Ciate Chalkboard Nails Review

Hi Everyone!

Time for another review...does it seem like that's all I do these days?  Well...it's almost all I have time for.  I hardly have time to do my own nails, let alone come up with a design! LOL

Anyhoo, if you're following the scene, you'll know that Ciate came out with a Chalkboard Nail kit.  I got mine from Sephora, and it came with a Chalkboard polish and 4 Chalk Pens, along with a matte topcoat.  I tried it on one nail at the store and was super excited to buy it and try it at home.  Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.

So...what your'e supposed to do is put on 2 coats of the black Chalkboard polish and let it dry completely.  then, you can use the pens to decorate your nails however you want.  I drew hearts and mustaches (in case you couldn't tell what those were, lol).  I let that dry, and put on a layer of the matte topcoat to "seal in my design".  As pictured, it looks pretty cool, right?  I was pretty satisfied with my kit at this point.  However, the next day...I did the dishes (yes yes, again without gloves), and bam....all 10 of my nails were chipped.  I mean, i wasn't rough or anything...it was just dishes!!!  The Ciate Velvet nails did fine through multiple rounds of doing dishes!!!  But alas, this is what I ended up with:

Sooo sad and disappointed.  Looking at the way the nails chipped, I'm not sure how much gloves would have really helped.  So yes, to me the Chalkboard kit is a bummer.

Pros:

It's a cute idea

Easy to do lots of designs with the pens

Cons:

It's not cheap ($25ish)

It chips easily

At this point, I threw in the towel...but if anyone else has tried it with better results, please comment!  I'm sure my experience isn't shared by everyone...or this kit would have totally flopped.  I think I also had high expectations after my experience with the Velvet nails kit.  

Currently I took the plunge and am now sporting some stiletto nails!  Yes, I know I hardly ever do acrylics...but I couldn't resist.  And now, as I suffer through typing w/ these claws, I'm okay with it...only because I didn't get them as long as I should have.  I think proper stiletto nails should be at least an inch past the nailbed.  Mine are more like 1/2 an inch.  I'll have another post coming up soon, and I'll have pics and another review, lol. =)  And don't think I forgot about the Flash n Go.  I have an embarrassing before pic, and a good after pic. =)  So many reviews, so little time!

Anyhoo, till next time!!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought the Ciate Chalkboard Nail kit with my own money.
2. I am not affiliated with Ciate or Sephora.
3. I was not paid to write this blog.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Where did April Go? - Ciate Velvet Nails Review

No seriously, where did April go?  I guess with all the moving and travelling, time just flew.  I can't believe we're in May, and I'm ready to make a post about stuff I've been doing the last few weeks.

This pic on the left is just a random manicure I did.  I used Zoya's Evvie as a base, and just used striping polishes to make a weird plaid effect.  I didn't really have a plan, so it's not as cool as I'd like, but I did have fun.  What's that on my ring finger you ask?  A Totoro...no really, that's what it's supposed to be, lol.  So...what I did was striped two stripes across the nail in Black, and then one stripe in white down the nail and one stripe in silver glitter.  Now....if I had a plan, I would've alternated the black stripes with the ones going down, so that it had a cool layered effect.  Ahhh, hindsight.  LOL  I still like the Totoro though. Hahahha.  I'm sure I got it from someone's nail video, but I did these so long ago, I can't remember who's.  You know I'm usually pretty good about where I get my ideas from...so...yeah.  If you know where this came from, just leave it in the comments below. =)

NYC was so much fun!  I went there for a friend's wedding and decided to dress my nails up a little bit.  I didn't realize this pic was blurry, but it's the only one I have!!!  So here, I properly alternated the stripes so that it has a cool layered feel to it.  Here, I used Zoya's Reagan as the base.  I just used Reagan on the tips in a Chevron pattern, and then completely covered the ring finger.  Then I used a Silver Glitter Striper to make an X along the edge of the Chevron.  Then I used the White Striper to draw another X a little highter than my silver X.  I think it turned out pretty cool and fancy for a wedding. =)  YES, these stripers were new...that's why I wanted to use them for everything!!

And finally to the review!!  I'm not sure if you can see the velvet on the nails in the pic to the left.  They are really hard to take a picture of, but I can tell you that you can totally feel them on the nails.  Let's back up to the beginning.  So last month, Sephora had their 15% off coupon circulated.  Usually, this is the time I buy all sorts of stuff that I want, but didn't want to pay full price on (like tools and stuff).  I ended buying a cartridge for my Flash n Go (I know I promised a review on this too! It is coming, I swear!) and the Ciate Velvet Nails in the Berry Poncho color.  I know they look all magenta-ish in the pic, but it's the flash that makes the colors all wonky.  Anyhoo, I was very excited to get this, and I'm fairly happy with the results.

The kit costs $19 and comes with a bottle of polish, a container of crushed velvet, and a small brush.  After some trial and error, I was able to get the results show.  I think my next time trying it out, I will be able to have much better results.

Following the instructions, they don't mention a base coat, but I used one anyway. Then you are supposed to put on one coat of the polish on all the nails.  When you start applying the 2nd coat, you only want to do one nail at a time.  You apply the 2nd coat, sprinkle on some crushed velvet, and then tap it onto your nail, and use the brush to gently remove the excess.

Where I ran into problems was the "sprinkling" part.  I could not get a nice layer of crushed velvet on my nails before the polish started drying.  Instead, I took off the entire cap of the container and (more or less) poured the crushed velvet on.  This was SUPER messy...the velvet seriously got EVERYWHERE.  I don't have any recommendations at this point on how to keep this procedure neat (besides just trying to get the crushed velvet through the holes!).  I hate wasting product, but I ended up vacuuming most of the mess away.  I tried my best to recapture all the crushed velvet I could, but, like I said, it was EVERYWHERE.

And why is it that polishes dry faster when we need it to stay wetter longer?  LOL  Maybe I'm just slow.  Once I had done a few fingers, I kinda got the hang of it.  Try to gently pat the crushed velvet all over the nail.  I noticed I had less on the border of my nail bed.  And once you are done with all the nails, that's it.  You don't need to apply a top coat (that would defeat the purpose, lol).

Hmm, so the manicure lasted about 4 days pretty nicely.  Then the tips started wearing thin and the velvet didn't have the same furriness as the first day.  You can still feel that there is texture on the nail, but it definitely does not feel like velvet on the 7th day.  The fact that I can still sport this manicure on the 7th day is pretty cool.  Like I said, just some wear and tear at the tips, which is natural.  I'm actually surprised the texture lasted this long, with all the times I've washed my hands or showered or washed dishes (yes, I know...I should wear gloves!).  I remember being very skeptical the first time I washed my hands after the manicure.  I was very gentle about it, and wiped my hands dry gently as well.  I was happy to note that my nails felt exactly how they did before I washed my hands.  I think I was extra gentle only the first couple of days...and then it was normal handwashing from then on.  I would treat this manicure as any other manicure...regular handwashing, but maybe a little extra gentle when dishwashing.  And no angry typing, lol.

I absolutely loved the feel of the nails.  I showed it off to everyone I could, and they felt impressed (I think?) LOL.  At first I was thinking this would be a fun going-out manicure, but the fact that it lasted a few days makes me rethink that.  I think it's a fun every day sorta manicure. =)  And I'm sure your co-workers and classmates and friends will enjoy feeling it too.  Hahahha

So, onto the break down:
Pros: Feels awesome, stays on for a few days, and relativity easy to apply.
Cons: $19 may be a little pricey, it's messy to apply, and the colors are limited (2 atm).

If you've tried this, let me know what you think!  I plan to do a small post really soon about my new haircut. =)

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought all the products mentioned in this blog with my own money.
2. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of products mentioned in this blog.
3. No one paid me to write this blog.
4. These are my honest opinions.

Kaviar Mani

Hi Everyone! Yes yes, I know...I have that 31 Day Challenge hanging over my head....but I couldn't help it.  I've been craving to try this since I got my weekly email from Sephora.  No...this is not the Ciate Caviar Manicure Kit.  This is just some plain old (okay, like an FX) polish, and some microbeads I had bought a couple years back.  In fact, I've used them in my Summer Flower mani.  Of course, I didn't cover the entire nail, but still...microbeads are not a new thing in the nail world.  It's just now been made mainstream!  And, as with all other random nail fads, I wanted to check it out. =)

So...I've been hounding my local Sephora, and they haven't gotten the Ciate kit in...they're telling me it will be next week, but we'll see.  Online, it shows that they're the only local store to have it in stock!  Don't you get the feeling that the employees are hiding them for themselves...?  Just a suspicion, hnahaha.

Anyhoo, so in the meantime, I decided to bust out my old microbeads.  I think the whole set of 8 colors was maybe $5 or $6.  Obviously this is significantly less than the Ciate version, but (judging from the picture) you get more beads with Ciate?  I guess I'll find out when I eventually get it...if I get it...I'm sure I want it...must justify....nevermind.  I'll argue with myself later, lol.

Okay, so, here in these pics, I'm wearing Orly's Out of this World (an FX polish).  It's a purple-ish green-ish base with purple shimmer. I think it's a pretty cool color, although not entirely work appropriate!  But then again, that hasn't stopped me...I shall desist only when asked.  =)

I don't even remember where I got my beads from, but it came with a bunch of colors.  Basically I just put on 3 coats of Out of this World to make sure the beads have something to stick to, then dropped and pressed on the blue beads.  After I put away the blue beads, I added purple beads to give it another dimension.

The main problem I faced was that the nail polish dried too quickly to get all the beads stuck on well.  I would have to keep adding more beads to the nail and push them in (like 4-5 beads @ a time after the main bunch).  After, getting all the beads on, my next problem was with the top coat.  I used Seche Vite.  On my left hand, I glopped it on, to make sure the beads would stick.  However, it looks kinda weird.  I know the pic is semi-blurry, but you can see how the beads almost look like their in a gel or something?  Where as the pic above, you can clearly see each bead.  Yeah...which was the look I was going for...

So on my right hand I just used a thin layer of top coat, and was able to get the look I wanted...however, beads are falling out at an alarming rate.  I'm missing more than 11...which isn't too noticeable from a normal glancing distance, but annoying to me, because I can see where they're missing.  Grrr...

So....basically I'm planning to try the Ciate kit, and compare to this cheaper method.  Supposedly the Ciate base color is a more sticky formula, that you can really stick the beads to.  Hopefully they'll have it in stock at Sephora later this week...and maybe w/ a tester?  I would prefer to try before I buy...hahaha.

I still need to get stripes out...bah! Lol

Till next time!

Disclaimer:
1. I bought every product I'm showing by myself (nothing was sent to me for free).
2. No one has paid me or compensated me for this video or blog.
3. I am not affiliated with any of the companies of the products I used.
4. These are my honest opinions.