Nail Art on a Budget: £1 Stamping Plate Set

So many things in the nail art world are costly. Many will tell you that to get the 'best results' you have to buy the most expensive brands. Not all of us can splash out on the best of the best over and over again. So, I've been pondering for some time whether or not to do a few posts on budget nail art. With a quick visit to Poundland out of the way, today is the day I begin.

Allura Nail Stamping Kit Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

I began stamping last year with a small Konad set which I love to bits. When you first start it's a little tricky to get used to but I've done a short tutorial, so if you are interested, it can be found here: http://www.nailingtons.com/2014/02/how-to-nail-stamping.html

So this little set here set me back..wait for it.. a whole £1! I've spoken to several people who've tried it and in their own words they thought it was 'shit' and put it straight in the bin.

In the set you get everything you need except the polish. I selected a 'normal' polish to test it with as most people are likely to have this type at hand although if it didn't work there was some Konad special stamping polish available.

I set everything out as suggested in the post linked above and used the same process as I always do.
The first thing I noticed is that there is a VERY subtle plastic protector on the plate, so that needs to be removed or the plate really won't work.

I was pretty surprised that it came out this well on the first try. To make sure I hadn't just picked a lucky design to print, I selected another to try.

Even under the macro lens it still faired well, so to be honest.. for £1 that's quite good!

Next I tested the stamper and scraper on a more expensive plate and once again, they did very well.

Overall, the little cheepy stamping plate did brilliantly. I've given it 4 stars because it worked well, the stamper and scraper are a real bargain, the instructions are short and clear and the quality of engraving is very good. I knocked off a star because there was no varnish provided. Its a good bit of fun to play with but if you are starting out I would still recommend the Konad set mainly because if you are unlucky and get a dud Allura set then it can put you off stamping completely, yet if you give it a proper go it can really open up a whole world of nail art creativity.

So, why do so many people tell me it's 'shit'?

• Perhaps the plastic protector wasn't removed.
• The nail varnish used for stamping was poor.
• Process was too slow and varnish dried too quickly in the stamp.
• Unlucky - plate/stamper was a dud!

I think that in most cases it's likely that the plate may have been a dud as you still find poor engraving even on more expensive plates.

Either way, it was great fun to test! Thanks Poundland!

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