I had a lovely jaunt out to the Country Living Fair a couple of weeks ago. One stall in particular stood out as being a gorgeously contemporary twist on the time-honoured tradition of beautifully varnished nails. I always think perfectly presented nails are one of those things that literally adds polish to any Modern Country get-up, don't you?
One of the ladies on the MoYou Nails stand persuaded me to have my nails done. Not that I needed much persuading! A manicure for free? Yes please!
I was expecting another humdrum product but Oh. My Goodness. I've never seen anything like it. I've had so many questions about how I managed to get these gorgeous images onto my nails that I thought a review was needed!
MoYou Nails sell stamping plates and nail varnishes online and in stores (Debenhams, Fenwick and Bentalls) to enable you to print images onto your nails...or sunglasses, mirrors, mobile phones, windows.... There are over 1500 designs to choose from. That was not necessarily a plus! I spent aaaaages narrowing down the designs I wanted!!
First Impressions
The varnishes are gorgeous - beautifully vibrant, opaque colours, and apply well. The opacity means that they are on the thick side, which makes them ideal for stamping but a little harder to work with for base coats.
The stamp and scraper come together. The stamper is easy to use - squishy and a good size and the scraper does it's job well...though I'd prefer it a little bigger and squishier and it took a while of playing around to get the images to pick up properly. However, its the stamping plates that really stand out.
They come in little individual packets (see left hand of the image above). You need to remove the packaging (middle), and then peel of the blue covering (right) to reveal the mirrored surface with exquisitely etched images. The plates seem very good quality: pleasingly heavy, and the images are very clear.
Using The Products
First, I applied this MoYou Special Nail Polish in Nude. I really love the colour...but, as I said above, it was a little on the gloopy side. However, it did get a great solid covering in more or less one coat and dried quickly.
Once the polish had hardened, I picked out the first stamping plate (113).
The process is simple.
1) Apply a little of the varnish onto the image of your choice.
I love the bright cerise of Razzle Dazzle Rose against the gentle Nude.
2) Use the scraper at a 45 degree angle to scrape of the excess. This leaves the polish in the etched parts.
3) Press the stamper pad over the image.
4) Roll the stamper over your nails from one side to the other to make sure that the whole image is transferred....{MCS tip: start with a straightforward design and experiment with different angles. It takes a while to be able to line up the images to appear exactly where you want them!}
Next up is my favourite....look at that chandelier!!
Modern Country L:O:V:E!
You do have to be fairly quick to make sure that the varnish doesn't start drying on the plate...but it's definitely worth taking the time to get the placement just right. It's hard to hide any mistakes!
Lastly, I wanted to try a little extra creativity. I applied TWO varnishes onto this little owl.
The Razzle Dazzle Rose, and another purple varnish that I already had. Then I repeated the same scraping and stamping process, which definitely gets easier each time I try....and it turned out beautifully two-tone...and so cute!!
Overall Impressions
I was truly blown away by the experience at the Country Living Fair...but, remember, they were absolute pros at using the products. I have to say it has taken a fair bit of practice at home to learn to get it looking right....but now I've had that practice...and compliments aplenty (not least from my daughters!), I can't wait to get extra MoYou Nails plates to add to my collection!
