Swatch 'n' Learn! Ciaté — Very Colourfoil Manicure™

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colorfoil_example Back in January, I stumbled upon the Ciaté "Very Colourfoil Manicure™" kit on Sephora.com. And I was fascinated.  At the time, nobody had swatched them, so I was left to my own musings. Until now.

What can I say... I splurged! May I present the photo evidence of my first foray into foil manicures. Allison, this one's for you!

Very ColorFoil_Box

Very ColorFoil_Unpacked

I still have no idea why this was included, lol

A new full-size Ciaté is always welcome!

This is a little bottle of "Foil Fix." It reminded me a lot of watered-down Elmer's Glue.

The instructions were a little intimidating, but the process was actually very simple. You paint the Foil Fix where you want the foil to stick; the entire nail, just a section, just a dot, etc. Let the Foil Fix dry for 60 seconds or so... Press the foil down on the nail, shiny side up... Rip off and VOILA.

Speaking of foil... look at these awesome colors! The sheets of foil were incredibly thin. Even thinner than a Listerine Strip. (Anyone remember those??)

The foils came in this cute little envelope. It comes in handy because you'll find you have a ton of foil left! I only used one sheet of each color for my look. I could do at least 6-7 more foil manicures with the materials included in the kit.

Since there was no legitimate reason to only use the color of polish that came with the kit, I decided to add two colors to the mix; OPI "The IT Color" and Essie "Pretty Edgy."

Very ColorFoil_Foil

I had a lot of fun looking at this mani. I did mine a little crazy, but you could do a much more subtle look, limiting yourself to a base color and then using just one or two colors of foil for a simpler look.

A few days later, my foils really started to fade.

If you compare this photo to earlier shots, you can really see the disappearing foil.

Although the kit was an indulgence at $19, I've decided it's actually a great deal. You get a full bottle of Ciaté "Paint Pots" polish, which retails for $15. You get the bottle of Foil Fix. And then you get tons of foils. Again, I have to stress how generous this kit is with the foil.

Overall, I loved the Ciaté Very Colourfoil Manicure™ Kit, but I'll admit it's a bit of a mixed bag. The DIY feel of the kit was awesome — doing my nails totally felt like an art project! I really enjoyed getting a feel for working with the foil. It's an imperfect exercise, so there's that element of the unexpected when you rip the foil off. You hope for the best and just try again if you didn't get what you wanted the first time.

The downside is that the foil doesn't last very long. You can count on this looking for for about 2 days, and after that the foil just begins to wear away. Another issue I encountered was an area of Foil Fix that never had foil properly adhere to it. The nature of Foil Fix is that a top coat won't really stick to it. Meaning, if you've got a patch of Foil Fix on your nail that doesn't get covered with foil, it will stay gummy. Gross.

Any questions on the Very Colourfoil™ Mani? Hit me up in the comments! And if you've liked what you've seen, then may I suggest you act soon? I've only seen the kit at Sephora and the website days it's limited edition!

foiledagain, Francesca

WANTED: Ciaté — Very Colourfoil Manicure™

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It started out innocent enough. I was on Sephora.com just doing a little casual browsing... when I saw them. New nail kits from Ciaté. At $19 each, they're a bit of an investment, but I am going gaga for them. Check. It. Out. First up is Carnival Couture. I love this kaleidoscope of color!

Next is Kaleidoskope Clask. What a perfect name!

Screen shot 2013-01-09 at 11.45.50 PM

I have never seen this product in real life, nor have I seen someone wearing it, so these kits remain shrouded in sweet, sweet mystery. Here are the details I read:

Screen shot 2013-01-09 at 11.45.14 PM

According to Sephora, these Very Colourfoil Manicure kits are online only. Limited edition. And exclusive to Sephora. I don't know about you but to me, that sounds like a taunt. Or a threat. What's a girl to do?!

right now

Is nail polish tax-deductible??

sobsobsob, Francesca

Ciaté Mini Mani #1 — Cupcake Queen

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ciate_cupcake queen_pose Now I know that when I posted about my gorgeous Ciaté Mini Mani Month box, I claimed I'd do a manicure a day... Welp. That obviously hasn't happened — but wait, there's a reason, I swear!

It's because the colors have been on the demure side. Don't get me wrong, I love a good pink or bordeaux, but I've been in the mood for some unusual nail colors and none of the mini bottles have been getting my wheels a-turning, aside from Numero Uno.

The first bottle to be revealed was Cupcake Queen, a bright magenta with (gasp) a violet sheen. It was totally late 80s. I think Barbie may have had a Corvette or two like this. It didn't scream sophistication, to be sure. Cupcake Queen? Maybe. But think Hostess, not Sprinkles.

Just look at how cute these little bottles are.

See that shimmer? When I see colors like this, I just... Phew. Flashbacks. I didn't know colors like this still existed.

And yet the pink looked bright enough for a look I'd been meaning to try — freehand leopard spots! I was inspired by this page in a Sephora catalog that I've been hoarding for a year and a half. /wink

My inspiration. My tools.

Here's my left paw in the shade.

And some early morning California sunshine.

These spots were incredibly easy to do! All you need is a dotting tool (or even a bobby pin) and a good black striping polish.

I used a black striping polish from The New Black. What a great buy; the polish is pigment-rich, super smooth and even dries pretty fast. The brush itself is perfect, too. Using the brush, I drew little half moons and circles, being sure to make the edges of the moons and circles a bit wobbly and uneven looking so that they'd look like stylized leopard spots instead of straight-up polka dots. The organic look we're going for really comes in handy when it's time to paint your non-dominant paw. ;)

Then I used my dotting tool and my Konad white stamping polish to add small white dots in varying sizes on most (but not all) of my black half moons and circles. I nearly reached for my trusty OPI Alpine Snow, but I was worried about transparency issues — and nothing's more opaque than Konad.

I enjoyed this look so much that I couldn't bear to remove it the next night! Or the night after that. So now you've discovered the second reason why my manicure-a-day plan didn't make the cut.

quitethecupcakequeen, Francesca

Happy New Year! / Ciaté Mini Mani Blitz

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Happy New Year, ladies and gents! Hope you all had a lovely holiday. I took some time off to kick back and relax with the fam and my three cats. Yep, I'm up to three. >^..^<  >^..^<  >^..^< The news of my recent adoption has been met with some skepticism. But you know what? Daenerys Targaryen has three dragons and nobody has ever, not once, not in the show nor ye olde canon, said "Gosh, Dany. Three? Do you really need three?"

dany and drogon

So it's 2013, man oh man... I remember when it become The Year Two Thousand. I liked to say "The Year Two Thousand" like a robot; that's why I loved Flight of the Conchords' "The Humans Are Dead" after just one listen. And now that it's 2013, I feel like the future really is here. I guess it's the addition of the "-teen" that's tripping me out.

Let's start 2013 with a bang. My friend Kevin bought the most wonderful Christmas gift for me: The Ciaté Mini Mani Month Collection. Wheee! I'm aiming for a fresh manicure each day, so brace yourselves.

Love the packaging...

Days and days of fun!

photo 4

here'stoagreatnewyear, Francesca

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Spotted: The Ciaté Velvet Manicure

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Remember Ciaté's Caviar Manicure? I know we all pinned it up on our Pinterest boards, but did any of you guys actually try it out? I was very tempted to splurge, but you may recall that I took issue with one of Ciaté's nail polish names, and I opted not to throw any cash money their way.

Since then, Ciaté changed the offensive lacquer moniker. (!) To err is human; I understand. It really means a lot to me that the company took responsibility for an error in judgement and rectified the situation.

And so, I hope you don't mind that I'm breaking the moratorium on Ciaté mentions. I saw the brand's Velvet Manicure Kit in Sephora and had to share it with you guys — if you haven't seen it already.

It's difficult for me to make a call on this. On the one hand, love the creativity with texture. On the other hand, aesthetics aside, how long does this last? And how does showering or hand washing affect the finish?

One tip for trying this look out — without breaking the bank — is to visit an arts 'n' crafts shop. The powder included with the kit is called "flocking powder," and you can buy it at most craft stores for the low low price of $4. I sense a Michael's trip in my future!

If anyone here has tried the patented Ciaté Velvet Manicure or has experimented with flocking powder on their own, please share your experience in the comments! If you want to read an account of what one brave blogger's experience was like, check out Blue Tape & Nail Tips.

I'll wrap this up with an awesome picture my friend Cleveland found for me that involves some particularly creative flocking.

berryvelvetifyouplease, Francesca

P.S. Oh, who am I kidding, I can't end this post without throwing in this hot track. Don't act surprised! You know the drill around here. I dedicate this video to Katia, who sang the best version of this song I've heard yet.

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