Review & Nail Art: Mentality Neon Glazes!!!

**I want to note that I am no longer affiliated with, or a supporter of, Mentality Nail Polish. Please see my post detailing my experiences with Mentality by clicking here for more information. In short, I would STRONGLY recommend not buying Mentality due to harmful effects that their polishes have had on some people. Even if you've been having an issue and you can't say for sure that it's Mentality polish that's causing it, discontinue use immediately. I didn't know what it was and by the time I realized, serious damage had been done to my nails. They are still not healed. Just don't take any chances. I will leave up my posts where I have reviewed or swatched Mentality polishes because I don't want to just delete them and pretend like nothing happened. I would also recommend reading these great, informative posts by Ashley is Polish Addicted and also The Mercurial Magpie who explain what's happened. Lab Muffin also offers some really interesting possibilities for what specifically about the polishes could be causing these effects.**

*Press sample*

Hi everyone!! I have an exciting post to share with you today. Recently, I received an amazing blogger box from Mentality with their new Neon Glazes. I have to admit, I was really nervous to try these because I have never worked with glazes - not even the OPI Sheer Tints and all those when they came out. So I wasn't sure what to expect or if I could even create something worth showing you guys! I have to say, ever since I started playing, I fell in love. I even rushed off to buy the rest of Mentality's glazes lol.

Anyway, enough talk! I was dying to try the "leadlighting" look, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity. If you haven't heard of leadlighting, it's when you do an open stamping design and then you color it in with sheer glaze nail polishes. It gives a sort of stained glass effect. I have a couple of leadlighting manis to show you today!

First, I'll show you the finished design, then I'll tell you a bit more about the process. Here's what I came up with first! :)

I started with a base of Sinful Colors Snow Me White and then topcoated that with HK Girl. Once that was dry, I stamped using Mentality Scoundrel (new favorite black stamper, hands down!) and Bundle Monster 314. Then I used a small dotting tool and some of my Mentality Neon Glazes - Neon Magenta, Neon Purple, Neon Red, and Neon Orange Yellow - to color in the flowers.

If you can forgive my acetone fingers, here's one shot I snapped in the middle of the process.

Some of the tutorials I read suggested topcoating again after your stamp and before you color it in, but I didn't see a need to. Anyway, after I colored in the flowers, I thought it would be fun to add a background, so I used my dotter to fill it in with Neon Blue.

I had planned on topcoating, but the Neon Glazes actually dry to a super cool matte finish, so I left it. I love this look so much! It's so bright and fun, and unbelievably EASY. I thought this technique would be so much harder. I will never do a stamping decal again - I'm mad at myself for not trying this sooner haha. And the Neon Glazes were so easy to work with. I had heard horror stories about the OPI Sheer Tints being thick and gloopy, so I was nervous - but that wasn't even close to the case here. Mentality's Neon Glazes have a formula very similar to just a regular jelly. If you want to, you can build them up in about 4 coats, 3 on short nails. So I had absolutely no trouble with the formula. It was so easy to work with. I was so pleasantly surprised!

I had to share one last shot with flash to really show off how bright these are. Also, I painted my thumb too, and filled in that flower with Neon Yellow Green, so I wanted to show that off too, even though I hate "claw" pictures lol.

I had so much fun with the first look, after I got photos, I tried another! I used the same technique for this next mani.

This time, I started with a base of Mentality Sunny, and after topcoating with HK Girl, I stamped using Scoundrel and Pueen 13.

I colored in the swirls using my dotting tool and my Mentality Neon Glazes - Neon Green, Neon Orange Red, and Neon Pink. This time I did want to try using topcoat, so I added a layer of HK Girl to make it shiny and also so it would last longer! I love how it turned out! It's so bright and eye-catching. Scoundrel is honestly such an amazing stamper, I have never been able to get such clean, bold lines before. Maybe I'm getting slight better at stamping too, after all these years haha.

I love these colors together - they are so fun, and felt perfect for summer! We've been having horribly dreary weather here in Ohio, and these nails really helped brighten things up. :)

Honestly, my final thoughts? I cannot recommend these glazes enough. If you have been wanting to try sheer polishes for leadlighting, jelly sandwiches, gradients, watercolor nail art looks - these are the perfect set to try with. Formula is flawless, the colors are gorgeous, and the price can't be beat - these polishes retail for only $6 a piece. Love that!

You can see the listing for the Mentality Neon Glazes by clicking here.

AND - I have news! If you do happen to want to purchase these glazes, or any other lovely Mentality polishes, be sure to use the coupon code KELLY to save 20% off your order!! <3

If you aren't already, make sure you follow Mentality on social media to stay up to date on new collections and sales:
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Thanks for reading! <3
Kelly