My requirements for a good stamping polish is that they absolutely must stamp well on BOTH black and white backgrounds. Many polishes stamp decently on light colours but the true test is whether or not it shows well on black.
Sally Hansen Chrome polishes are fantastic for stamping. They stamp well on both white and dark colours. There are also old Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear polishes (white cap) that are almost exactly the same as these. All of these can often be found in bargain bins. I found all of mine in bargain bins for $.25 a couple of years ago with the exception of the square purple bottle on the right which I had purchased way back when these polishes were originally released.
And now on to the more readily available polishes:
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Celeb City (top) is good but has a fine glitter in it and is a little more subtle than most of the 'chrome' type polishes. The other 3 are all Pure Ice, which is clearly available at Walmart for $2US lol. I've heard they carry these in Canada now but I'm not sure how much they are. From L-R or top to bottom: Silver Mercedes, First Time and Pussy Cat.
Once again we have Sally Hansen but it's the fabulous Insta-dri collection. These are hands down the BEST polishes for stamping that you can find in your local drug store for about $6 (or $4 on sale). The cremes especially stamp like no other brand - very opaque. Out of the 15 or so colours of Insta-dri I own, only one colour doesn't stamp well on black, even though my photo is shitty they do show really well. Above is L-R, top to bottom: Presto Pink, Jade Jump, Mint Sprint and Brisk Blue.
Kleancolor Metallics are worth an honorable mention. Although not all of them stamp well on black the bold colours are just not available in other brands.
Where the Kleancolors really shine (literally) is once you add top coat. Those vibrant kind of colours don't typically come in the chrome finishes.
And of course the essential black and white polishes. The good ones are harder to come by than you think because just any old black or white polish isn't necessarily going to be opaque enough to stamp with. For blacks I've got L-R, top to bottom: Wet and Wild Black Creme, the original Konad Black and an old hard to find Sally Hansen No Chip in Black Berry. Truth be told nothing works better than the original Konad Black. When I use stamps that have fine lines like above or intricate designs, it absolutely has to be Konad. For everything else, Wet and Wild is my 'go-to' black. The Sally Hansen is a bit better than the Wet and Wild however it's close to empty and I've given up hope that I'll find another. As for white, I have so many that just don't cut it, my original Konad white is empty and the best white I have ever found is Billie French White. Unfortunately Billie is a Canadian polish that was sold in Dollar Giant stores across Canada. Dollar Giant was purchased about a year ago by the US Dollar Tree and although you can still find Billie polish at the Dollar Tree, I believe it's likely they won't be stocking more and are slowly depleting their supply. I've tried probably 6 different Dollar Trees now in SW Ontario and there is no Billie French White to be found. I do have one backup bottle left but my next bottle of white will likely be the Sally Hansen Insta-dri since I've read that their white is decent.
And there you have it. The verdict is - cheap polish works best! And my two most used polishes - Wet and Wild and Billie - are less than $2 CAD! Notice there are no OPI's, Essie's or China Glaze's in this post. If you're just getting into stamping and looking for which polishes work you can't go wrong with the Insta-dri's. I also recommend picking up Wet and Wild Black Creme which is usually just under $2 and also Pure Ice Silver Mercedes at Walmart. And if anyone finds Billie French White in SW Ontario let me know!
Later
P
