Do we have strong opinions about these or are they all sorta the same in different designs? Does it matter which one I get?
I'm considering the Holo Taco one because it says it can be rolled up and polish can be peeled off of it easily. Those are the two main things I'm looking for.
by soloshandpuppets
21 Comments
If you love the branding go for it but I bought a pack of 2 silicone mats on Amazon for less than $10. They are thin, roll up, easy to clean with water, and the polish peels right off once dry.
https://a.co/d/02obNTAQ
I love my Holo Taco mat. I also like that it’s black and white so you can see what a color looks like on light or dark color. And it’s no joke- the polish literally just floats off- it’s actually kind of cool as it makes these thin polish “petals” that I keep telling myself could be used in some creative application. IMO it’s worth it as there is no real cleanup to worry about, and testing swatches is a breeze.
I really hate the design of this one. It’s very busy looking and distracting.
I use a semi translucent one from Amazon (I got a 3 pack for $8). This lets me see what I’m doing easier, it’s very nice for making decals, and it’s very easy to clean. The polish peels off clean.
Imo, you can use literally any silicone mat, I got a stamping mat from a aus based nail supply shop for $5, but if you love the branding, go for it! But literally any silicone mat like this will have the same base features of being super easy to clean and able to be rolled up and stored
I love my holo taco mat! I like to paint my toes while I watch tv so it’s nice to have a later of protection between the carpet. I also use it when I paint my nails just to protect the table. If I swatch nail polish directly on the mat, it doesn’t always come off in one piece unless I paint a topcoat over it.
I like the Bliss Kiss one! I like that it’s white and has some raised areas as well as some useful grids and such for stamp testing. It also rolls up easily. Never tried the HT one but I’m sure it’s good too.
I like it! I had previously bought a thicker, larger mat off Amazon that had an attached pop up cup for acetone because I thought that sounded handy. It was not 🥲. Much too easy to bump or forget about the attached cup and spill the acetone, and the size and thickness of the mat+the bulk of the acetone cup made it hard to roll up tightly and a pain to store. The HT mat is thinner and more compact, rolls up tightly, and (like all silicone mats) lets you easily peel off dried polish. Plus it’s cute.
I’m using a baking Silpat sheet I had in my pantry because I’m cheap. It keeps my workstation cleaner as I’m working on my swatch project…so much hot glue residue!
I won’t buy the ones from nail brands. They’re overpriced silicone craft mats.
I was able to get a 2 pack of large mats online for like $10 so I have a spare in case mine gets messed up.
I use mine constantly to do nail decals and to keep my desk protected and clean
https://preview.redd.it/58clfun14r3h1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=690056f2bd1ece3f9d02ec3588383f9c90ee460f
i got the holo taco one but i also got a couple small different ones for other shit. they are all pretty much the same
It’s nice to have so I don’t get nail polish on anything and have easy cleanup. I ended up getting the Holo Taco one during a sale because it wasn’t that much more expensive than a nicer Amazon one. It has a little lip around the edge that would theoretically contain spills but I haven’t actually spilled on it. The busyness doesn’t bother me but I don’t do nail art.
I use a silicone hot pad/trivet from my kitchen wall. Less fancy, but also costs me nothing because I already own it. If I’m doing something *really* fancy I’ll lay out two next to each other for more coverage. 😀
I just got one from cracked during the sale – it’s easier to peel off of parchment paper!
I love no-mess mats but the only difference between my 2€ one from aliexpress and the 15€ one from Uberchic is the Uberchic is bigger and sliiightly thicker. I don’t think there’s much difference between the branded and unbranded ones. I still recommend any sort of mat like it!
I have the [Bliss Kiss](https://myblisskiss.com/products/simply-neat-manicure-mat) mat, I prefer the design and it has some more features like little raised circles for holding nail gems, boxes to size nail decals properly, etc. The only drawback is some polishes can stain (esp pigmented blues and purples), so I try to be extra careful when I use those.
I used a silicone baking mat for a few years first so that’s a great option too! I switched to this bc I wanted the black and white boxes specifically.
https://preview.redd.it/wv990mra6r3h1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed5b5dd28313df9e959450e0f292aa532cee1730
I like mine because it’s black and blends in with my black desk, but there are tons of options out there if you don’t care about the Holo Taco branding.
It also seems to me like it’s a bit smaller than some other mats out there, which could be a pro or con depending on what surface area you’re working with.
I got the Holo Taco mat as a gift two Christmases ago and it still looks just as good as the day I got it! The streaks are just remnants of polish I wiped off, they come completely off when I use a fresh cottonball and acetone.
https://preview.redd.it/gfjev6nj6r3h1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f5d89209f834377596d805d52eb27512ea752911
Y’all are fancy. I paint my nails on leftover Amazon boxes. Actually not kidding but I really do need to set up some kind of station and was wondering about mats.
I feel very strongly about having a silicone mat (doesn’t have to be branded). The amount of times I smudge my brush into my surface, spill acetone, or need to swatch onto the mat makes it worth its weight. So easy to clean too.
I always use a silicone mat under my hands when I paint if I’m at the table. I bought it years ago on Amazon when I had my daughter because it’s labeled as a silicone feeding placemat lol
https://preview.redd.it/3w0kfvus7r3h1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b1c302e9d5b4148252dc6c16014925863bfec3f2
I use the Bliss Kiss mat. It has a raised lip all around and a few raised edge circles that are good for containing polish you might dribble out for nail art. I also like the black and white squares for doing quick swatches over so you can see if a polish would look better over something dark or light. Also silicone so dry polish peels off super easy.