Hello sweeties! For my last February NCC look, I decided to attempt a stamping decal. I tried it once before and it was only a so-so result. I have some larger stamping images that I’ve always thought would be perfect as a decal, so of course it was high time I tried this technique again!
So the application came out a little crooked and didn’t line up perfectly across all nails and the face of the Koi fish smeared a little, but I’m really happy with the end result!
Painting the decal was easy enough, but transferring from the stamper to my nail was definitely more difficult. I watched YouTube videos like crazy, but that transfer remained hard!
I also took a closeup to show off the sparkle that Zoya Remy & China Glaze Fairy Dust gives:
And now, time for a mini rant… I used a stamping polish from Mundo de Unas. I purchased a bunch from them awhile back when I first got into stamping and heard amazing things about how they perform in stamping. And that’s right – they stamp better than anything I’ve tried so far. BUT they stink SO bad… like give you a headache/ eyes tearing bad. And this one had a lump ofย congealed polish at the tip of the brush that wouldn’t go away. Also, I’ve heard time and again about the controversy on MDU not releasing their ingredients based on their agreement with their production team. With all of that, I plan on not using them ever again and trying to get rid of the ones I own. If you know of anyone who is obsessed with MDU and has no sense of smell, let me know ๐
Products used:
- Base
- Base color: Barry M Damson… this is a GORGEOUS bright cornflower blue that has an amazing formula!
- I dabbed Zoya Remy over Damson with a piece of saran wrap… Now I previously have worn Remy on its own, and I didn’t think it was a bad stainer. But when I dabbed it on with saran wrap, it naturally was messy and got all over my skin. AND my skin was tinted blue until I scrubbed it with some toothpaste! So I recommend being careful with Remy since it’ll stain your skin.
- Topper: China Glaze Fairy Dust… to give the background an almost shimmery/ sparkly water feel.
- Stamping plate: Messy Mansion MM29
- Decal
- Stamping polish: Mundo de Unas Orange (13)… great color and fantastic to stamp with, but see all the above issues!
- Koiย details:
- Illamasqua Purity… a beautiful almost flesh-toned light peachy orange.
- Formula X Uber… a darker red-orange polish. This one was a little thin for detailing, but it ended up alright.
- Rica Whiteout… my go-to white for nail art
- Top coat: an old drugstore top coat… I think I used NYC’s top coat.
- I stamped the image onto two stamper heads, cleaned up excess, and then dabbed on the above polishes for the detailing. I let that dry for awhile, then painted the top coat over. Once that was all dry, I peeled it off the stamper head and placed it on the nail (obviously not perfectly) and generously coated it with more top coat.
If you have any suggestions on how to make the stamping decal work easier, let me know!! Have you tried it before? What are your thoughts on Mundo de Unas?
Check out more animal manis from the NCC ladies:
This is so beautiful! I really love the depth of the blue.
Thanks Kirby!! I want to wear the background just by itself soon ๐
Your Koi looks amazing!
Thank you!! ๐
I just received a bunch of MDU that I ordered from llarowe. They smell like paint thinner! And I mean actual paint thinner, not nail polish thinner. So yuk! Feel like I’ll have to use my mask I use when making polish to use them, such a let down ๐ฆ
YES like paint thinner! I only had the bottle open briefly during the stamping portion, and the smell lingered for hours. So sad for such a great stamping polish!
That base is freaking awesome!
Thank you!! I want to wear it alone sometime soon ๐
I love the base you created. I have trouble getting my decals to transfer too, so frustrating they are so pretty then they wanna be so dang stubborn when it’s time to go on the nails lol. I love my Mundos and found that after using them for a few months I don’t even notice the smell, but I understand they aren’t for everyone. If I could afford it I’d buy them from you but my stupid heating bill is eatting up all my extra cash atm. I’m sure you find someone who’ll buy them though. ๐
I don’t know how the ladies on YouTube seem to transfer the decals to the nails so easily! Witchcraft I tell you!
You’re lucky the smell doesn’t bother you – it bothers me so much!
Cute mani! I haven’t tried decals yet but I want to. Let me know if you want to sell those MDUs!
Thanks! You should definitely try the decals out!
Yes I do want to sell my MdUs! Email me if you’re interested, and we can hash out details ๐ (doctorcraftymd@gmail.com)
You did a great job! And indeed, MdU stinks! They stamp so well, but it also annoys me how much they separate and how hard it is to mix them again.
Thank you!!! They do separate so much! I even added those little metal mixing balls, but the polish is so thick it barely helps.
Eeee this is so awesome! Yeah, they really do stink! I do like them though and I’m thinking about getting some more since I ordered a tattoo ink mixer to keep them mixed up (that has been my main gripe since having them, especially the minis).
Thank you so much! I wish I didn’t mind the smell so much because they are perfect for stamping. I have found that Rica makes amazing stamping polishes too, and I hope she puts out more colors!
If you want more MdUs, let me know! I’d be happy to part with mine ๐
Love this! You did a great job with this look. And the sparkling blue “water” is a great touch!
Thank you! I love the water background too – I want to wear it on its own soon.
The koi fish decal is beautiful!
Thank you!
I looove this manicure, it’s so pretty! And so sad about the stamping polish… I hate stinky polishes, I cannot handle them at all!
Thank you so much! Yeah, I’m sensitive to smells, so this polish isn’t so great for me
Gorgeous! I love how you coloured in the scales!
Thank you!! I want to do this again, especially to practice my decal work ๐
Beautiful job on this I love how the koi fish turned out.
Thank you so much ๐
I’m a bit late to post to this thread but I wanted to comment about the MdU that I have had the same problems. When I bought them I didn’t know about the ingredients being a secret or the smell, otherwise I would not have bought them. After a while of using them I got headaches, sore throat, sore eyes and stinging nose. It makes me think whatever is in these might be really dangerous, more than just not liking the smell. I’m glad you have got rid of yours it is scary knowing that the might contain something really dangerous or prohibited but have no idea what it is and the seller wont tell anyone.
I agree – I’m super skeptical about the mystery ingredients in MdU, and it’s really sketchy that the owner won’t even release a list of ingredients. I think some people are getting it tested professionally, and I’m really interested to see the results!