Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Konad vs fauxnad

Hey kids! I won't have a new mani until tomorrow- maybe. I'm feeling a bit unmotivated- still wearing SH Bronze Pink Prism. Remarkably, it is still going strong with nary any tip wear.-One of the perks of having acrylics!

Before I move on to my topic, I want to apologize to a certain blogger- ykwya. Must have been combing my hair with a hammer that day-duh!!!

Soooo ya- Konad vs fauxnad. I don't think this has been done yet, and with the soon to be released 8 new Konad plates I think it's time to do some comparison. I have 20 Konad plates and the entire fauxnad large plate series found here.
Side by side comparison- As you can see, the fauxnad plate I have is much larger. Small fauxnad plates are available. When handling both plates, the first thing I notice is the difference in weight. Konad plates have a backing...not sure if it's a waxed paper or if it's plastic. My fauxnad plates have no backing. I believe that the backing on Konad plates serves 2 purposes- #1-labeling and #2-protection from the rough edges around the plate.
This backing on the Konad plates sometimes gets in the way of my stamping. I don't use the pink, plastic plate holder included with some Konad Kits. I place my plates on a folded paper towel. When I scrape a Konad plate, the slickness of the backing makes the plate slide across the towel...it sort of gets away from me.

My "backless" fauxnad plates have rough edges, but they do not bother me. In fact, I rather like them as it helps the plate "grip" on to my paper towel. Some of my fauxnad plates have edge dings and flaws...while not attractive, these flaws do not impact the quality of the image.



Fauxnad



Konad














<-edge ding fauxnad





While Konad is definitely a better quality plate "feel" wise, it has less to offer "image" wise. The full nail images on my fauxnad plates are *almost* twice as large as Konad full images. The tip images on fauxnad are also *much* larger, making it sweet for those of us who have long nails.
Because my nails are wide and long, I have to multiple stamp full nail Konad images. This is ok- *only* when my image choice is abstract, like the cheetah stamp on M57. If I choose the fishnet image from the same Konad plate, I am in trouble. First of all, I'm going to have to flip the Konad fishnnet image horizontal to try to span the width of my nail...will it cover it? Let's see...

Horizontal Konad Fishnet- as you can see, it doesn't quite span the width of my Flipper Finger, which is the widest nail after my thumb. I should have aligned this image better with my cuticle, ah well, you still get the idea.






Double stamped on the horizontal- you can see- if I had aligned this better, I'd have to stamp a third time to get full coverage on my nail, instead of 2. Aligning this linear image with the previous took some doing. I did a pretty good job at getting this somewhat straight, however, we all know that an acceptable stamp, first try, doesn't always happen. I've used the black Konad special polish for stamping. If I make a mistake, a bit of alcohol on some cotton swiped on the image would remove it. I don't usually use the special polishes, so if the linear alignment wasn't straight, I'd be sol and have to remove it all.
Now for a fishnet fauxnad stamp, really more of a "pothole" net than fishnet...

Well, that didn't turn out well- did it? No fault of the image- my application. I can't remove this one, because the Konad special polish is too thick for the finer lines of this fauxnad image, I used regular polish. I used this fauxnad image upright because it *is* wide enough to span the width of my nail. In fact- it is *wider* than the width of my nail! As you can see, I have about 1/3 left to stamp length-wise. I also want to mention that the full nail fauxnad images are longer than the large end of Konads dual end stamper. If my stamp head had been longer, this fauxnad image would have covered my nail almost an 1/8" more!



This would have looked great if I had spent as much time with alignment  as I did for the previous Konad stamp. I make my posts in real time- not in advance. I'm watching the clock, and am pressed for time because I have to work today.




While I like the look of the Konad fishnet over the fauxnad pothole stamp, I don't like the time and effort it takes to triple stamp Konad. I also don't like the fact that even stamping Konad on the horizontal, I have gaps at my sidewalls empty of an image.


The other side is worse, but this is my damaged right hand- it's semi fused, and I can't twist it around to view the other side.

Why does Konad do this? One size does not fit all. Better to have a larger full nail stamp than a too small one. I think the 8 new Konad plates set to be released are really boring compared to THESE plates...tic the "A series" for the new fauxnad plates available through that vendor. I purchased 8 plates @ $60.60 USD- shipping included! Check out my 2 favorites A18 and A20...those leaf vein tips are amazing!!! I should mention here that I am not affiliated with any vendor or brand. I have no codes, no loyalties. My opinions here are from my experience with the Konad and fauxnad plates I purchased. There are other fauxnad plates available through Ebay and Amazon, but I can't give an opinion on them. I believe a search with "nail stamping" will give you those options.

All in all, I love my fauxnad plates better than my Konads. The volume of image choices are greater in addition to them being very original, interesting and workable with each-other. Some fauxnad images stamp better than others, so testing is a must. Sometimes using a regular polish works better than using a stamping polish.

Having said all that, if someone were to ask me; "Should I get Konad or fauxnad?"...Surprise! - I would recommend purchasing a small Konad Kit...(a few plates, stamper, a couple of special  polishes). Konad is a bit easier to work with. If you find that stamping is "your thing" and want better creative options, invest in some awesome fauxnad plates.

Well, I think that's all! I've run out of time for posting and doing something with my mani. I'm going to work with my previous Prisms mani on 7 nails and sloppy fishnet stamps on 2, and a spare nude nail. By the way, for the example stamps, I slopped on 1 coat of Borghese, Biscotto Beige over SH Bronze Pink Prism. It almost went on full coverage with 1 coat. The brush is interesting as well...shorter wand than I'm used to- but dang- I had awesome control with it.

44 comments:

April and Ashley said...

Great post! I was actually just thinking about the issue of Konad's tiny "full nail" images last night as I was drifting off to sleep. I don't have any of the fauxnad plates, but I am happy to know that their full nail images are both longer and wider. Ihave very wide nails too. It would be so easy to make plates that will work on long and wide nails, at for repeating patterns like the fishnet or houndstooth. Just make a large rectangle. you could use all of the image if needed or just use a corner of it if working with smaller nails. That way everyone is taken care of.

Thanks again for the post!

gildedangel said...

Great comparison!!!

babbling brooke said...

This is a really interesting comparison.  I WISH Konad would come out with more of the plates with the full-nail patterns and like you said, I also wish they had some larger patterns (and a larger stamp for those patterns!).  I too prefer Konad to fauxnad, but I wish Konad would come out with more of the full patterns.  Where do you get your fauxnad plates?  I like that honeycomb pattern a lot!

Nicole said...

This is a wonderfully informative post! I wish you could have stamping classes for those of us who are "dummies" - I can't seem to stamp for anything. I'm going to try to do it over this vacation though, I hope to be able to finally teach myself.
I lust after your room. It completely rocks!
AND - I can't believe I didn't have you on my blogroll! WTH is wrong with me? *bangs head* You're on there now. I'm such a spaz. Sorry lady!

iceomaticsnails (Liz) said...

Great comparison!  I only have 'real' konad plates.. I might get some fauxnads after seeing this post.  Thanks!

EvilAngel said...

Great info, great comparison and great post. But now I have fauxnad lemmings! :-$

~Elizabeth aka Lacquered Lizard said...

THANK YOU for this post. I've been wondering about all that you wrote about. I shall no long hem and haw over whether or not I will buy fauxnads, I will JUST DO EET! :)  
Great Post...and the info abou Borghese is helpful...I've been wondering about their formula and lemming a few of their newest shades.

cathryn said...

hmm, never seen a round fauxnad. i want. i wish my hexagonal fauxnads had grippies on them. i also wish they werent so pointy cause they do hurt if it you pick it up the wrong way. regardless, thanks for doing this, very interesting.

just started following your blog btw, love it!

ainos2 said...

Thank you!
Really! It would not be difficult to make a larger image!

ainos2 said...

Thanks Miss!

ainos2 said...

I purchased my plates from here;
http://www.chez-delaney.com/delaney.html

ainos2 said...

Wow Nicole- thank you so much! You just gave me some much needed warm fuzzies!

ainos2 said...

Thank you for commenting Liz!

ainos2 said...

Thanks Andrea! I see lemmings as a good thing- it means you are alive and have hope. Lol

ainos2 said...

Thank you for commenting Liz!
The brush in the Borghese I purchased was very nice! I drink a lot of coffee and my hands tend to shake from all the caffiene. I didn't notice my shakes with the short stem/brush. The brush was flat, even and loaded up well.

I think $8 is a lot for a DS polish, BUT- I would buy another if I liked the color without thinking about the price- based on the brush and application.

ainos2 said...

Thank you Cathryn!
How is the stamping quality of your hex fauxnads?

Heather said...

Great post, Lisa! Thank you for taking the time to compare and contrast these for us. I'm planning a big buy of both fauxnad and Konad plates after my vacation so it's good to know what I'm getting.

cathryn said...

theyre actually really crisp! i am pleasantly surprised with them!

ainos2 said...

Thanks Heather! I can't wait to see what you create!

l0verlada said...

I was just thinking last night how tiny the full nail plates really are. I have to hit them perfect to avoid a gap at the front of back of m nail and it really is a pain. I did a zebra konad last night and ended up fixing a lot of areas with a fine tip brush the konad misses.

And have you ever tried konad'ing toes? Pfft, that plate isn't big enough for even my teeny big toe nail. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with the konad at all!

Tracey Macomber said...

I Had Konad and Tried and Tried and Could Never Stamp Perfectly.  And It Took Me Several Tries to Get It Okay.  So I Started Using www.PrettyGirlyGirl.com  nail decals.  I use these religiously Now!  They are Amazing!  So I Just Thought I'd Share them With You :-) 

Tracey Macomber said...

www.PrettyGirlyGirl.com
I gave Up on Konad a Long Time ago and Only Use PrettyGirlyGirl Nail Art.  It's The Best!  And the Hundreds of Designs are Amazing!

Tracey Macomber said...

Try www.PrettyGirlyGirl.com
The Animal Prints, Designer Prints, and Plaid are Amazing and That's just a small sample of what they have. 

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