Thursday, December 10, 2015

Bundle Monster Review including Christmas/NYE Stamping Plate and Stamping Accessories

Press  Sample

Hey there!  I have a big review today of some of the products that Bundle Monster offer.  Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure how to organize it.  All of these products can be used with stamping nail art so I used them all in conjunction with each other for the three manis you see below. Today I'll be discussing one of the newest stamping plate sets, the Christmas/NYE set, their latex barrier called Poli-Peel, a set of metal template stamping guides and the Lotus Mat (Bundle Monster's answer to the silicone mats that are all the rage, rightfully so).  Keep reading for lots of picture of how I used everything.






Christmas/NYE stamping plate set -  This is a set of 10 small plates that measure ~5.5 cm x 5.5 cm; approximately the same size as the older round plates but square.  In other words, they fit perfectly in Bundle Monster storage case.  All of the images are either winter, Christmas or New Years Eve-themed with a good mix of small individual, full nail (15 x 22 mm) and buffet-style sized images.  The quality of the etching is great - all of the images I tried stamping with worked out perfect.  The set costs $14.99 or you can buy the individual plates for $2.49 each.  Unfortunately the set is currently out of stock (but will hopefully be restocked before Christmas) but the individual plates are in stock if there's a particular one you have your eye on.  Alternatively, you can sign up for notifications on the set's webpage to find out when it is restocked.    

I used this set for two of today's manis, as well as one that I'll be sharing for next week's Digit-al Dozen theme.  


Poli-Peel - This is Bundle Monster's latex-based skin protector that is great for keeping stamping, gradients and water marbles off your fingers.  I like the pink color to this barrier (think Pepto-Bismol) that dries to a darker pink.  There's also some sparkle to this that you can see when it dries.  I don't think the sparkle really adds to the functionality but who doesn't like a bit of bling.  The dry time and consistency of this was great (applied easily around cuticle and dried in around a minute).  I didn't notice a smell to this product (which is good for these latex barriers) but when I took a big sniff close to the bottle, it definitely has an ammonia smell. So, while it hasn't been noticeable to me with my regular use, if you're sensitive to scents, you might notice it.  As for price, this product costs $8.99 for one 13 mL bottle or $14.99 for two bottles.  Remember, this is latex-based so if you have an allergy, you'll have to pass this one by.


Metal Stamping Guide Templates - This is a 4 piece set of metal plates with cut outs that can be used to template your stamping to give some neat patterns.  One thing to remember is that if you're using these templates, be sure your stamping pattern is a small pattern otherwise the effect could be totally lost.  I believe you need to use a soft stamper to use these though I've never tried a solid stamper.  These guides cost $15.99 for the set of four.  

SG01 - the template I'll be using the most.  It has guides of 5 sizes that are perfect for either stamping images that are way larger than your nail (perfect for easy clean up if you're not using a barrier) or for selecting the regions of buffet stamping images that you want to use.  These cutouts measure 16 mm x 25 mm, 12 mm x 21 mm, 11 mm x 20 mm and 10  mm x 18 mm.  For some reason three of the guides are the same size but I'm not sure why.  This plate also has four guides that are good for either french tip or half moon manis.  

SG02 -  geometric designs (stripes, chevrons, triangles, waves and ruffles)

SG03 - cute designs (animals, stars, hearts, circles and a different style of french tip or curved stripe)

SG04 -  miscellaneous designs (zig zag, arrows, lightning bolt, triangles diamonds, right angles)


Below is how I used the full nail template.  I applied stamping polish and scraped the wording from BM-S217, lay the template over the region I want and then pressed with a soft stamper.  


And here is how the template words in conjunction with Poli-Peel.  You can see the darker pink/sparkle that Poli-Peel dries to before I stamped.  Even though I used a template, there is still some excess stamping that was easily removed because I used the latex barrier.  Easy peasy!  


And here is the finished product.  In case your curious, under the stamping I had done a quick brushstroke mani with Zoya Holly, Ember and Ziv over two coats of Zoya Ginessa.  


For a second mani using both the templates and Poli-Peel, I used an older Bundle Monster plate, BM-423 to create some candy cane striped tips.  


I stamped these over Victoria Secret's Boudoir polish (a shiny, metallic red).  I also added a stripe of China Glaze Glistening Snow along the stamping to hide any imperfections.  


Lotus Mat - the last product I'm reviewing today is the Lotus Mat.  This is Bundle Monster's version of a silicone mat that is oh-so-versatile for those of us who are into nail art.  The Lotus Mat measures 15.5 x 11.75 inches (or ~40 cm x 30 cm ).  There are 10 finger templates that I find really useful when making decals (so I know approximately how much clear coat to paint on first), a lotus designs with both clear and black and a 8 cm ruler.  I find the black part of the lotus particularly helpful as it's a quick way to see if a polish stamps over a dark color.  The mat is acetone resistant so you don't need to worry about it breaking down after repeated cleanings and folds/rolls easily without getting creased (as long as you're not folding it tightly).  The price of the mat is $13.99 or $23.99 for two.  


Below are some photos of the mat's special features.


I decided to take a photo of how my mat looked while I was using it last weekend.  You can see how I was testing color combos for some snowflake designs, made some decals, tested the metal templates with some stamping patterns and tried out my brushstroke design from above.  See, I told you it's versatile!  


For my last mani of the day, I again used Poli-Peel to help minimize cleanup for a gradient of KBShimmer Stonewashed and Eyes White Open.  I removed the Poli-Peel after the gradient, before topcoating but then re-applied it before I put on the stamping decals (not shown).  


This is my favourite of my mani's today.  I used BM-S218 to create decals with Mundo de Unas Green or Black that I then filled with Mundo de Unas White, Brick, Reddish, Light Grey and Yellow. I also added some snowflakes from BM-S216 to complete my winter scene.  



Phew, that was a lot of words!  Thanks for sticking with me through it all.  Below I'll leave the links of where to find Bundle Monster products and their social media sites.  



'Til next time...

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