Show Me Your Nails 2.0

[Tamara76]

Due to some technical glitches with the original Show Me Your Nails Thread, I am starting a new thread with @vegchililover78's blessing (She says "hello," by the way!).

Please share your nail looks, nail art and manicures!

...And don't forget to check out @Beadshopgirl's Nail Stamping Thread for stamping inspiration! ❤️  

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Nailed-It/The-Nail-Stamping-Thread/m-p/3328865

[impasto]

Thank you!

[Cissy63]

@impasto  Thinking is so festive 🎄

[impasto]

Thank you!

[CookieGirl1]

That's so cute, @impasto!

[impasto]

Thank you!!

[RGbrown]

I took it upon myself to do a little replacement brush comparison while BF shopping, and my last one finally showed up today, so here's what they all look like side by side

L to R: Glisten & Glow, KBshimmer, Night Owl

I'd be hard pressed to believe these don't all come from the same source. The Night Owl brush miiiiight be a touch fluffier, but I'm not sure on that, and I only ordered one of theirs, so even if it is fluffier, it could still be an outlier compared to standard stock. All three are extremely similar, if not identical, in any other way as far as I can tell!

[ather]

@RGbrown  wow. That’s way to close!! 

[RGbrown]

Ahhhhhh, just made a discovery!

Cupcake polishes (and ILNP and a few other brands) are not compatible with the g&g/kbs brush, the necks on their bottle are much smaller. But! Cupcake sells their brush now ($0.25), and it turns out it fits ILNP as well (no cap needed)!! Woohoo!! Guess I'm hoping they'll do a sale again soon 😂

[WinglessOne]

@RGbrown  A-ha, I KNEW there had to be a wide brush out there that'd fit ILNP! Thank you for finding it! Definitely adding this to my future purchases list. 

And yep, I'm positive KBS and G&G (and apparently NOL) buy brushes from the same source. I'm very tempted to ask one of them for the source info so we can just buy direct from now on. 😂 I mean I'm sure I can figure that out if I spend more time poking around the diy interwebs. But I've got too long a list of other "look this up" rabbit holes topics to get through first. 

[Saradestin]

@RGbrown After the disappointment of those brushes nit fitting Cupcake and ILNP, was a great surprise to find out that Cupcake has their own and they fit ILNP! You are fully covered! 👍

[RGbrown]

@Saradestin 

ILNP not having a replacement brush has been a headache for many for years...I was thrilled when I discovered last night that Cupcake's brush will fit it, yay!! 

[Titian06]

@RGbrown - Price-wise, are they the same? 🤑

[RGbrown]

@Titian06 

I can't believe I forgot the most important comparison of all 😱

KBshimmer: $0.15 for the brush, and caps are available for another $0.18, limit 50 every three months

Night Owl: $0.24 for the brush, caps not available

G&G: $0.25/brush, $0.30/cap, and also charges an extra $0.20 shipping per brush

G&G and KBS also sell their smaller brushes if for any reason you want that over the wide paddle.

You won't need caps for most replacements; here's a handy dandy reference list for many brands. The op has a great list, but there are several more in the comments as well, so be sure to check those out if one you are interested in isn't up top!

reddit dot com/r/RedditLaqueristas/comments/idilpl/list_of_polish_brands_compatible_with_glisten/?sort=new

I did notice brushes popping up at one or two other indies while BF shopping...I'd have to imagine they're all the same (assuming the brush here is the one that fits that brand to begin with, of course). I'm going to need 350-400 eventually if I want to replace ALL of mine, and it'll take me two years to get that many at KBS, so if I get a wild hair to finish this project quicker, I may shop around and see if I can do better than $0.24 at Night Owl. From what I recall though, the others I saw were also $0.24 or $0.25, so that may be about the best rate out there after KBS.

[makeitup305]

thanks for all the info @RGbrown , it's great sleuthing.

[Titian06]

Thanks, @RGbrown , including the link. 💖💖💖

[Cissy63]

@RGbrown  My eyes can’t see a difference 

[Saradestin]

Thank you for the comparison @RGbrown. In the picture they look so similar! 

[Saradestin]

Well, I don’t know where to start other than expressing my disbelief that I was able to create this manicure. It took a long time, layers and patience, but the effort paid off.

I wanted to try this since I purchased this stamping plate and since I started looking for a blue (and other colors) jelly polish. I needed to wait until I had the smudge free top coat as well, that I recently received. Once I had it all, I couldn’t wait.

This is all that I used:

- Zoya Eleni: a light blue cream polish, that I used as a base. It was quite translucent so I needed to apply three (thin) coats to reach full coverage. I did it last night and it was not fully dried when I went to bed so I ruined part of my nails. I have three split nails that needed to be patched so they looked bad (see pinky below)

And today I did the rest, for which I used the following:

- Nicole Diary stamping plate in 120, a gorgeous snowflake festival of all shapes and sizes.

- Orly White tips to use as a stamping polish even if it is not.

- Whats Up stamper.

- Picture Polish nail polish in North Pole: a beautiful deep blue jelly that allowed to create dimension and provide a soft end result in those bumpy patched nails. I applied, at least, three coats in between stamping. 

- Maniology Smudge Free Top Coat: that I applied after every stamping (at least three times)

- LynB Designs B Quick top coat.

I needed a total of more than 10 coats to reach this result (the several layers of snowflakes don’t count) So I needed to spread the process along the day to allow coats to dry.

 I have to say that the end result is worth the hours it has taken me to finish this job (I would call it masterpiece, although it sounds so arrogant 😅)

I feel so PROUD!!

Direct Sun shotDirect sun shot

Shade shotShade shot

This is a flash picture

Here is a closeup so you can see the different layers of snowflakes that give dimension to the end result.

Closeup in the sunCloseup in the shade

Isn’t it spectacular?? 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 I am still in disbelief!!!

I don’t want to clean or cook this week so I don’t ruin my nails! 😅

I don’t think I will be able to create anything more beautiful than this 💙💙💙

[makeitup305]

You are an artist @Saradestin ! that looks professional, great job! ❄️

[Saradestin]

Aww, thank you so much fir your encouraging words @makeitup305 ! 🤗🤗 I really appreciate them! It took me a long time and a bunch of coats but it looks so pretty! I am still rocking it 5 days after. Let’s see if I can make it last until Monday! 

[makeitup305]

@Saradestin you deserve all the praise for your patience and skill !