Clear Smushy Stamper & Scraper

Not great

After reading some of the reviews here, I was a little cautious about buying this stamper, but I really wanted a clear one and didn't want to go scouring the internet for other alternatives, so I made the purchase.

I am by all means a very novice stamper, and this one works great! I didn't have any issues either with picking up polish or with stamping it on my nail. The few issues I had could all be boiled down to user error (not making the correct motion when picking up or putting down polish, etc.), and with practice even those kinds of errors became few and far between.

I would highly recommend this stamper!

This review is coming from a casual stamper, so take it with a grain of salt.

Before this stamper, I had been using a very cheap dollar store dual ended stamper with a firm feeling to it. I was attracted to the idea that I could more easily place my stamping on my nail with something I could see through, so I finally decided, "Okay, I'll buy this."

First, apparently not all stampers have the same firmness (remember, I said *casual* stamper, not someone who does it a lot). I was very surprised at the texture, in a good way. (Honestly, if I can't ever figure this thing out I'll just use it as a stress ball.) It was very clear, and I looked forward to stamping with it, but then... I tried to prime it.

There were no instructions included in this, so after a lengthy Google search, I found that in order to prime a clear smushy stamper one must use dish soap and lukewarm water, a lint roller, and/or a paper towel. Thus, I began my journey to get rid of the stickiness.

The dish soap approach didn't work. It helped a little but after drying the stamp returned to its sticky splendor. Then I tried the paper towel approach with just gently wiping water over it to get the "residue" off. No luck. I tried the dry approach with the lint roller, trying to "pick up" the sticky outer layer. Once again, a failure.

Another internet search down the rabbit hole later, and I decided that I would use my absolute last resort: acetone. Now, I know you aren't supposed to use acetone on this kind of stamper since it's so delicate and it can blur the clarity of the stamper, but I gave it a shot. I used a Q-tip and acetone, then quickly rinsed off the stamper to get rid of any excess. It did dull the stamper, but it was still too sticky!

After more investigation, I found a post about using a Magic Eraser to gently buff the surface, and figured I couldn't do too much more damage and gave it a shot.

Mr. Clean had my back on this one-- it did the most to reduce stickiness, although it did make it a bit cloudy. Unfortunately, my stamper is still too sticky.

For reference, I tried doing simple stamping designs between each priming stage, but the stamper never picked anything up (aside from the engraved tray the designs were on). After the last one I managed to get a better pick up but I wasn't as impressed with it; my cheap dollar store firm stamper performed better.

I know that I've done a lot of searching and priming. Perhaps I made a mistake (or several) in the process. I feel this would be a much more effective product if it came with a good care and instruction manual.

This product gets its two stars for the scraper (perfectly functional, easy to maneuver) and for how stunningly clear the stamper head was (before I made it cloudy). Even after all the priming, I could still see where on my nail I was stamping, despite the blur, so when I can get it to transfer, it's easy to place.

I an horrible at Stamping but this stamper made me look like a pro

I an horrible at Stamping but this stamper made me look like a pro