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

Candy Sprinkles Envy Wraps Bling

Nail wraps are imho one of the best innovations in the last few years. They make even the most complicated of designs so simple and fast to achieve without fuss, fumes or frustration. As much as I love the idea of the Ciate Caviar nails (I am still on the waiting list for a set) I dread the spillage that will undoubtedly ensue when my shaky hands finally get hold of all those little beads.

I was therefore very much excited to see that Elegant Touch have released their own textured nail stickers - the new Envy Wraps Bling in Candy Sprinkles. These work just like any other nail wrap, but the little multi coloured gems are 3D, which makes them all sorts of sparkly!

Having just painted my nails the day before these landed on my doorstep I was too impatient to wait and decided to try them straight away. The base of the wraps is clear so you can apply them on your bare nail or on top of any coloured polish. You don’t need any heat with these so they were super quick to apply and lasted for about 3 days before the edges started fraying and peeling off.

I can genuinely say that I got so many compliments on my little Candy Sprinkles ‘feature’ nails over the next few days and most people were shocked that these were wraps as they thought I had painstakingly applied the gems individually.

Envy Wraps Bling can be purchased here for £6.99. Other designs in the range include silver droplets, leopard and zebra prints. 

Are you a fan of nail wraps? What do you think of the new textured nail wraps? Will you be checking out the new Envy Wraps Bling range? xxx

MaxFactor Fantasy Fire... My take!

MaxFactor's Max Colour Effect Mini Nail Polish in Fantasy Fire has been causing quite a stir on the blogosphere! Apparently the colour is a dupe of a long discontinued Clarins polish, but I'm not easily swayed by the hype and wanted to try it with no preconceptions.

Seeing this polish in real life I can assure you the photos really don't do it justice. The warm purple base is brought to life with a true rainbow of shimmer. The holographic effect is beautiful, with sparks of red, gold, blue and green lighting up the polish at different angles.

 (With and without flash) 

However, on application I did find that the polish was very sheer. I am not terribly patient when it comes to nails so a polish that dries quickly and is opaque in one or two coats is essential. Fantasy Fire needs a generous three or four coats to reveal it's beauty, and though I do love the colour and think it was worth the effort, it does require a little tenacity.

The above shows the polish after three heavy coats and as you can see the colour is still a little sheer. Luckily, the shimmer hides the majority of the nail bed, so it still looks pretty spectacular!

In addition to the polish I was sent a little nail art kit so that I could recreate Zarra Celik's Purple Leopard designs. I am no nail art maestro, but I try my best! What do you guys think of my attempt?

If you want to create your own or a similar design you can follow Zarra's tips below. It really is so much quicker and easier than I had imagined! Even the bf was impressed with my left handed efforts :P. 

Fantasy Fire is selling fast, and is already going at 3 times the price on ebay! Luckily, new stock has been added to stores and I have found it for £3.99 in Superdrug and Boots.

What do you think of my leopard design? Have you tried MaxFactor's Fantasy Fire polish? Are you tempted to try it? xxx

Konad demonstration