Lolita Charm: Lace Lovely Nail Tutorial With Konad!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Lace Lovely Nail Tutorial With Konad!

I've always loved crazy nails. Even when you feel like hell or are working through a tedious amount of paperwork, your nails can cheer you right up. I love to see my nails as I hit the button on a radio or calculator; clicking on a keyboard. And of course lolitas are interested in their nails! The huge, over-the-top acrylic styles are just gorgeous, complete with piercings, huge add-on cabochons, and even 3D cake figures. But false nails make me nervous. I can just imagine ruining my nail bed! Even so, I wanted some cute and decorative beyond the usual manicure. But workable. Enter Konad Nail Art.

Konad is a nail decorating system from Korea that they call stamping. Essentially, you use their special plasticky polish to mold your own tiny decals and then stamp them onto your nails (and cellphones, they say, but I haven't tried that yet). I ran across it looking for ways to add lace to my nails, and as you can see - it works!

I started with dusty pink rose color on my nails, and then a topcoat over that. This will keep your color from wearing off if you need to take off the design. (I've included videos for you to learn the stamping process, but I will make one with my own tricks if anyone is interested). Then use spread the special polish on the plate, scrape the excess, pick up with the stamper, and stamp. It's not foolproof and there is a bit of a learning curve, but after only messing with it twice I now have a pretty decent success rate.

What to Order If You're Starting Out

I ordered the very basics so I could try it. For me, this was two image plates (one with bows, hearts, and snowflakes, called the M59, and another with different laces and a bow, called M71); a bottle of special polish in white; and a double-ended stamper/scraper set. You do need the special polish. Someone had mentioned using goopy, old polish, and it does work but only to a very small degree. A little goes a long way on this polish, so I'd just get the bottle. There are also coupon codes from various Youtubers who tout the Konad product. You do not need: image plate holder, their topcoat, their base coat, or any of their ordinary wear polishes. One person said you can even use a box cutter instead of a scraper, but I'd suggest you try theirs before you start playing with razor blades. You also don't need the huge kits. It's much better to pick out the plates and colors you like, and you probably won't need the entire set unless you're opening a salon.

Plus, shipping was excellent. By using a code, I got 20% of my order and free shipping (I believe any order over $20 is also free shipping). They arrived in just four days!

Tips To Using Your Products

At first I had a lot of trouble with it and it was very frustrating. Mostly you just couldn't get a good transfer from the plate to the stamper. But after using it with my friend, we have a good formula for getting a full image with a high success rate.

Work quickly. The polish dries fast. Daub the polish into the design (daubing seems to get better results than using a swipe like you would on your regular nails), then immediately scrape off excess cleanly. Stamp with force, but not for a long hold, in a very vertical motion. If you have a good image, roll it across the nail. More planning may be needed for items with tips or if you have a specific idea of where to put it.
The double-ended stamper really is great. The bigger end is for full designs and the smaller end for single images. You get more precision this way.
Keep rhinestones on hand to cover up small mistakes on an otherwise good image. If I had a place where the lace smudged, I'd just cover it with a self-adhesive crystal (these are made by Kiss, a drugstore nail art brand). Plus they look very cool :)
Use your topcoat carefully! Apply it in dabs and then carefully spread it, or else it may smear the image a little. Rhinestones should always be sealed with a little clear topcoat as well.
A toothpick can be used to touch up tiny spots on the image or to add extras - like the teeny dots running out from my heart cluster (middle finger, right side). You can also wiggle some wayward pieces of the design back into place if need be.
Keep your plate and scraper clean with 100% acetone remover. Keeping these items clean is one of the best ways to ensure a good image. Since the 100% acetone doesn't have nail conditioners and is stronger, it'll do a better job of removing the polish.
Put down newspaper. The special polish can get around, trust me.
Patience! It will take a while for you to perfect this method, and sometimes you just get lucky. But it is very cute and looks salon-like without the salon price.
Square tips also add to the salon look. I'm not wearing them but my friend had beautiful red nails with square tips and white designs. They also look excellent on the black.
Accept some small imperfections. Nobody will probably look at your nails as closely as you do, so it's ok to let it go sometimes if a teeny heart is out of shape or something similar.

Whew! That seems like a lot, but a little practice and you'll have an awesome new nail skill that you can use over and over again.

Links

Konad Official Video (hilariously dubbed)
Xsparkage's Konad Video
All About Konad Nail Art
Buy Konad Products

I'll probably be trying other Konad products too, like their 3D stickers or beaded nail tattoos, so be sure to look for those reviews as well! It's a lot of fun to stamp your nails when you get the hang of it (all of the ladies at our tea this afternoon got at least one design!), and a very cute design for your natural nails.

Have fun!

Labels: cosmetics, tutorial

6 Comments:

At July 26, 2009 at 7:13 AM , Anonymous said...: it looks so cool
At July 26, 2009 at 8:28 PM , Violet LeBeaux said...: I love Konad, I've been using mine for about 6 months and it's fantastic for when I can't be bothered having massive over the top art or it's impractical. One tip that I can contribute... some kits come with a metal scraper, don't use it because it will slowly and surely scratch away your plate. Either get a kit with the plastic scratcher or use an old credit/store card you no longer need. Works perfectly with no damage!
At July 26, 2009 at 10:02 PM , Victoria Suzanne said...: @Violet: That's a good one! Mine is metal and I had no idea it would wear away at the plate. I'll be vigilant XD
At July 27, 2009 at 12:39 PM , Danielle said...: Thank you so much for this post, Victoria! I already ordered my plates and stamper from the wowsocool.com website ^^ I'd love to see a video tutorial made by you, your nails look adorable, much cuter than those girls' nails on the videos you posted XD
At July 27, 2009 at 1:12 PM , Victoria Suzanne said...: @Danielle: I admit that I ordered another few plates and colors, so if I can find time, I'll do a video :)
At October 26, 2009 at 12:43 PM , Steph said...: hi there,

I would realy like to know what`s the colour of youre polish (base).

Thanks!

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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Lace Lovely Nail Tutorial With Konad!

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