Bundle Monster Stamping Plates - a Review, and Tips from a First Timer

 

Bundle Monster's Stamping Image Plates are famous in nail polish land. With two packs to chose from and over 100 images in each pack, nail art lovers at all experience levels can create intricate designs in just a few steps - swipe, punch, and "squash" :) Seriously! As one with minimal nail art experience, stamping plates were completely new to me and I questioned how well I would be able to pick up the technique. I'm excited to share with you my "first time" stamping experience and review this product as a stamping plate n00b.

My written review is below, but I think the showing you what these stamping plates can do is just as important :) I'm still learning - but if I can get results like this after only a little practice, I'm a Bundle Monster believer!

 

Essie "Raise Awareness" and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Celeb City", stamping plate BM-201

 

Mattese Elite "Playa del Chrome" and China Glaze "Grape Pop", stamping plate BM-206. Top coat: Revlon Sweet Nothings "Lilac Lingerie"

Packaging and Designs

The stamping plates come packaged in a plastic bag with a clear blue cover to protect them in transit. I flipped through them to check out the images like I was dealing cards - plate after plate had amazing patterns, I already was imaging what colors to use! Each pack contains individual images such as flowers, Chinese characters, and a bunch for the holidays (a snowflake, a pumpkin, hearts, etc). Then there are "full nail" designs like animal prints, geometric patterns, and swirly designs. There are also French tip designs like zebra stripes, flowers, and stars. There's something for everyone's taste and each pack has a nice mix of designs.

 

What's the Difference Between Packs?
At $17.99, the Bundle Monster 21 piece set includes:
-91 individual designs
-12 tip designs
-36 full nail designs
Total: 139 images
Link to purchase: http://www.bundlemonster.com/beauty-accessories/nail-art-nailart-polish-stamp-stamping-image-plate-21pc.html

At $21.99, the Bundle Monster 25 piece set includes:
-30 individual designs
-40 tip designs
-80 full nail designs
Total: 150 images
Link to purchase: http://www.bundlemonster.com/beauty-accessories/nail-art-stamping-image-plates-set-25pc.html

Both sets have an incredible assortment of designs. The 21 piece set has more individual images, and the 25 piece set has more full nail designs. The full nail designs in the 25 piece set are larger than the full nail designs in the 21 piece set. If you're interested in viewing all the images, you can see them clearly on each product page which I think is really useful.

My First Time: A Narrative

After thumbing through all the designs, I realized that I had no idea what to do next - the packs don't come with instructions or a stamper. But in the digital age, directions aren't hard to come by so I hopped on You Tube and watched a few videos. The stamper was also easy to find - I picked one up on Amazon.

Now I was ready! I had completely dry polish on, picked a thick polish to stamping, had my paper towel down, and got out an old credit card to do the swiping with (I read that the metal scraper actually scratches the image plates - is this true? I didn't want to find out the hard way if it is!)

 

Try #1: A little butterfly from stamping plate BM-222. Glob, swipe, punch - nothing. Seriously, nothing was on the stamper.
What I learned: I pushed down with the credit card too hard so not enough polish was left on the plate. I also waited too long between swiping and punching.

Try #2: Butterfly again. Glob, swipe, punch faster - OK now we have pieces of a butterfly... but not quite a whole butterfly.
What I learned: Look at the stamper to check that the pattern transferred before putting it on your nail. It's going to take more time to redo your entire nail than to clean off the stamper and try again!

Try #3: Butterfly fail again. Let's try another design.

Try #4: Let's try this nifty swirly tree from plate BM-225. Glob, swipe, punch - YAY it's on the stamper! OK quick roll it on my nail. It worked!
What I learned: Maybe the butterfly and I just weren't meant to be...

Try #5: Leopard print from plate BM-221. Glob, swipe, punch - hey, there's a leopard on the stamper! And now there's a leopard on my nail... and most of my finger...
What I learned: Who cares, just roll the whole stamper over your finger. I'm going to need to do clean up after but the pattern will look more complete.

Try #6: OK, let's try one of the French tip patterns. Ooo, a zebra on plate BM-219! Glob, swipe, punch - it worked great! But this design doesn't really fit my nail, maybe if I had a longer nail...
What I learned: Different patterns are going to work better on your nail shape/size/length. With over 250 patterns to choose from between both sets, this will be fun to experiment with!

Try #7: How about another full-nail pattern. Are those Hawaiian flowers on BM-221?! AWESOME!

Try #8: OK let's get back to that butterfly, now that I've had some practice. Glob, swipe carefully, stamp (OMG THERE'S A BUTTERFLY ON THAT STAMP but quick before it dries get it on my nail)... BUTTERFLY!!! Well, half a butterfly - I missed and half is on my finger.
What I learned: While working quickly, line up the pattern before you stamp.

From pointer to ring: leopard from BM-221, zebra tip from BM-219, flowers from BM-221, butterfly from BM-222

Lookin' fine, butterfly!

For clean up, I used a Q-Tip dipped in nail polish remover and gently rubbed around my cuticles. The overflow design came right off.

In Conclusion...
If you have never used stamping plates before, I hope this has helped reduce the intimidation-factor! You totally can do this. With practice, you will get the feel for the angle to swipe the polish off and how much pressure to use with the stamper. You will also find the polishes in your collection that are GREAT for stamping and others that don't work as well. If you are a seasoned stamper, the Bundle Monster images are created by Bundle Monster and are copyrighted so you will find new images to play with in both sets.

I very much recommend the Bundle Monster stamping plates. Having stamping plates will open up new ways to use your nail polish and create beautiful manicures. You get to pick your color combinations. You get to pick which design or designs to use or layer. The sets are an incredible value - even the more expensive set costs less than one Chanel polish :)  There are so many possibilities, this really has taken nail polish to the next level for me.

Link to purchase 21 piece set: http://www.bundlemonster.com/beauty-accessories/nail-art-nailart-polish-stamp-stamping-image-plate-21pc.html
Link to purchase 25 piece set: http://www.bundlemonster.com/beauty-accessories/nail-art-stamping-image-plates-set-25pc.html

Thank you Bundle Monster for the opportunity to review these products.

Product(s) in this post were provided for review. Read my disclosure policy here.