Last week I went to a press day and a fab nail product caught my eye. This was a nail art stamping kit from a brand called MoYou London, and to cut a long story short it creates fabulous statement nails without the need for an artistic hand. This week they sent me a starter kit to experiment with and so experiment I did.
First of all get everything ready – the polishes you have chosen, your metal nail art plate (mine is from the Explorer collection), the scraper and stamping tool and also a bottle of nail varnish remover, cotton wool pads and plenty of cotton buds.
Next prep your nails with a clear base coat. Then apply your colour of choice (1 or 2 layers) along with a top coat as per your usual manicure. I used the MoYou London varnish in Silver Dust £8.99 on my accent nail and a pale pink on my other nails – OPI’s Miso Happy with This Colour £11.50.
Once dry you need to get ready to add the artwork. Make sure you soak a cotton bud in nail varnish remover before you begin. Choose the colour that you wish to use as your detail. I opted for Chanel Le Vernis in 219 Black Satin £18.00 and the MoYou in Silver Dust for the nude nails. Next add the varnish to the design of your choice. Make sure you use a generous amount so that it covers it entirely.
Next, and you need to work rather quickly, use your scraper tool to scrape across the surface of the metal plate removing the excess varnish. This needs to be done in one move, with the scraper held at a 45 degree angle. Be decisive and apply some pressure.
Now you need to lift the design from the plate and add it your nail. Again try to do this as quickly as possible so that the varnish does not dry. Firstly use your stamp tool to lift the design from the plate, then to apply it to your nail. You need to use a rolling motion to lift and apply and only go across once. If you go back and forth the design will not transfer cleanly. Use some pressure, but the key is nerves of steel and a steady hand. As you can see this one of mine isn’t entirely perfect but keep practising and you will get the hang of it.
Next (& sorry I forgot to take pictures of this stage as I was so busy stamping) you use your varnish remover soaked cotton bud to clean the excess varnish from your fingers. My design went all across the top of my fingers around my nailbed but it was easy to clean up with cotton wool buds. After each use you also need to clean the plate, stamp tool and the scraper with nail varnish remover. Finally when it is dry, add a top coat. This is not crucial but it means the manicure will last longer. Another note… if you are using a dark colour for your design (like my black varnish) then leave it a good 20 mins before you apply the top coat to ensure it doesn’t smudge all your hard work.
I did one hand at a time and let the left hand dry completely before I worked on my right hand. Being rather clumsy and also right-handed this one is always more of a challenge. I’m not going to lie, this does take some patience, practise and a somewhat steady hand, but I am not a manicurist and I think the results aren’t bad. This took some time, but if you are less of a perfectionist than me and aren’t taking pictures along the way it will be quicker. The below were my first attempts when I was deciding on colours. I only used one layer of varnish and stamped quite quickly and the results in some instances are even better! For the other nails I used MoYou London Orchid Chic £4.99 (lilac) and an old varnish called Fiesta from New Look £2.99 (neon orange). Both had the MoYou London Silver Dust for the design.
If you have plans to stay in with friends this bank holiday weekend or just fancy something a bit different why not try it out for yourself? Head to http://www.moyou.co.uk and pick up a starter kit for £29.99 (mine was from the Explorer range). This includes 3 polishes, 2 stamp plates, a stamp transfer tool, a scraper and the all important manual. Then all you need is some nail varnish remover and some cotton buds and you’re away.
For starter kits, nail art plates and polishes head to http://www.moyou.co.uk
Stylitz 