Stamping and transfer foil (cheaper alternative)

It's no secret that every one of us had used transfer foil in the past. We used it with its tacky glue, or even gel. Some of us used eye lash glue to embellish our designs with foil details.
Lately it has become a trend among nail technicians and you tubers, even  Instagram is full of stamping and foil combinations. It is really beautiful but it has its cons.

For a start stamping polishes are quite expensive, and it takes a bit of skill to work it fast enough that the polish doesn't dry before you can apply the transfer foil to your nail, but you have to be slow enough not to smear your design. This makes the transfer foil and stamping combination a headache for beginers.

I live in the tropics, and I do not have an air conditioner at home. This makes all my nail art vulnerable to weather and temperature conditions. Most of the time my stamping polish dries before I can get the foil onto the nail. So I decided to look for an alternative. Here come the decals! God bless the person that first came with the idea of making decals.

I used my unbranded stamping mat and a printable mat underneath it ( I do love my own stamping space sizes). First I tried with my born pretty white stamping polish and applied transfer foil over it) and I have to say I got pretty nice results. But I still had the problem of "wasting" my stamping polish just because it was under the foil.  So...I kept thinking. I have quite a few white polishes from different brands, which gave me an idea and the testing started.

First I tried my Sinful Colors Snow Me White, my to go regular polish in substitution of a stamping polish. I applied a coat of clear polish (Glass Kote is the one that works better for me), then stamped with Snow Me White. I was amazed with the results. I made a full and clean transfer. So this one goes on my alternative list.

The second polish I tried was Bettina Marshmallow.  Again using a coat of glass coat I stamped with this polish, then applied the tranfer foil, rubbing it evenly, and I got a nice result too. it was missing some little spots on the sides, but that mostly gets cut when I apply the decal to my nails. Bettina is a nice and economic local nail polish found in most beauty supplies and drug stores in Puerto Rico. I think you can find them if you are in Miami too.

As I was in the testing mood I took out a few of my white polishes. I tried Orly French Tip Pointe Blanche. This one has a very runny formula. so I did not have any expectations. It stamped nicely, and I got a nice transfer with the foil too. A nice alternative if you have it in your collection but a bit expensive compared to SC.

Next I tried my Butter London Cotton Buds polish. I got a nice stamping transfer with it. But it dried faster than the other polishes. And the transfer foil didn't stick to it completely. It's nice if you are looking for a partial transfer. Not on my alternatives though.

The last polish just for comparisson purposes was again my Born Pretty White Stamping polish. Obviously the stamping with this one was crisp and bright. I got a pretty nice transfer, but the thinner lines dried too soon. Again, I don't think I will be using my stamping polishes for transfer foil designs, since I have cheaper alternatives.

Feel free to try your cheaper polishes for this technique. Decals are easy to make and easier to apply on your own nails than transfer foil. This will assure you an even application every time! Share your results with me on my Facebook Page Licy Pibernus Nail Artist