Twilight

Ciate's latest nail colours are dark, glossy and undeniably sexy! I love rich colours for the Winter, and this collection does not disappoint with some exciting, unique shades, as well as a few great staples.

Ghetto Fabulous (black creme)

 Burlesque (rich plum creme)

Dangerous Affair (rouge noir creme)

 Twilight (black with gold flakes)

 Paparazzi (vampy red black creme)

3am Girl (deep inky blue creme)

 Guest List (deep brown with a hint of purple creme)

 

 Strictly Legal (shimmery plum)

I have to confess that I love them all, especially for the Winter season. However, given the choice of one I decided on Twilight (Strictly legal is a close runner up). Now, before scrolling to the swtaches I have to prepare you for my nails. I am weeks overdue for gel infills, but haven't had the time to get to my regular salon (in Woking) so they are awfully long! Apologies, they are hideous, I am ashamed :(.

Twilight is a unique colour as the richness of the black is lifted and brought to life by the dense gold micro glitter. Some glitter polishes can look a little flat, but this seems to somehow have more dimension. In certain lights it can appear a simple black, but when it catches the light the gold flecks really glow and sparkle!

Like all Ciate polishes I have tried the pigmentation is excellent, and even this deep black is opaque in just one coat. I always go for two, but if you are in a rush you can easily settle for one generous layer. Although the consistency is quite thick the stiff, flat brush helps to apply it smoothly, without dragging across the nail (though you couldn't tell by my 2am shaky application). It dries in a decent amount of time and wears well, but you do have to be careful not to apply it too thick as it can chip. The photos above were taken after 3 days of wear, and though I have a few minor chips I would say it has held up well, especially for a black as any tip wear is instantly noticeable.

Ciate polishes are £9 each and can be purchased from ciate.co.uk.

Have you tried any Ciate polishes? What did you think of their formulation? Do you have any favourites and do any of the above take your fancy? xxx

Nails, nails, nails.

Since so many of you were keen for me to post more nail related pictures I bring you my mother's nails, freshly painted this morning :).Before anyone comments on these nails (or as i like to call them - claws) they are acrylic, and long overdue for an infill, so are very long. However, I think this design would work perfectly well on shorter or square nails too.

I used one coat of ciate paint pots in no. 39, Mistress. It is no wonder that this polish has won the Kiss and Makeup Beauty Awards, as with just one coat I got an opaque coverage and a glossy finish. These ciate polishes come in a really fun range of colours and finishes and I especially love the cute bow detail on the bottle. They can be purchased from the Powder Rooms website for £7.50. Also, be sure to check out Hele's blog for a 20% discount code ;).
For the flower design I used Konad black nail varnish and plate m7.
I then finished it off with my favourite top coat- Seche Vite.

What do you guys think? Too vamp?