Ciaté Mini Mani #1 — Cupcake Queen
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.
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
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
