The quality of your nail stamper can make or break your nail art. Using the wrong, old, or a just-plain-bad stamper can lead to faulty pickups and messy results.
We’ll break down the types of different stampers and how to choose the right one for you. Keep in mind, if you’re new to nail stamping and need accessories beyond just a stamper, you can get everything at once by choosing one of the best nail stamping kits on the market instead. Now, let’s dive into our recommendations.
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Amazon Customer Reviews
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Price: $9.99 Shop at Amazon | Shop now Read our review |
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Amazon Customer Reviews
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Price: $12.99 Shop at Amazon | Shop now Read our review |
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Amazon Customer Reviews
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Price: $14.99 Shop at Amazon | Shop now Read our review |
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Amazon Customer Reviews
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Price: $6.99 Shop at Amazon | Shop now Read our review |
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Amazon Customer Reviews
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Price: $12.00 Shop at Amazon | Shop now Read our review |
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Price: $6.95 Shop at Amazon | Shop now Read our review |
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Price: $8.26 Shop at Amazon | Shop now Read our review |
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Price: $11.75 Shop at Amazon | Shop now Read our review |
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Amazon Customer Reviews
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Price: $12.99 Shop at Amazon | Shop now Read our review |
This clear jelly stamper has a durable stainless steel handle that’s designed to make it harder to drop.
The hourglass shape of the handle makes it easier to hold and prevents the stamper from slipping out of your grip. This clear stamping head is great for seeing what you’re doing and is quite soft and on the edge of tacky so it has nice pickup. That does make the material easy to cut and tear so you do have to be gentle with it.
As much as I like the stainless steel, it does block some light when you’re trying to visualize your stamping field.
I love supporting indie nail brands when I can and this stamper by TwinkledT is a great way to support independent small business.
Find more TwinkledT Pink Stainless Steel Clear Stamper information and reviews here.
You’ll feel like a queen using the Pueen crystal stamper set with its soft silicone stamping head and ornate crystal handle.
This is a great design if you love your tools looking luxe (and maybe a little extra) or if you tend to have trouble holding onto smaller stamper handles. This one has a thinner handle with that flares out to a decorative crystal which may make it harder to drop.
It comes with two soft silicone stamper heads with lots of squish to them. They aren’t quite marshmallow stampers but they’re pretty close and you use them the same way. There are also plastic scrapers though I don’t love their crown shape which doesn’t feel as nice to hold.
The downside to this one is it isn’t great for reverse stamping since you can’t rest the stamper on its back.
Find more Pueen Luxury Crystal Stamper Set information and reviews here.
If you’re looking for excellent value, check out this kit from Makartt. It comes with four clear jelly stampers with heads, four replacement heads, and four scrapers for a price you’re more likely to find in other brands for only one stamper.
Whether you want to be able to hold nail art parties where many people are working at once or want to have eight possible stamper heads available to paint in all your reverse stamping images at once, this kit has those opportunities.
The stampers are smaller than some the round ones on this list but as your nails aren’t circular, that probably won’t be an issue unless you have very long nails.
Find more Makartt 12-Piece Clear Stamper Kit information and reviews here.
You cannot deny this stamper is adorable.
It just makes me smile. The bunny face hides an opaque white silicone stamper head that’s firm but not hard. You also get a protective cap and two scrapers.
This might not be for you if you have very long nails difficulty holding things as the bunny ears can get in the way but if you plan on doing kid’s nails or have a deep love of cute things, the price makes this worth picking up.
Find more Born Pretty Bunny Stamper information and reviews here.
I like using smaller designs but that often means removing the surrounding images from my stamper with tape–unless you have a mini stamper like this.
This tiny stamper isn’t much wider than the standard cap on a tube of lip balm so you only pick up the designs that you want to pick up. I got this for Christmas last year and It’s been a big timesaver for me. Plus the smaller size means it’s easier to see where your image is stamping.
The small size also makes it great for shorter nails and for doing manicures on children.
The tiny stamper head is nice and squishy without being too sticky. It comes with a cap one replacement head as well. I haven’t had any issues with pickup although wouldn’t try to use it on images with very large blocks of color. That’s asking a lot of a stamp this size.
On the other end of the pen is an angled cleanup brush for removing polish from your cuticles. I’ve used it and it’s fine and I love how convenient it is, but I would buy this pen again, but for the stamper, not the brush.
Find more Maniology Pencil Stamper & Brush Tool information and reviews here.
Sticky marshmallow stampers are perfect for beginners because they pick up designs easily without needing to learn a special technique.
If you’re new to stamping, get a marshmallow stamper. They’re squishy, sticky, and you can just press them down gently onto your stamping plate and then onto your nail, just like you would press a rubber stamp into an ink pad. Clear and hard stamping heads tend to need a bit more finesse.
I love my marshmallow stampers for when I’ve got an uncooperative plate, difficult design, or I’m just feeling lazy and want my stamp to pick up perfectly the first time.
This one by Winstonia is super squishy and will wrap around your nail with very little pressure. The steel handle is durable though the tapering design can make it harder to hold onto.
Clean these type of stamps with a lint roller or tape. And you will need to clean them because link and pet hair will stick to their surface.
Find more Winstonia Jumbo Marshmallow Stamper information and reviews here.
Konad has a cult following for a reason and their double-edged stamper is a good example of why.
The curved, ergonomic handle has a stamp on either end, one small and one larger. They’re both rectangular which has always made more sense to me since nails, especially long nails, aren’t circular.
It uses a unique texture of stamper head which is made of firmer rubber with a tacky squish. It’ soft for a rubber stamp and firm for a marshmallow one. For those who like rubber stampers, this combines the good things about it with some of the benefits of softer stamps. (If you don’t like firmer stamps, then I say stick with soft ones.)
It comes with the traditional Konad metal scraper which I can’t stand working with. Metal on metal? No thank you. I know some folks feel it gives you a sharper image but I just don’t see it. If you’re in the same boat but think this sounds interesting, you can pick up some really cheap flexy plastic scrapers.
Find more Konad Double Edge Stamp Set information and reviews here.
If you like as much control as possible, this is for you. A monocle stamper reduces the amount of space between your hand and the stamping surface so there’s almost nothing between you and your view of the stamping process.
Monocle stampers have an unobstructed view because the clear holder is so short you’re practically holding onto the stamping head itself.
It’s a nice stamper size at just over 1.5 inches in diameter. This one has a rather firm clear silicone jelly stamper that picks up images nicely but I wouldn’t recommend it for a beginner.
Find more Whats Up Nails Clear Monocle Stamper information and reviews here.
If you’re obsessed with holographic and color-shifting multi-chromes, Born Pretty has your number. They definitely have mine.
This clear jelly stamper is filled with flecks of holographic glitter. I get that it’s just decoration and doesn’t add anything to the quality of the stamp–but I say it adds to my quality of life. It’s fun, it sparkles with rainbows, and it makes me happy to use it.
I was able to get my hands on a media sample of this stamper and it’s been working very well for me. It picks up large blocks of color as well as intricate lines.
I learned on the Born Pretty clear stamper and I can say that this one is squishier than their standard clear stamping head and slightly tackier. For my tastes, it’s a perfect mix a clear stamper with a hint of the feeling of a marshmallow stamper, but if you don’t like sticky stampers this might not be for you.
Despite the glitter flakes, it is a clear stamper and I can see what I’m doing just fine. The glitter isn’t dense enough to really obstruct your view, but it is definitely there and the view isn’t as clear as a completely transparent stamp. You can see in the photos there’s a speckling to look through which doesn’t bother me but if that’s the kind of thing that would get on your nerves you should be aware.
The titanium handle is a nice size and I haven’t had any issues of the stamping head falling out on me. Plus it’s multi-chrome so Born Pretty is basically cramming everything I like into one stamper.
This one comes with three replacement stamper heads so you’ll be set for a long while. And since the handle is titanium, it will last long enough to still be good for those new heads. I love that the extras come with little plastic protective containers so they’re not just floating in a baggie.
I can personally recommend this one as I think it’s a great stamper beyond that fact that it looks really cool.
Find more Born Pretty Holograpic Clear Jelly Stamper information and reviews here.
Clear. This is probably the most common stamper you'll find and more often than not, it's the stamper I use. That said, I do not recommend this as the go-to stamper for beginners.
If I were to rank the three stamper types by difficulty, this one falls squarely in the middle. It's not challenging to use, but it's not the top of the list of being easy and reliable. I started out on clear stampers and I could have saved myself a lot of frustration if I learned on a marshmallow stamper instead.
The huge benefit to clear stampers is that they clear. When stamping you can see directly through them and get perfect image placement on your nails with zero guessing. If you're doing reverse stamping, you can see how the image will look as you're painting in the stamp.
They're generally made of silicone and are easy to clean with a lint roller or water and mild soap if need. Some are firmer than others but that all come down to preference.
But if I'm having difficulty with a particular stamping plate or image, they're not what I reach for.
Marshmallow. If you're just getting into nail stamping or you've tried it with clear stamper and been frustrated--pick up a good, squishy marshmallow stamper. They are super easy to work with and very forgiving of user-error which is invaluable when you're learning how to stamp.
Marshmallow stampers are extremely squishy. They pick up a stamp extremely well and the smooshy texture allows them to effortlessly wrap around your fingernail. With harder stamps it's better to roll the stamper from one side to another to pick up and transfer images, but with marshmallow stampers, you can just squish it right down like the stamps we played with as kids.
Some of these are sticky and others are less so. That can be a plus or a minus for you. Sticky has better pick up but also grabs on to pet hairs and everything else.
I love these for all-over nail patters than are easier to place and for any image that's giving me trouble.
Hard Rubber. These are the hardest to use in my opinion. They're very firm and may contain natural rubbers so you may want to avoid them if you have a latex allergy.
Many of these need to be primed by buffing them with a nail file--something that would destroy a squishy or clear jelly stamper.
It's a matter of taste and I'm including some on the list because there are nail artists love them. Personally, I think they're terrible and I've never had a stamping plate that stamped better with hard rubber stampers than with clear or marshmallow.
There's actually a bit of controversy here. Years back, before nail stamping really took off and products improved, stampers were cleaned with nail polish remover. New products product better stamps but are less hardy and wouldn't hold up to that kind of treatment.
The best way to clean your stamper is to press it onto a fresh lint roller pad a couple of times. That should do it.
If things have gotten really out of control on your stamping surface, you can clean them off using water and mild soap as a last resort but tape or a lint roller should take care of dust, hairs, and wet or dry nail polish.
Been there. Are you using stamping polish? I struggled with nail stamping until I switched to specialized nail stamping polish and it changed my whole nail art world.
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