The Caviar Manicure

Here’s a fun and festive manicure, perfect for your holiday parties and events!

I’ve been intrigued by the [amazon_link id="B009XHB8HU" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Ciate Caviar Manicure[/amazon_link] for quite some time. For the past few months, every time I would walk into Sephora I’d pick it up – only to later label it an impulse buy and put it back before reaching the register. I finally bit the bullet on Black Friday and purchased the [amazon_link id="B009XHB8HU" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Ciate Caviar Manicure[/amazon_link] and I thought I’d review it for you guys!

The single set of the [amazon_link id="B009XHB8HU" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Ciate Caviar Manicure[/amazon_link] retails for $25 at Sephora. It contains a full size nail polish and caviar pearls. The [amazon_link id="B009XHB8HU" target="_blank" container="" container_class="" ]Ciate Caviar Manicure[/amazon_link] retails for $29 and contains 4 miniature nail polishes and 4 bottles of coordinating caviar pearls. It also contains a plastic tray and a funnel.

Starting from top right and moving down:

1. You will need one bottle of nail polish, the matching caviar pearls, a base coat, and a top coat. You also need the funnel and tray included in the set.
2. Pick a coordinating nail polish and caviar pearls. You want the nail polish to match (or coordinate, if the pearls are multi-colored) because it helps to hide any sparse or bare spots.
3. Apply a base coat to all your nails. Let dry.
4. Apply one coat of nail polish. Let dry.
5. Working one nail at a time, apply a second coat of nail polish.
6. While your polish is till wet, place your finger over your tray.
7. Sprinkle the caviar pearls over your wet nail.
8. Press down lightly on the pearls to adhere them to your nail.
9. Let your nails dry for 15 minutes.
10. If you did not apply caviar pearls to all your nails, apply a second coat of polish to those nails. Follow up with a top coat.
11. DO NOT apply a top coat to the caviar pearl nails.
12. Using the funnel, replace the caviar pearls in the bottle.

At $25, the Ciate brand is a little pricey and may be out of your price range. Never fear – I’ve got a DIY version for you that will cost you less than $5!

You will need to purchase microbeads from a craft store. They can be found in the scrapbooking section. I purchased mine from Michael’s and used a 40% coupon! It is the Recollections brand. You will also need a base coat, a coordinating color polish, and a top coat.

I decided to try something different with this manicure. I varied slightly from the directions above. I applied a base coat and two coats of polish to all my nails. I then applied a top coat and sprinkled the microbeads onto my nail while the top coat was still wet. I pressed down lightly and then sprinkled more microbeads on for a second time. I found this helped to fill in any spots I might have missed the first go round. Then I lightly dabbed my top coat over the microbeads to seal. The key here is to dab and not to drag the brush over the microbeads. Dragging the brush will lift the color up off the beads.

Words of Wisdom:

Overall, this is a fun nail look for a party or special occasion. This is not a “wear all week” manicure. I did the Ciate Caviar Manicure at 10pm and by the next morning I had lost half of my caviar pearls. My DIY version lasted about a day before it started falling apart. Avoid any kind of hard labor while you’re wearing this manicure – no scrubbing tubs or washing dishes for you!

I’d tread carefully with this look if you rub your eyes a lot or if you wear contacts. I did not do all my nails for this very reason. I still narrowly missed getting beads in my eyes when I removed my contacts.

Applying top coat over the beads does help with the wear somewhat – but regardless, you are still going to lose beads pretty quickly.

I do think this is a very fun and trendy look that is perfect for a special occasion. I’d highly recommend getting ready, doing your nails, and then heading out the door. I will definitely be trying this again in the future!

Will you try the Ciate Caviar Manicure or the DIY version?

Andrea House is a Southern bell and a self-titled beauty maven that deals with her toddler’s frequent meltdowns by seeking peace in the aisles of Sephora and Ulta. By day she is a social worker, while at night she manages her household while reading story books in her best Elmo voice. Andrea blogs at My Chihuahua Bites, where her blog philosophy is “keepin’ it real.” You can read more from Andrea on her blog, My Chihuahua Bites.