Thursday, December 20, 2018

Maniology Mani X Me December 2018

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Hey there!  Today I have a fun new subscription box to review for you guys!  Maniology recently started the Mani X Me (pronounced "mani by me") box.  Since there's not nearly enough subscription boxes for us nail art lovers out there, I think this is a wonderful idea!  Each month you receive 2 stamping plates (made just for the box), 2 stamping polishes and a surprise.  I received the December box which was winter/holiday-themed.  I did 4 manis with the products in this month's box.  I hope you like them!



In addition to the 2 stamping plates (M036 and M037) the box also included an Ice Cube Stamper (a  rectangular clear stamper measuring 2.5 x 4 cm) and scraper, a small jar of Mermaid Scales, which I would describe as shredded holo glitter, Snowdrift stamping polish (a cool-toned rose gold) and Ice Pond stamping polish (a dusty teal).  Since Maniology wasn't able to ship stamping polish to Canada for a long time, it's been ages since I've tried their polishes and I was really happy with them.  They picked up with the clear stamper and were very opaque.  That's all you need in stamping polish, if you ask me.  


Both stamping plates in December's Mani X Me Box fall in line with their Chic Peek series of plates, meaning that a number of images are the ones that encircle the centre of the nail and leaves a bit of peek through.  The quality of the etching was great and all the images I tried picked up easily.  I actually had done another 2 manis other than the ones I'm showing today but I messed them up too badly to even want to share them today.  



For these I used Tonic Polish's Winter Night and then applied the Mermaid Scales sparsely to add a bit of sparkle.  The stamping was done with Mundo de Unas White except that the "Let It Snow" was stamped first with Mundo de Unas Black so it stood out a bit more.  



My second design was a bit of reverse stamping over A England Camelot.  The stamping was done with Snowdrift and filled with Ice Pond.  Don't they go nicely together?  Such a shame that I wrinkled them.  Luckily that wasn't noticeable from a real life distance.  




For these I used poinsettia images off both plates.  Instead of a plain white base I used KBShimmer Eyes White Open then a bit of a flakie top coat, Take It Or Leaf It, followed by a homemade sheer white so it just looked a bit speckled.  The stamping was done with Mundo de Unas Black and filled with KBShimmer Chilly Pepper and Whiskey Business and Powder Perfect Robin Hood.  The outside nails were just Whiskey Business.  



And my last mani was the one I ended up wearing for 2 full days!  I used Snowdrift as my base.  As a regular polish it showed brushstrokes (it's a metallic so that's pretty normal) so I sponged on my last coat of it which made it perfectly smooth.  Then I stamped with Ice Pond and finished with a matte top coat.  It held up incredibly well which is rare for me when I use a matte top coat so I was pleased as punch!  


Overall, I absolutely loved this nail art box.  And what's really nice is that you don't have to commit to any set subscription period, though there are cost benefits if you do.  If you're someone who loves stamping, I think it's a fun investment.  2 plates and 2 stamping polishes per month would fill up a collection nicely, especially if you're new to collecting.  I just checked to see if my code COPY10 would work with the Mani X Me box and it appeared to take off $5 which is quite the discount.  Hopefully that would work for you as well!  

$25 USD/month (if one month)
$22.50 USD/month (if 3 months)
$20 USD/month (if 6 months)
Available at Maniology
Use code COPY10 to save 10% off your order  

'Til next time...


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