Ciate Jubilee Caviar Manicure

I have been absolutely dying to try Ciate's amazing caviar manicure and it seems that I was not alone as these sets have been sold out ever since their launch! I was so excited when their gorgeous Jubilee duo landed on my office desk. I was half tempted to start sprinkling away in my lunch hour ;).

The caviar sets come with two paint pots - a base colour and a pot of multi coloured beads. The Jubilee set is wonderfully patriotic with red, blue and transparent pearls and a shimmery white base called angel wings.

The manicure itself is really easy to do and unexpectedly mess free! I applied two coats of the shimmery white polish and while the second coat was still wet poured the beads over and pressed them into the base to secure them. The set comes with a tray to trap all the surplus beads and a funnel to make sure that no beads go to waste.

The final effect is really fun and unique! The only shame is that it doesn't last longer than a few days. You can give the beads a little extra longevity by applying a little top coat along the edge of your nails and take a little extra care in your daily 'nail usage'. Personally I think they look gorgeous and it's really worth the extra effort ;). 

The Jubilee Ciate Caviar set is exclusive to Selfridges and can be found for £18 here.

Have you tried any of Ciate's Caviar sets? Which are your favourites? xxx

Twilight

Ciate's latest nail colours are dark, glossy and undeniably sexy! I love rich colours for the Winter, and this collection does not disappoint with some exciting, unique shades, as well as a few great staples.

Ghetto Fabulous (black creme)

 Burlesque (rich plum creme)

Dangerous Affair (rouge noir creme)

 Twilight (black with gold flakes)

 Paparazzi (vampy red black creme)

3am Girl (deep inky blue creme)

 Guest List (deep brown with a hint of purple creme)

 

 Strictly Legal (shimmery plum)

I have to confess that I love them all, especially for the Winter season. However, given the choice of one I decided on Twilight (Strictly legal is a close runner up). Now, before scrolling to the swtaches I have to prepare you for my nails. I am weeks overdue for gel infills, but haven't had the time to get to my regular salon (in Woking) so they are awfully long! Apologies, they are hideous, I am ashamed :(.

Twilight is a unique colour as the richness of the black is lifted and brought to life by the dense gold micro glitter. Some glitter polishes can look a little flat, but this seems to somehow have more dimension. In certain lights it can appear a simple black, but when it catches the light the gold flecks really glow and sparkle!

Like all Ciate polishes I have tried the pigmentation is excellent, and even this deep black is opaque in just one coat. I always go for two, but if you are in a rush you can easily settle for one generous layer. Although the consistency is quite thick the stiff, flat brush helps to apply it smoothly, without dragging across the nail (though you couldn't tell by my 2am shaky application). It dries in a decent amount of time and wears well, but you do have to be careful not to apply it too thick as it can chip. The photos above were taken after 3 days of wear, and though I have a few minor chips I would say it has held up well, especially for a black as any tip wear is instantly noticeable.

Ciate polishes are £9 each and can be purchased from ciate.co.uk.

Have you tried any Ciate polishes? What did you think of their formulation? Do you have any favourites and do any of the above take your fancy? xxx

Chanel Jade and Ciate Apple and Custard

Chanel's jade nail polish is being sought after by every fashionista, but unfortunately they are at present only releasing a few hundred bottles.

If you too are lusting after this season's most talked about nail varnish, but do not want to join the hundreds of people already on its waiting list you do not have to be green with envy! Ciate have brought out a beautiful milky green polish called Apple and Custard, which is the closest dupe for Jade I have been able to find.

This polish is extremely opaque, yet it dries very quickly. One coat gives you beautiful milky pistachio nails, and after two coats the colour is even richer.

I have tried several Ciate polishes in the past and as well as their pretty packaging I know I can trust them to be good quality. I am particularly a fan of their cream formulas as they are not at all streaky and quite dense so the colour you see in the bottle is the same as what you get on your nails. If you are interested in checking this colour out it can be found here.

What do you guys think of the Jade hype and will you be painting your nails green this autumn? I am still not too sure, but I just had to see what the fuss was about with this colour. After wearing it for a day I actually think it is pretty wearable, and much prefer it to MAC's celebrated peppermint patti :).

Nails, nails, nails.

Since so many of you were keen for me to post more nail related pictures I bring you my mother's nails, freshly painted this morning :).Before anyone comments on these nails (or as i like to call them - claws) they are acrylic, and long overdue for an infill, so are very long. However, I think this design would work perfectly well on shorter or square nails too.

I used one coat of ciate paint pots in no. 39, Mistress. It is no wonder that this polish has won the Kiss and Makeup Beauty Awards, as with just one coat I got an opaque coverage and a glossy finish. These ciate polishes come in a really fun range of colours and finishes and I especially love the cute bow detail on the bottle. They can be purchased from the Powder Rooms website for £7.50. Also, be sure to check out Hele's blog for a 20% discount code ;).
For the flower design I used Konad black nail varnish and plate m7.
I then finished it off with my favourite top coat- Seche Vite.

What do you guys think? Too vamp?