like a full cover nail wrap.

Stamping over glitter

I think the colours are a bit too close on this one to really give the proper effect but I do like how it turned out.  In person it looked very foily and quite like nail wraps.

 

Kiko Mirror Nail lacquer in Violet stamped over 2True's Shade 6 from the other day.

 

Again I am delighted with how the Mirror polish stamped, so opaque and easy to use, if you're someone who stamps then a few of these polishes would definitely be a good addition to your collection.

 

I think the pattern I chose combined with the similar colour I stamped with and the glitter underneath meant that it wasn't quite as obvious as I would have liked but it was still a pretty manicure to wear for the day.

Kiko Mirror Collection Nail Lacquer - Stamping!

I posted about these Mirror polishes here when I got my latest Kiko haul from Spain.  My main reason for ordering the Mirror effect was that I was hoping they might be good for stamping.  Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed!

 

 

I stamped over a Sugar Mat polish, Starry Black which is a textured finish, so I don't think these pictures show off the Mirror effect nail lacquer to it's full potential but that just makes it even better, I can't wait to try it out over a regular polish when it worked so well over the textured Sugar Mat effect.

 

The colours I tried are detailed below:

 

Index: 619 Red Peony

Middle: 621 Violet

Ring: 626 Lawn Green

Pinkie: 629 Copper

 

And here's how they came out!

 

 

I am so pleased, despite the pitted bumpy texture of my nails these stamped only really clearly and very opaque.  They were super easy to work with and pretty much ideal for stamping.

 

As you can see the colour is opaque and bright even over a really dark base colour.

 

I can't wait to try these out with some other stamping plates and base shades, then I'll start making a list of what other colours I need to pick up next time I'm in Kiko. ;)

Spanish Kiko Haul!

My lovely mum and dad have arrived to visit and with them they brought a bag of Kiko goodies, I feel like it's been ages since I first posted about them so I am very glad to finally get my hands on them, here they are all together:

 

 

There's one odd light grey (far left in the picture) which is from the standard range of colors and then there are polishes from the three newest collections.

 

First up the Sugar Mat Collection.  I chose 5 polishes, all from the Pearly Mat range (there's also a full mat range which doesn't have the shimmer); 646 Starry Black, 645 Burgundy, 641 Strawberry Pink, 639 Golden Mandarin and 643 Spring Green

 

Then 4 polishes from the Mirror Collection; 626 Lawn Green, 629 Copper, 619 Red Peony and 621 Violet.  I have high hopes for these when it comes to stamping with them.

 

And finally, satisfying my current nude obsession, from the Colours in the World Collection Celebration Nail Lacquer in 417 Blush.

 

I can't wait to try out some of these, I just have to decide which to use first!

 

New Kiko Collections & Haul

Kiko is by far one of my very favourite brands of nail polish so I am always excited when I see they have a new collection out.  This time around there are 3 collections all launching at at similar time.

 

Sugar Mat - Kiko's answer to the textured trend in matte and shimmer shades!

 

 

 

 

Mirror Nail Lacquer - highly polished, mirror effect shades which I am hoping will be great for stamping.

 

 

 

 

Colours in the World, Celebration Nail Lacquer

 

 

There's a whole Colours in the World collection but I am specifically interested in the 10 shades of Celebration Nail Lacquer:

 

 

 

 

I was tempted to order some online but since my parents are coming back to the UK from Spain next month for a visit I decided to take advantage of their personal shopping skills and get them to pick me some up at a discounted rate (the polishes cost the same in Euros as they do in pounds so buying in Spain saves about 10% at the moment).

 

I sent my folks this list:

 

 

This voucher

 

 

and here are the results!

 

 

 

Now I just have to wait for almost a month for them all to arrive in the UK.

 

All three collections are available to buy online now and if you use the code online or the voucher I posted above instore you get 20% off until the 3rd of March, so hurry if you want to grab a few new collection bargain before the offer ends.