Belly Dance with Erica

Ciate Caviar

Much like my face makeup collection, my nail polish and lacquer collection is ridiculous. I have been eyeing the Ciaté Mini Mani Month collection since last year. I finally got lucky and caught the post-holiday season sale – bargain! I am not going to review the whole box of 24 polishes, lacquers, caviar, glitter and sequins here, because I don’t have that kind of time. Today I am just reviewing the Caviar nail texture effect.

How it works is that you put on 2 base coats of color to make sure it is good and thick, and one nail at a time pour the tiny beads over the top of your wet fingernail. Then immediately, gently, press the beads into the polish with your finger so they stick. You would do this in the same manner as glittering something. Make sure you have a bowl underneath and then use the tiny funnel to put the extra back in the bottle when you are done. So do that 10 times. It actually goes pretty fast. Now normally after I have done this I would let it set up for a while and then put a top coat on it. But the instructions specifically state NOT to use a top coat. Maybe it affects the finish? I don’t know. I read some reviews of the product and most users said that the stuff falls off like crazy, except for the one rule breaker who used the top coat. She said it lasted a long time.

I followed the instructions to the letter and found that about 1/3 of it had come off in less than 24 hours. I will admit it is very difficult to not run your fingers over the manicure because it’s a weird texture to have on your nails. But I thought I was pretty good about it. I found that the little beads kept catching in my hair and, well, everything. That was not the biggest problem. I did not mind that so much until it started falling off into my food. Just imagine you are enjoying your nice dinner and then CRUNCH, like you just bit a big grain of sand. My teeth hurt just thinking about it. Bearing that in mind, do not even consider trying to do a lip effect like they do on the promotional material.

But, it really does look cool when it is fresh. So, I would only use this for a photo shoot or show, and I would only put it on right before I had to be somewhere and take it off right away when I was done. You can just run another fingernail across the beads and they pop right off. I’d probably use a top coat too.

I think this is the Cotton Candy manicure

Just a little note on the Mini Mani Month though, it is full of other good stuff I can and do use. I’ve been wearing a pale pink polish for about a week now and I have no chips or anything. When I give myself a manicure I do a base coat and top coat so I don’t have to keep re-doing it. Base and top coats are OPI, which I love.

In conclusion:

Pros:

• Looks cool (for a little while)
• Easy to apply

Cons:

• Expensive ($19/kit)
• Does not last long
• Comes off in your food