Kawaii Reverse Stamping Nail Art + I’m now a Maniology Ambassador!

I recently became a brand ambassador for Maniology (use code NLN10 for 10% off!) so to celebrate I wanted to use one of my favorite stamping plates by them. Please note that my code is an affiliate code so I do get a percentage back when my code is used. For this reverse stamping mani I used the Kawaii Emoji: So Nailed It! BM-XL325 plate. I also used several of their stamping polishes. I will link everything I used at the end of this post. I dug up some old photos of what my stamping looked like when I first started to show how with practice, anyone can create what I have!

I got into stamping back in 2017 Maniology was still Bundle Monster. I saw a YouTube video where someone was stamping and I thought it looked like a great way to get fun designs on my nails without having to freehand! I placed my first order shortly thereafter and this plate set was actually in that order. My second and third orders were placed less than a week after that first one.

It took a couple of tries to get the hang of stamping but with practice, I was able to start making some pretty nice looking art on my nails.

To do the reverse stamping, I always like to stamp as normal and then apply a layer of a water based top coat to my stamper. Adding a layer of a water based top coat will keep the design from smearing when you go to color it in. I prefer to use the water based top coat sold by Maniology or the one by Little Ondine. I find that the Maniology smudge-free top coat will turn stamps into decals whereas the Little Ondine polish will bead on to the stamper head. So when I’m not making a decal, I use that one for reverse stamping. Since I was planning on turning my stamp into a decal, I use the one by Maniology for this. This step is completely optional but I do recommend it. I really like the smudge-free top coat and I use it each time I do any kind of stamping.

I used a different clear stamper for each finger. This isn’t 100% necessary to do but it does make the process go faster if you plan on reverse stamping on multiple fingers.

To color in my stamp, I used a tiny detail brush and a small dotting tool. I tend to switch back and forth between those two when reverse stamping. The stamp will look a little weird when you’re coloring it in so make sure to flip your stamper to make sure your images are colored to your liking.

Once I was happy with how the image was colored in, I applied a thin layer of regular top coat (not quick dry) and let that dry while I painted my base color on to my nails. For this, I used 2 coats of a silver linear holographic polish by Color Club called Harp On It. I then added The Unicorns Are Coming by Starrily on top of that. Once those were dry I added a layer of Yellow Stopper to make my nail slightly tacky so that the decals would stick easily on my nail.

I gave the Yellow Stopper a few minutes to dry and applied the decals by pressing the stampers directly onto my nails. I find that applying them this way will give fewer wrinkles as opposed to peeling the decal off the stamper and trying to apply it. There will be some overlap around the sides of the nail, so I used an orange wood stick (a cuticle pusher works for this too) to cut the decal in the shape of my nail. I then used a cleanup brush dipped in acetone to tidy up the decal. Along the free edge of my nail, I used the cleanup brush dipped in acetone to melt the decal on to my nail. After I’m satisfied with how it looked, I applied a layer of glossy top coat and was done.

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