Hey there! 'Tis certainly the season! I recently received such a nice package of nail art items from Bundle Monster to review and almost all are holiday related so I thought I'd put them in one giant post. Dearest to my stamping heart was The Nutcracker stamping plate set. I've seen people directly ask for Nutcracker-related plates so it's awesome that Bundle monster came out with an entire set! There was also a holiday set of rub-on decals, holographic vinyls and foil nail art stickers (which I believe are actually water decals...at least that's how I used them). AND, for any of you who suffer from latex allergies but still want mess-free nail art, Bundle Monster has also come out with a latex-free barrier. This is a big post so let's get to it!
set of 5 stamping plates (6 x 12 cm)
$22.50 USD/set
$5.50 USD individually
Bundle Monster has always been a leader in nail stamping for me so it wasn't surprising that this stamping set worked wonderfully. There's a lot of thin lines and intricate details but I didn't have issues with any of them. All the plates are full plate images so having some tape nearby is handy to remove any parts that you don't want. I do usually struggle to think of how to do a mani when it's not individual images but I think I'm finally getting the hang of it since I quite liked these Nutcracker-themed manis.
BM-XL311 Fireside Wonder
Here I used ILNP Reminisce and stamped the plaid with Essie Good As Gold and then added the bear and bow as advanced stamping with Mundo de Unas Black, Red and White then finished with KBShimmer Clearly On Top. I really like the variety of bows on this plate so I want to try to use them before Christmas this year.
BM-XL312 Danseur's Duel
I LOVE the ballerinas over the music staff on this plate but, because I wanted to use ballerinas off one of the other plates (it is a set based off a ballet, after all) I didn't use them for this mani. Instead I used The Nutcracker himself and The Rat King over Tonic Polish Dulcinea. I double stamped them with Mundo de Unas Black and Bronze and finished with HK Girl. I also love the little rodent in the lower corner of this plate. That's going to be surprisingly handy for me.
BM-XL313 Enchanted Forest
My Enchanted Forest mani isn't really so enchanted but it does look like a lovely cabin in the winter, doesn't it? I used a base of Moonflower Polish Azul and did more advanced stamping with Mundo de Unas Black and Moonflower Polish Dia, Verde, Hydrangea, Marron and Gris and finished with OPI matte top coat.
BM-XL314 Land of Sweets
This plate is such a nice mix of candy and ballet. I don't actually know The Nutcracker at all but I do know of the Sugar Plum Fairy and I think this is in tribute to her. I did a gradient of China Glaze Something Sweet, Tart-y For The Party, Capacity of See Beyond topped with Orly Angel Rain (which made gradient disappear) and then stamped the swirls with Hit The Bottle Snowed In. I did a more advanced stamping with Hit The Bottle Black as Night filled with China Glaze Something Sweet and Tart-y For The Party and finished with HK Girl top coat. I think this is my favourite plate of the set.
BM-XL315 The Grand Finale
To try out the final plate of the set, I wanted to use some of the gorgeous patterns. I stamped with Essie No Place Like Chrome over Vapid Lacquer Eligos.
4 sheets
$6.50 USD
First, I must apologize for my terrible photo of these decals. This is only my second time using rub on nail decals and this experience was far better than my first. The first time I had some issues getting some of the decals to transfer and found it troublesome to hold the decals down, while rubbing it with a silicone tool but this time went far more smoothly.
I used some of the images from each sheet of decals here, over a chrome mani. I did a black gel base with Born Pretty green and red chrome powder (items 41019-1 and 3, if you're interested) and applied the decals with a a silicone tool. Using these was a breeze compared to the last ones.
5 sheets
$9.99 USD/set
$2.49 USD individually
These can be used as either stencils or stickers. Personally I used them as stencils since, as stickers, you'd need to plate the individual pieces separately. I also wasn't sure how to avoid the edges sticking up but perhaps a gel top coat would help with that. If you think you'd use them as stickers, fantastic. They are very holographic so they would make for some awesome nail art.
As stencils, these did work great. One thing I really appreciated was how easily they separated and came off the backing. For my mani, I used loose red glitter, applied the stencils and painted over them with Sinful Colors Snow Me White and finished with HK Girl. One note I did have was to be careful to not bump them to anything. It seemed that the stripes stuck to each other easily and became a giant nest so I did waste one before learning my lesson.
set of 4 sheets
$7.99 USD
Bundle Monster has titled these nail art "stickers" but in reality, they're water decals. I love their metallic look but unfortunately I think that was their downfall on me. I used two sheets of them (309 and 320) but in both cases, they seemed to create a visible edge around where they were placed. Also, they're fairly stiff so they didn't lay flat to my nail. Even with top coat, I found edges sticking up the next day which I couldn't resist picking at. So I didn't love this product but if you have flat nail beds you might have more luck than I did.
15 mL bottle
$8.99 USD
The final product of the day is one of sure some of the allergy-sufferers have been waiting for. Since I don't have a latex allergy, I can't comment on how this compares to any other latex barriers out there (I know they're not very common, compared to those that do contain latex). Compared to Poli-Peel (reviewed here), Bundle Monster's protector with latex, the Mani Mask product is quite thin. It applies easily, first as a light green which then turns darker after it dries. It did dry quickly so speed isn't a concern. The only thing I didn't like is that it isn't as elastic as Poli-Peel, which I imagine comes with the territory of being latex-free. If you have an allergy, this product is great but, if you don't, I'd still stick with Poli-Peel from Bundle Monster.
Available at Bundle Monster
'Til next time...
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