Will It Stamp???

Hi guys!  Today's post is a bit of a monster, but it's one I've wanted to do for ages, and I finally found the time to get the leg work done last weekend :)  You guys may have noticed that I only really use a few certain polishes for stamping, ones that I know for sure will work. For the longest time, I have known that I probably have a fair few other polishes that would work, but I don't want to test them in a mani in case they don't, and I have to start from scratch. So, at the weekend, I gathered together all my "possible stampers", some black and white false nails, and set to work.  All in all, I tested a little over 60 polishes, mostly budget brands, all of which I will share with you today...............

I am going to be doing this by brand, that way it is a lot easier for me to link you to where you can purchase them from.

Every colour has been stamped on a black nail first, but then if it wasn't opaque enough over black, or, if it was a very dark colour that I found difficult to see over black in normal lighting, I stamped on a white nail as well.  I also did this for all the duochromes to see if they would show up against white.

So, the first brand up is A-England.  I knew it was a pretty fair bet that these would all stamp, but now that I've tested them, and know 100%, I may be a bit more inclined to reach for them :)  You can buy A-England directly from their website if you're in the UK.  If you're out of the UK please visit their stockists page.

Avalon

Perceval

Briar Rose.

Lady of the Lake.

Rose Bower.

Tristam.

So, as you can see, they all work nicely :)

Next up is Barry M.  You can buy Barry M at their website, Superdrug, Boots, and Tesco.

Blue Grape

Guava

Plum

Pomegranate

Blueberry Ice Cream

Denim

Vanilla (Matte)

Blue Grape is a bit too dark over black, and Pomegranate is a little darker over black, but other than that they're all good :)

Next up is BYS. I got both of these polishes on ebay UK. It seems like most sellers are out of stock of Ultra Violet, but don't worry, I have a good dupe for this coming up later in the post :)

Ultra Violet

Mosaic Plum

These ones didn't turn out too bad either.  They're both visible over black, but a bit darker than in the bottle.

The next brand is Color Club, and whilst I knew that the Halo Hues would stamp, I couldn't resist including them anyway :)

Angel Kiss

Eternal Beauty

Miss Bliss

Perfect Mol-ten

And a purple foil that I don't know the name of.  If you recognise it please let me know :)
Edit: Pretty sure it's Secret Agent - thanks Tonje!

All 5 of these stamped incredibly, as you can see.  No duds here!  I bought most of these from Facebook groups, but you can usually find really cheap sets in TKMaxx, or purchase them from Sally Magpies (halo hues), Color Club UK or TNBL.


The next brand is another budget brand called Gallery Colours.  You can find this brand on ebay here, for about £2.

 Silver Moon

Sea Pearl.

I was surprised that the silver stamped so well, as I normally use 3 thin coats of that on the nail.  It is however, the most chrome looking, and least brush-strokey silver foil I've come across.  Check out swatches here.  I'm not sure how comparable it is to OPI's Push & Shove, but if the OPI is a bit too pricey, I would 100% recommend this instead.  I was hoping Sea Pearl would be a little stronger than it was, you can hardly see it over white,  but I have ordered a different lilac foil recently that I think will be better.

The next brand is ILNP.  I knew the 2 Ultra-Chromes would probably stamp, but still wanted to test it out before posting about it.  You can buy ILNP polish on their website here.

Cygnus Loop (Holo)

Birefringence

As is usually the case with duo/multi-chromes, they are fab over black, but not as impressive over white.

Next up is La Femme Beauty, which is another budget brand I find on ebay, here.  These usually cost about £1.50, but don't be fooled into thinking they're cheap because they're all crap.  A lot of them have really good formula's, as you'll see by how many stampers I have. :)  You can also get them in sets on Amazon for really good prices.  The hexagon glitters set is also really good.

Ice Blue Cream

Lilac Cream

Rich Pink Cream (although typos on the bottles say Rick Pink Cream)

Silverado

Pluto

Purple Passion.

So, these all stamp pretty well, although Rich Pink Cream looks quite dark over the black.  For the price, I'd say that's pretty impressive!

The next lot of polishes are from the NYC Foil Explosion line, which are available from Superdrug for £1.99 each.

 Aqua Mystic

Enchanting Fire

These both stamped really well, I'm hoping they'll add to this line at some point, as there's not many colours.  

The next brand is one called POP beauty.  I came across 2 neon's from this brand years ago when I worked for asos, way before I was really that into nail polish, but I remember thinking how nice the formula was on them, even then.  I finished both bottles in the end, and couldn't seem to find them anywhere else.  Then a few weeks ago, I came across them here on ebay, I was over the moon!  Even better, they're only £1.99 + free delivery, so a total bargain too.

Brave

Radioactive

I've never come across a regular neon polish that can stamp, and whilst they're not as bright over black as they normally are, I am still very impressed.  Especially with the blue one, Brave, it's fab!

Next is Revlon, and I have 3 of the Chroma Chameloen's, and 5 from their Top Speed line.  The Chroma's I found in poundland, but you can also get them from Boots for £6.49 each.  (although it's 3 for 2 online at the moment) and Superdrug for the same price.   Definitely check your local poundland first though :)  The Top Speed polishes, I got for 99p here from Fragrance Direct, although you can also get them at Boots and Superdrug for £6.49 too

Aquamarine

Cobalt

Pink Quartz

Cupid (my fave light pink ever)

Electric

Emerald

Mistletoe

Royal

Quite impressed with all of those except Royal.  It's very pigmented, but it is still a jelly, so I didn't hold high hopes for that one anyway.  The Chroma's look a bit pants over white, but I was expecting that too. Electric is very impressive.  I did not think I had a yellow stamper :)

Next up is Rimmel, and I only have 2 of these to show you.

Camouflage (although this is a US version, and is 12ml instead of 8ml like normal for 60 seconds.   I'm not sure if the formula will be any different, but the one I have is great)

Metal Flip - Purple Reign

Both great, as you can see.  Both of these are on Frgarance Direct for £1.25 at the moment, or alternatively, try Superdrug or Boots.

The next brand is Sally Hansen, and I got all 3 of these polishes here from Fragrance Direct for £1.49.  Alternatively, you can find Sally Hansen in Boots or Superdrug for around £6.99 (again!)

Complete Salon Manicure - Bandage

Insta-Dri - Brisk Blue

Insta-Dri - Lively Lilac

Bandage wasn't too impressive, but the Insta-Dri's are both pretty good, the blue especially.

Next up is a brand called Shades.  I had never heard of them before, but my mum came across them in our local chemist for 99p each, so brought me back 2 creams and 2 shimmers to try.  The creams were quite pigmented, so I tried them both out.

Blue Lagoon

Pink Rose

Both pretty good, although I'm more impressed with Blue Lagoon for how true to bottle the colour is.  

Then I tested a couple of Sinful Colors, including Snow me White, which is well known for stamping nicely.  I had to see for myself though :)

Happy Ending

Snow me White

Happy Ending lost a lot of it's brightness, but Snow me White, as you can see, really is perfect.  I don't think I'll be buying a white Konad again!  I get Sinful from Boots here for £1.99.

Next, I have 3 shades from W7's Mirror range.  You can get these for £2.85 here.

Blue Mirror

Gold Mirror

Pink Mirror

I like the way these polishes stamp, they look like glitter polishes :)  Big thumbs up from me on these!

And finally, I have a few brands that I only have one each of, so I'm just going to stick the brand and shade under the photos, and link those to where you can buy them from to make it a little less wordy.  Then I'll add any comments I have on them at the bottom.

 Headline Colors - Poolside Party. (got this in a beauty box, and this is the only place I can find them online.  Not heard of the site before, so if you don't recognise it, please check them out before purchasing anything!)

 L.A Girls Metal - Iron Red.  (got this in a grab bag, and can't find anywhere to buy them online)

 Laval - Ultra Violet

Nails Inc - Heather Grey (got this in a grab bag too, it was a LE polish available in a Diet Coke promotion)

OPI - Anti-Bleak. (no links, as I don't normally buy OPI, so don't want to risk giving you a dodgy site!)

 

P.M.P - Poison (Charlie is not selling these anymore, so no link again)

P.I.A - Shade 12 (matte) 

No-name generic metallic pink.

The last one is something that I got in a big bundle of polish I won on ebay, and I have no idea where it came from, how much it cost, or anything about it other than it's pretty, and it stamps :D

Phew!  I'm going to add this post as an actual page today, so you can easily find it whenever you need to, and I will continue to update this with new polishes as I test them.  I already have a small queue of them forming!  I'm hoping for this to grow into a massive database of affordable, stamping suitable polishes eventually :)

I hope you've found this post helpful, and I'm looking forward to stamping with a much wider range of polishes now that I know what works and what doesn't.

I'd love to hear any feedback you have about this post too :)

EDIT: I've decided to add a little extra bit here with a list of regular polishes that other people have recommended for stamping, but I haven't tried myself. :) If there's anything you'd like to add to this, just e-mail me/facebook/twitter/leave it in the comments :)

Barry M - Lychee (over lighter and mid-toned shades at least) Thanks to Alison from UKNailRunner for that one :)

OPI - Incognito in Sausalito (over OPI - Just Groovy (light blue) it was pretty opaque)
OPI - Just Groovy - (over OPI - Incognito in Sausalito (v dark blue) it was opaque) Thanks to Charlie from Pocket Money Polishes for those 2 :)