The Art of Nail Stamping Part Two

Stamper, stamper on the nail, which one stamper should we all hail?

In my last blog post I talked about the frustrations of nail stamping. From the conversations I've had with a few techs since my last post, they too have struggled or are currently struggling with stamping. It's nice to know you're not alone, eh? 

The first thing that changed my nail nemesis into a 'nailed it' moment was getting the right stamper. One of the questions that comes up time and time again is "which stamper is the best?".  I've used a fair few over the years and whilst there's some that will tell you that they have the best stamper on the market, really it comes down to what feels most comfortable for you. It's personal in much the same way as liking or disliking the application brush that comes with your chosen gel polish line. Some love a sticky headed stamper, some loathe it, some will tell you size definitely does matter, where as others will tell you marshmallows ain't just something you toast! 

I sell the XL, jumbo Creative style stamper and the clear stamper in our online nail art store, but my personal go to has always been the XL squishy stamper. It's a good all round stamper for novices and experienced stampers alike and I don't stamp uber long nails to really worry about needing a bigger stamper head. That said, I love the jumbo stamper for big toes, long talons and particularly deep side-walls; the clear stamper makes single images and lined images an absolute breeze to do, but I think I'll always stick with the trusty XL as my every day stamper. If I'm using white polish I'll switch to the blue, squishy, sticky stamper head, but I'm more than comfortable with the marshmallow, squishy feel of the XL for all other polishes, plates and nails. But hey, that's me, I'm certainly not going to sit here and write that the XL is the answer to all your stamping prayers, that you'll be stamping inside a nano second and to throw all your other stampers away, because like I said, your choice of stamper is personal to you.  

There are, however, some basics that can really help you to get your stamping off the ground, or rather off the plate and on to your clients nails, regardless of what stamper you ultimately choose. 

The Holy Grail of Stamping Polish

Ask any avid nail stamper and they'll tell you, besides tools of the trade, choosing the right stamping polish is essential. From the viscosity, to the opacity these things all matter. Of course the holy grail of stamping polish to me (and many others) is will it stamp over black and actually show up?  Do you want a creme, holo or metallic finish? 

There's some terrific high street and consumer nail polishes that work a treat. Models Own Chrome Collection have got a great choice, although you do need to stamp super quick with these and shake your bottle before use as the pigments tend to sink to the bottom. Color Club Halo Hues are absolutely stunning, a little harder to come by, but they are worth the hunt and the price tag that comes with them. If you're looking for a high street stamping polish Essence Stampy Polish in black and white are an absolute steal at £1.50 each and can be found in Wilkinsons or if you prefer you can order them via click and collect or have them delivered to your door. Barry M Foil Effects in silver and gold are also a must for first time stampers, check out Superdrug and the Barry M website to get your hands on these beautiful polishes. 

Then comes the real bad boys. The actual made to measure stamping polishes. The list of great stamping polishes is endless to be perfectly honest. I stock Born Pretty stamping polishes which are a mixture of metallics and cremes, the odor isn't offensive, they are highly pigmented and a little goes a long way. They all stamp over black with the exception of a couple that do stamp, but just not as bold as I would like. Their black and white are fantastic and the range of colours are brilliant too. Other stamping polishes I rate are Esmaltes De Kelly, Mundo De Unas and MoYou London. Of course this list isn't exhaustive, there's some fantastic Facebook stamping groups and blogs to search through, where you'll find a plethora of recommended polishes to choose from. 

Super Stamping Plates

Choosing a quality stamping plate makes all the difference too. My two favourites have always been MoYou London and Born Pretty. MoYou London have a great and ever growing collection of on trend plates and you also have the choice of the standard size stamping image as well as the XL images for those larger or longer nails. 

I started out with Born Pretty myself and now stock them in our online store. They come in the smaller round plates and the larger rectangular sized plates and also offer full plate designs, meaning that they suit a variety of nail shapes, sizes and lengths. They're a slightly shallower etch than some plates, but to me that just means your stamping is a little more cost effective as you are using less polish; the images still stamp perfectly crisp and they have a good range of plates to choose from. Previously having bought direct from Born Pretty the shipping time was pretty long and laborious, however now we are a UK stockist, you are only waiting 2-3 days max until they arrive in your manicured mitts. How's that for service! 

But whatever plates you choose, be sure to choose a stamping plate that is perfectly etched so that it generates a crisp, clear image every time. 

P Is For Prep 

I recently posted a quick YouTube tutorial on how to prep the XL and clear stamper. Check out it below.

OK so now we've got our prepped stamper and polishes, let's move on to plate preparation. Always wipe over your plates with a little acetone on a cotton pad, preferably lint and fibre free. You need to do this not only on new plates, but before and after each use too. Some stampers say they have no issue with stamping a few times before wiping over, but for me, a truly crisp image comes from clearing away any excess polish after each image has been picked up.  

Pick Up Perfection

The key to stamping is speed. Some polishes and plates give you a little more time, where as some smaller images and faster drying polishes require you to be in stealth mode. Setting up your area and having everything to hand helps you to gain speed and momentum, so if you're a right handed stamper, have you stamper and scraper to the right of your plate. 

Stamping takes time to master, some of you will pick it up instantly, others will have a few choice words, but that's OK. I still do now, and I've been stamping for the past 3 years. My best advice is don't over think it. Relax your grip, if you're holding on to that stamper for dear life, it's just not going to work. Think of it like when you are polishing a nail, gripping that application brush makes you stiff and shaky. Limber up people, remember this is only stamping! 

Some polishes require a little less polish to be applied to the plate. You will get the feel for this as you go along and get used to the polishes you are using. With Born Pretty polishes I tend to apply a stripe down the left hand side of the image and scrape at a 45 degree angle, it's a thicker polish and I don't want to flood the plate. Other polishes like Models Own Chrome I tend to apply to 2/3's of the image or cover the whole image in polish and then scrape. Sometime I scrape twice, sometimes only once, scraping is all about evenly distributing your polish. 

Depending on what stamper you're using, how you pick up the image can change. With flatter headed stampers like the Creative Shop stamper, you can simply press down on to the plate to pick up your image. With the XL and clear stamper you will have a peak, camber or curve to the stamper head, so to pick up your image you need to roll your stamper on to the plate and roll it off again, pressing down firmly and rolling off swiftly.

I know this seems like a lot of information to take in. It makes it sound like stamping is super hard! It's honestly not. I recently uploaded a clear stamper tutorial to our YouTube channel, below I've posted the full tutorial to show you that I'm honestly not talking martian and you absolutely can do this! 

Stamp It

When using the XL stamper I tend to apply it to the nail in two different ways. I either press the stamper and image directly on to the nail and lift, or I do the same but roll off towards the free edge. Depending upon the image itself, I sometimes roll the image on to the nail from right to left or left to right. With the jumbo stamper I simply stamp straight down and lift and with the clear stamper I always stamp down and roll off. There's no hard and fast rule here, it's image and polish dependent. 

I really do hope these tips and clips have helped you, stamping is such a quick and easy form of nail art and once you've mastered it you'll wonder why you ever feared it. It really is about practice, speed and confidence. I bet when you started to learn to polish nails or learn the art of acrylic application, you thought you'd never do it, but you did! So just make sure that you relax, have fun and enjoy your stamping journey. Rome wasn't built in a day, but I bet you could easily master nail stamping within the week! 

Until next time folks...

Take Care

Laura x