‘Caviar’ nails

Caviar Nails

(a textual follow-on from the last post, and a step-by-step on the ‘caviar’ micro bead manicure)

“The inspiration behind the Caviar Manicure came about when I was looking to create three-dimensional nails for a cover shoot and wanted to develop something feminine, indulgent yet delicately extravagant,” said Ciaté’s creative director Charlotte Knight.

The evolution of textured nail polish has naturally guided us through a town area of stick on transfers, a village of furry add-ons to a city of…Beads!
As soon as I saw a picture of micro beads on nails, I loved it! At first, when I saw the word ‘caviar’…I thought – “are you kiddin’ me?!” Do we not use living creatures and their…parts, enough?!
Then I did some research and realized, okay – it’s just small beads people, it’s just small beads. Phew!
I prefer simplifying the look of textured, statement nails by applying the effect to a special finger nail, like ‘texting bling’ fingers trend.

FOILING,STICKERS/DECALS AND TRANSFERS
Great as they’re simple and fast! You can spice up an outfit, or add a bit of an edge!

MATTE
Textured nails have had a lot of limelight of late, we had matte nails. They were one of the first kinds of polish with a completely different texture from the normal polish.

CRACKLE
Then there was crackle, or ‘shatter’. Crackle first emerged in basic colors like black, gold, and silver, but now there are lots of variations and tones, including neons. I myself am not a huge fan of shatter/crackle nails, I prefer a cleaner look. But I like the way other people wear it sometimes.

MAGNETIC
Magnetic polishes are another choice buy as they offer just that…Choice! You can customize your own nails via different designs with a magnet. The majority of magnetic polishes are available in dark chrome colours due to the silver magnetic particles in the polish.

CAVIAR
Caviar nails as we now know, do NOT consist of dipping your wet finger nails in fish eggs. This is a vegan page people!
These manicures are too cute. Ciate has been the leading pioneer of the manicure by selling kits that have everything you need via Sephora (and thankfully – ebay!). Though it was first spotted on the runways at Cushnie et Ochs’ fall ’11 show. However, you do not need to purchase the whole pricey kit from Ciate as I did. You can find micro beads in craft stores, on ebay, and on etsy!
You can go one step further and commit to ‘bling ring’ finger ‘text’ jewelry too, Kawaii style!

VELVET
Not long after the Caviar polishes came out, Ciate came out with velvet. I need to get me one of these sets, stat!

SPOTTED
In France, OPI Black Spotted emerged! Being a part of the OPI’s Amazing Spiderman Collection, this polish was and still is the only one of its kind and exclusively available in European countries. A little like shatter/crackle but with more control it seems. Red and black would look great for Halloween. As you a white base with a blood-red spotted effect!

RUBBER
The latest addition to the texture family is rubber! Created by Illamasqua. They came out with the Theater of the Nameless collection which had rubber finishes last year. Then last month they came out with Limited Edition Rubber Brights, a neon collection with a rubber finish.

I am really in holographics too! Teaming this with a ‘Galaxy-scenescape’ dress would look beautiful. ASOS and etsy have quite a few right now.

Caviar nails – step-by-step

Grab the following:
• Base coat (I just use the same as the chosen ‘opaque’ one below.
• Opaque nail polish (no shimmer) – a nice candy pink works well for this, but go ahead and choose your own shade
• Micro beads (available at most craft stores, you don’t to shell out on Ciate or other brand names). Go ahead and experiment with sizes too. Although I’ve heard that the smaller they are, the longer they’ll last on your nail.
• Top coat – JUST to seal around the END of your nail, not over the whole thing. It’ll look slimy.

STEP 1
First, apply one layer of base coat on completely bare nails (you can use fake nails, and you can use a colour polish…I did!) and let it dry.

STEP 2
Apply a generous second coat of colour to one hand/nail – I’d do it nail by nail – and let the polish get tacky for 10 seconds. Then, over a sheet of paper, a cup, or a plastic tray (in the Ciate set you’ll get the tray with it), pour the micro beads over your nail, ensuring you coat the entire surface of your nail bed like glitter over glue.

STEP 3
When the nail is entirely covered, use the pad of your finger to press and secure the caviar beads. Repeat on each nail. Go ahead and sprinkle some more beads if they are any gaps.
I don’t like the nail to look too wide, and when you sprinkle beads on it, it can do sometimes. I use a cuticle pusher or a cocktail stick to push the beads away from the very edges of each side of the nail. It creates a cleaner line.

STEP 4
Pour the excess beads back into the jar to save for later…And don’t accidentally knock the pots over with your fingers – trying to be careful when you’re actually being more clumsy…Like me. And then apply a tiny drop of top coat along your nail tip to seal the caviar. The look should last two or three days before the beads start to fall.

And…Yep! Just as I expected…Good enough to eat!
At sometimes you do…Accidentally, dosh darn lil’ beadlings!

Statement nails

From Caviar (microbead) manicures, to funky transfers, from hand-painted pinstripes to kawaii adornments; statement nails have never been more cool.
This is a look-book of ideas post…And whilst I await my Ciate Caviar bead mini bar set, I shall plan my next manicure ahead. Check back at Tribe of Mannequins and see the ‘How to’ follow-up article.

The Half-Moon Manicure: Part 2

Following on from Part 1 of the main post: The Half-Moon Manicure (dated 12th February 2012); I decided I had to try it out! So feel free to check out my visual reference guide below!
I opted for a Dita Von Teese-esque vintage style: red with natural half-moons! I have, however – modernised it, and put a custom take on a classic look, by opting for square tips opposed to pointed.
One reason for this was fear of poking ones eyeball out, or indeed someone elses! Another reason was paranoia that could’t get the points to be rounded at each side semetrically.
And mainly, because I prefer squarer tips…Probably relating back to point 1…Fear of poking ones eyeball out.
So you see, either way – it’s a classic style, funky and often sophisticated.
Since I have been wearing it, I definitely feel more womanly/lady-like.
I don’t think a lot of people ‘get it’. They probably think I just have a red tipped french manicure, Jersey-shore style. Perhaps the rounded/pointy tips would have aided that. Nevertheless, I really like this style and definitely recommend trying it out!

Part 1 of the post:

http://tribeofmannequins.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/the-half-moon-manicure/

Thank you for reading, come by again soon!

Kirstiie @ Tribe of Mannequins

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The Half-Moon Manicure

The Half-Moon Manicure! I’m really excited about this post.
Yes, it’s polished and it’s definitely pretty. But can anyone pull it off?

Well, I believe they can. In an adapted way.

We don’t all have to fashion extra long, rounded-tip nails with un-painted half-moons and blood red tips, like iconic Dita Von Teese.

Lana del rey has been sporting pointed nails recently with extra large half-moons.

Fergie has been spotted donning catlike nails with black half-moons:

But there are modernised version trending at the moment. Shorter, more practical and wearable, squarer, and often brighter in hue.

MODERN

(This is quite a classic take on a vintage trend. It’s true to history – using red as the main factoring colour, but using a rich, deep berry-esque shade, and glossing it up to create an extremely glamourous, glossy manicure. Quite beautiful on Camilla Belle).

(Another modern-twist on the half-moon manicure. Bright and visual is bang on trend, but avoiding the squarer, shorter tips – a bold look! Very Rihanna!)

(And here’s Rihanna now, sporting long, square-tipped black & white half moons).

(A medium blue hue with painted white hue).

ROMANTIC

(A modern, romantic take on the half-moon manicure, using soft, feminine colours such as peachy pink and light grey)

(Another sweet take on the style, using pink and white, but leaving the tips unpainted. I’ve not seen them like this before).

(Another romantic version, but with metallic gold half-moons).

(This is bright, but still romantic, the pinky tones bring a prettiness to the nails).

METALLIC

(Here style icon Lauren Conrad fashions metallic/gunmetal grey nails with sparkly gold/silver half-moons. Very glam!)

CUSTOM

(Extra-specially modern – picture-based nails; candy stripes with flowers, and dark half-moons).

(Some kooki made-for-Halloweenie nails!)

PROFESSIONAL

(This version is more day-to-day, or evening, definitely office/meeting/client-appropriate. Interesting colour use too).

DESIGNER

(Capital ‘A’; A-dorable! Love these! Loooove these. Chanel icon logo little little Chanel ballet pump-esque nails?! Want).

(On the Cat walk, these nails looks beautiful. The colours chosen above are extremely flattering, and natural, yet modern).

MODERN-TAKES ON VINTAGE

(Perhaps this should be classed as modern or custom, but the look is indeed vintage, just with green in place of red. I love this. It’s bold and beautiful).

(The red is of course vintage is style, with the added white half-moon it creates a cleaner look. Adding the black & white as un update to the vintage version is fantastic. It’s similar to Rhianna’s earlier pictured version, but the shape here is closer to the original fashion).

VINTAGE ORIGINALS

(What a captivating photograph of Joan Crawford. I love pictures like this. I wonder what she was thinking. Who was behind the lens? The photographer did a good job in making the viewer of the snap believe she hated him…Or was bored by him. Her nails look alarming, don’t they? Coupled with her expression, I wouldn’t want to anger this lady!).

(And here she is again. With a longer and less scarier manicure. More alike to the style Dita Von Teese wears).

(A depiction of Jean Harlow used in advertisements of Lucky Strike. Wow, how times change, eh? Her likeness is sporting a fantastic manicure here, short, but statement. Such a bombshell).

Vintage Vs. Modern.

Hmm, which do you prefer?

TUTORIAL

You: (yeah, I’m a mind-reader, doncha’ know, I know what you’re thinkin’…I think :s): “Yeah, thanks Kirstiie/Tribe of Mannequins, that’s great, but how the chicken do I do that?!”

Me: “Well, just go ahead and read on’ lil’ lady”

Using the below image from ‘Nail-Art-101.com’, it’s pretty simple.

Using your selected colours. Wash your hands and dry properly, of course – don’t want to be a-slippin’ and a-slidin’ all over your nails when you’re trying to paint ‘em do you?

Then start with your nail colour, for the ‘smaller half-moon grey section’ of the nail using the above picture as reference.

When it’s dry, not tacky – very dry: use a French manicure sticker or one of those page reinforce stickers where directed on the above picture – where the half-moon colour will appear. By the way, these are the page reinforcement stickers; a la:

Then paint above the sticker with your second chosen colour (darker or lighter, experiment with what YOU like ☺).
Remove the sticker whilst the polish is still wet, and when all is dry, finish off with a transparent glossy top coat!
Of course if you’re going old-school vintage Dita Von Teese style – no need for selecting two colours. Just start with clean, dry hands as before. Put the semi-circle sticker on your nail as before.

Then paint above it and remove the sticker. And there you have it, perfection!

I’ve yet to try this look out, but when I do, I’ll be opting for the whole hog. I’ll be seeking out some longish, slightly pointed-tip nails, leaving the half-moon unpainted and using a deep, blood-red colour on the rest of the nail, a la: Dita! Les Dolce Vita! ;)

Thank you for reading, come by again soon!

Kirstiie @ Tribe of Mannequins

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The return of Blue Nails!

I LOVE the blue nail polish/varnish trend. I am ALL over it like a…Blue nail polish rash!

I not only wore it during its emergence in the Summer fashion trend of 2011, I wore it before then, and I wear it after.

(Janet Jackson sporting a metallic blue polish, Summer 2011)

(Kendall Jenner fashioning light blue, Spring 2011)

Just like Eva Mendez who was sporting it in Mid-Feb of last year, I like to wear polish whenever I feel I like the shade, not only when it’s ‘on-trend’:

I wear it in different shades – including pale blue, and dark blue – nice and shiny; but I love the superman tone of blue. Blue is flattering for most skin tones, looks pretty on pale and vibrant on tanned.

I noticed it was becoming a ‘thing’ again recently whilst watching E!’s ‘Fashion Police’…My dirty little secret, along with ‘Hoarders’, ‘Come Dine With Me’, and ‘How Clean Is Your House’…Aaaah **feet up with a mug of vegan coffee**, love them.
Joan Rivers was wearing a gorgeous shade of blue on her nails, and she looked really cool.
That was a couple of weeks ago now, and she’s still into blue!

In the Daily Mail today…(Yes, nicely noticed – another dirty little secret of mine, I read it without question, every morning at my desk with a green tea and a quarter of a punnet of blueberries with strawberries). Beyonce was wearing a beautiful blue polish with a statement orange dress, looking amazing, daring and healthy…Considering she’s just had a baby! – cheeky mare, eh?! ;)

According to the Daily Mail, it was her first public outing since giving birth and they reported that she did it in honour of her baby, Blue Ivy’, in NYC lastnight.

Reportedly, Bey’s manicurist Lisa Logan tweeted today: ‘Check out Beyonce’s blue nails called Baker Street by Nails Inc. I love this color!’
(Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2097993/Beyonce-honours-baby-Blue-Ivy-Carter-bright-polish-1st-outing-giving-birth.html#ixzz1llloDJJ2

I ADORE this shade!

Whether your shade is baby blue, or Royal blue, give it a go – it’s fun, bright and always makes me smile if I see them whilst typing, they liven the work day up, and look great with a suit! ☺

Hey! If Johnny Depp says it’s alright, then it’s alright:

(Johnny Depp, October 2011)

Thank you for reading, come by again soon!

Kirstiie @ Tribe of Mannequins

WordPress blog
Content: Cosmetics/Fashion
http://www.tribeofmannequins.wordpress.com

Facebook page
Content: Updates
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribe-of-Mannequins/199696716792980

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Content: Miscellaneous thoughts
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Other WordPress blog: House of Vegan
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‘Gossip’ Nailstation – Paris, Salon (Dubai chain).

Picking up towels and new cutlery from a little store down Beach Road over the weekend, I spotted Nailstation – Paris, Salon. Its blinded windows containing the mysteries of women’s beauty within.
Okay, well women getting mani’s and pedi’s at least! ;)

But I wondered outloud “Ooh, do you think they have turquoise varnish?”…It turns out…They did!
It’s called Gossip, and I’m in lurve with it.
It makes you looked more tanned when you wear it, and it goes great with my new statement Tiki H&M ring too!

Warning – try not to wear with other brash colours. New pink checkered top is just about okay with it, but purple summer dress…NO, NO, NOOO.