Not all manicures are winners. I’m guessing that most of the stuff you might read about nail art just show you the winners. But this is a tale of unrequited love. I love what some nail artists I follow on Instagram have done with individually placing large glitter pieces in their nail art. I love the idea of individual glitter, and I really love the price since I’ve acquired all of my little pots of glitter at Daiso Japan for $1.50 for a 3-pack. It does not love me. 
For some reason Labor Day seems to usually carry a patriotic theme in marketing. I looked at the history of Labor Day and, aside from it being an American holiday, there’s nothing particularly patriotic about it necessarily. I guess because it’s the end of summer, it doesn’t take on the usual relaxation vibe that might seem more appropriate since the weather is starting to get a little cooler in most areas. Last year I featured a red and blue textured Labor Day manicure in my Manicure Round-Up: August Edition last year. So I wanted to step up my game and do some stamping.
Labor Day Mani #1: Glitter Stars
I haven’t had the best luck with stamping in the past. So I looked through my collection of stamping plates that I got in a super cheap bundle on Amazon and found a cool USA star and wanted to use it just on my thumbs since it’s pretty wide. I only have one bottle of white Konad nail stamping polish, so I decided to lay down a base coat of Julep Sharon and work from there. The inspiration hit for blue individual star glitters on the rest of my nails and some blue glitter on the tips of my thumbs with a brush. I should mention now that this was the first time I’ve ever tried to use loose glitter with a brush, as well. I grasped onto some Julep Lip Balm: Merriment for the photo since it was a nice shape that seems to force my hand into a good way to see all the nails. 
I had this issue in the past when I tried some heart glitter and was disappointed that it didn’t lay down flat, and I had the same issue with the blue stars, even more since there’s points. I used Glisten & Glow HK Girl – Fast Drying + Super Shiny Top Coat for the first time and I was very happy with it. It’s thick and forgiving, but applies very smoothly. Best of all, it didn’t smear any of the stamping. I did this manicure on Friday, and immediately on Saturday morning when I went out for a vet appointment for Winston the Wonder Pug, I got a compliment from the receptionist Kelly so it seemed worth it. Cut to later on Saturday, the points were really bugging me. They were poking me, but I was trying to ignore them. I went to see a Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary screening Saturday night, and when I came home I took a look down and noticed that somewhere in digging into popcorn, I was missing a few stars. So I went about taking the stars off, glad I’d documented the manicure already, and plotted how to salvage this mani.
Labor Day Mani #2: All Stamping
The answer to my salvage operation was right in front of me the whole time: more stamping. After my initial stamping on Friday night, I’d watched some YouTube video tutorials to get some best practices for next time. I didn’t want to go through the hassle and damage of removing my base color and repainting, so I just put another coat of HK Girl on top of where the glitter stars had been to smooth out the surface a bit before stamping. As a result, this isn’t the most perfectly coiffed manicure, but it’s enough for a holiday weekend where I don’t plan on doing a whole lot beyond enjoying some wine and time out with friends. I didn’t change the thumb, though I really wished I hadn’t attempted the glitter tip with the loose blue glitter. Lesson learned that I’ll either watch some YouTube tutorials or stick to using loose glitter on the entire nail so it doesn’t look so wonky. One tip I learned was to NOT use the scraper that comes with the kits. Some videos I watched recommended using a credit card-type plastic card to scrape the excess paint off the plates and another suggested something more like a business card. I used a paper business card and it worked well. I could definitely see the benefit in using an old plastic gift card or something instead though so it can be cleaned off. I was running out of edges to use on the business card that didn’t have paint on them still. So next time I use up a gift card I’ll keep the card to use.
Which Won?
Here’s the two next to each other. I’m very happy with how the revamp turned out, all things considered, but I wish I’d have done it first instead of messing with the uncomfortable glitter. Putting the picture quality aside, I like the second one better as the stars pop more. Now, if only I can better master getting my stamping more consistently centered on my nails, I’d have this locked down!
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