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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Going Dotty

I've been meaning to try a polka dot mani for a while but kept putting it off until the Born Pretty nail art store included a set of dotting tools in the package of things they sent me for review.



One end seems to match across all the tools in the set, but the other end is different on each one, from small and point to large and rounded.




Because I've never done dotting before, I didn't try to use all five sizes of tools in one mani, but I did pick three of them to see if I could tell a difference. To tie in with Valentine's Day coming up, I decided on a pink and white theme and used Wet 'n' Wild Wild Shine French White Creme for a base (3 coats) and OPI Shorts Story, P2 Vibrant, and Ulta Socialite for the dots, bright to dark.




Above: The three tools I used. It's hard to get both tools and nails in focus, I found.



Above: One of my dots has a divot.


I couldn't see any difference between the dots made with the different sized heads, but perhaps I'm just not skilled enough with using them to be able to achieve that. You can see in that last picture that I managed to press down so hard sometimes that I dented my base color, which I'm pretty sure is not the ideal technique. Still, it was fun to play with these and the end result made me happy even though I can see plenty of room for improvement in spacing and such.

Born Pretty sells this set for $4.31 and also has a set with pink marbelized handles for the same price. If you use code KARENDK31 you will get 10% off from now through March 31, 2011.

The dotting tools in this entry were provided to me for free for review purposes. The content of the entry was not dictated by the provider, and I get to keep the tools for my own use.
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23 comments:

  1. theVEROblogFebruary 8, 2011 at 2:18 PM

    i have got these dotting tools too! i bought mine off of ebay a few months ago. aren't they great?

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  2. Nicole - Top To ToeFebruary 8, 2011 at 2:20 PM

    Lovely mani, so smple but neat and tidy, love it :-)

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  3. rebeca.cdFebruary 8, 2011 at 3:07 PM

    Pretty mani!
    I have to buy dotting tools, I only have one

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  4. Megan HarmeyerFebruary 8, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    I have one dotting tool, but I'd like more. Thanks for the discount code and the heads up!

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  5. swatchcatFebruary 8, 2011 at 3:35 PM

    Super cute mani!

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  6. GemxFebruary 8, 2011 at 4:13 PM

    Oooh, very nice! I tried dotting with a cocktail stick, it was not pretty! These look fun though, I like the pink and white design :)

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  7. ErikaFebruary 8, 2011 at 4:42 PM

    Cute mani. :D

    I own those same dotting tools. And I think I also need more practice. I have trouble keeping my dots consistent. I'll just have to keep working on it. I use my dotting tools to pick up crystals and stuff, too. Works great. :)

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  8. Rachel MarieFebruary 8, 2011 at 5:56 PM

    :) Loved the dotted mani. I have some dotting tools but I rarely use them for dots anymore. I use them to put on rhinestones mostly.

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  9. paint that nailFebruary 8, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    That is so cute! I would have never though to do only 3 rows with 3 dots in the row! I really like it!

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  10. ColleenFebruary 8, 2011 at 8:35 PM

    That's really neat! I'm still very new to nail polish, so I'm not looking to do anything "fancy" anytime soon, but I might have to get those sometime!

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  11. JeanelleFebruary 8, 2011 at 9:37 PM

    Oooh I might have to get some dotting tools, whenever I try to free hand a polka dot it doesn't come out like one.

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  12. Fer (The Nail Experiment)February 8, 2011 at 11:05 PM

    Love it! I love dots! And this combo looks great!

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  13. jaljenFebruary 9, 2011 at 1:29 AM

    Simply beautiful.

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  14. Cali369February 9, 2011 at 1:53 AM

    So cute - and I love the colour choices

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  15. RoryFebruary 9, 2011 at 6:25 AM

    Oh man, your mani looks great! I always struggle with my dotting tools...even when I use one tool throughout I end up with different size dots. :(

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  16. BibaFebruary 9, 2011 at 7:21 AM

    I got this dotting tools too. I hope I will do as pretty manicure as you did :)

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  17. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2011 at 8:46 AM

    Haha! I just realized what a dotting tool looks like in a kit I'm using. I was wondering what this stick was.

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  18. NatalieFebruary 9, 2011 at 1:25 PM

    I love this manicure! Very creative and pretty! :) Thanks again for your sweet comment on my blog, I really appreciate it!!!

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  19. Nail Dazzler Nails February 9, 2011 at 1:49 PM

    I have the same doting tools, they are great i bought mine on ebay quite a while back :)

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  20. AndiFebruary 9, 2011 at 2:03 PM

    Those are really cute dotting tools. I've been wanting to try a polka dot mani, too - Yours is so pretty! I'm inspired :)

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  21. AnonymousFebruary 9, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    Nice mani, i love dots. Great tools!

    Bianca

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  22. Enamel GirlFebruary 9, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    you did a great job with the dots! especially for a first try.

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  23. ABOP LaquerloveFebruary 11, 2011 at 8:30 PM

    Great dots! It's too bad you only get six sizes rather than 10 different ones though :( My set (diff) has 10!

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Thank you for reading and commenting! I greatly appreciate knowing I'm not just talking to myself here. :) I'm moderating most comments now due to the spate of spammers who claim to be looking for sexy times.