Mastering the Konad

[EDIT: Since I wrote this, I've modified the routine in two ways. First, I use pure acetone as the remover (it dries immediately, eliminating the step of drying the plate), and I use felt rather than cooton pads, which leave no lint. Otherwise, proceed...]

Good afternoon, Dear Reader! Today I thought we'd spend a few minutes going over precisely how one goes about using the Konad. I took as many pictures as I could, but without a third hand or a photographer, I couldn't get one of the actual stamping of a nail. We'll use what I've got, and please post any questions you have and I'll try to answer them.

You'll need to start by doing a mani or putting a coat of clear polish on your nails. That's Step Zero. From there, we can start to Konad! I usually wait about ten minutes after finishing my mani with quick-dry top coat to begin stamping.

1. Start with the image plate on a flat surface.

2. With a cotton pad moistened with polish remover, clean the plate.

3. With another dry cotton pad, dry the plate.

4. With your chosen Special Polish, paint your design lightly, making sure that you get polish in all the grooves.

5. Take the scraper (I prefer the plastic one) and set it just to the right of the polish (assuming you're going to scrape right to left) at a 90° angle to the plate, and firmly scrape the polish you've just applied, holding the plate still with your other hand.

The scraped plate will look like this:

6. Take the stamper and put the bottom edge of it just in front of your design and roll the stamper over the design to pick up the polish.

The rolled stamper will look like this:

7. Line up the pattern with your nail, and using the same rolling motion, apply the pattern to your nail.

Repeat steps 1-7, including cleaning the plate, remembering that speed is the key once you've started Step 4. If any polish remains on the stamper, use your polish remover pad to clean it, and wipe off the scraper as needed.

I stamped this pattern, then my tips, and this is what they looked like:

I waited about five minutes for the Konad polish to dry, during which time I used acetone to remove the excess black polish from my fingers, then added a thick coat of Seche Vite to the mani, and here's the finished product:

It takes practice to master the Konad, but this is how to do it. Love and nail polish to you, Dear Reader!