I am so so so excited. I just got my Babyliss Miracurl in the mail today!! I used it on my mom's hair and it's so easy and amazing. I'll be doing a tutorial and review too soon. Reminds me, I never did that tutorial/review on my Sultra Curling Wand. Oh well, I'll catch up on all my hair tools soon!
It's time for another nail post. I've been working at school this past and will be working during exam week. That means that my nails will probably be destroyed by the end of it since I'm always touching things with my hands. I'm either stacking books into boxes, or stacking boxes in the closet. So you can see how hard it is for me to keep my nails nice and manicured and not broken. That's also why I chose to go with a light color for this week's manicure. I really wanted to go dark but I knew that when it starts chipping it would be a million times more noticeable on a dark color than a light color. After bugging a male friend to help me eliminate my choices down to the one, I ended up with a very light greige color. It's hard to describe the color but I like to say it's coffee with a lot of milk. That's what it makes me think of, though Ciate calls this particular color Cookies n Cream. I don't really see Cookies n Cream unless you pureed it haha.
If you've read some of my other nail posts then you know all about my usual nail routine. I like to use Essie because I find that their quality is superb. I even like Essie's top coat more than Ciate's. I've never tried OPI so you should suggest some colors for me!
All the Ciate polishes I have come from that huge 24 Days of Christmas box from last year, unless they are the Caviar Manicure sets from way back (the black and white ones). I think that last year's set had a lot more diversity in its color range compared to this year's. I like a lot of the shades and I'm always coming back to it. For those that don't have the set, I know that The Bay sells Ciate but I'm not sure about this specific color.
Neutral Greige Manicure using Ciate
Nail Prep
To prep my nails I start by removing any nail polish that's still on. Then I moisturize my nails and hands using The Body Shop's Almond Hand and Nail Cream. After my nails have moisturized for a little while I remove the excess cream. I file my nails using a Crystal Nail File I got at Sephora. I also use Sephora's 4-in-1 Nail Buffer. Then I put Essie's Apricot Cuticle Oil on my cuticles and nails too. As they're soaking I use my double-ended cuticle pusher / fingernail dirt remover manicure tool from Tweezerman's Hot Pink Nail Rescue Set to get rid of the dirt under my finger nails. Once my cuticles are soft enough, I use the other side of the tool to push them down. Then I use the Cuticle Nipper from the same set to trim my cuticles. Then I wash off the excess oil.
Polish Time
I start by applying two coats of Essie's Millionails Nail Treatment. This stuff really helps your nails to grow stronger. My nails used to be so fragile and damaged, especially after removing nail polish, but after using this product I can see a huge difference! The next step is to apply a base coat, I use Essie's Grow Stronger Base Coat because I want my nails to .... well... grow stronger! Hah! Once that's dry, I applied two coats of Ciate's Cookies n Cream. Two coats was enough to make the color opaque, you don't need a third coat. The last step is to apply a fast drying top coat, I quite like Essie's Good To Go. I put two coats just to make sure I covered every part of my nail. Since using this top coat, my nails never smudge after I've done them and they don't start chipping til over a week after I did the manicure.
The Manicure
Products Used:
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| Sephora Collection Mini Crystal Nail File - 10$CAD |
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| Sephora Collection 4-in-1 Nail Buffer - 7$CAD |
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| Sephora Collection 4-in-1 Nail Buffer - 7$CAD |
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| Tweezerman Hot Pink Nail Rescue Kit - 24$CAD |
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| Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil - 9$CAD |
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| Essie Millionails Treatment - 9$CAD |
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| Essie Grow Stronger Base Coat - 9$CAD |
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| Ciate Cookies N Cream |
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| Essie Good To Go Top Coat - 9$CAD |
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my nail post even though it was nothing fancy. I didn't even realize that the color matched my sweater until I got home haha. What do you think of the Cookies n Cream color? I thought it looked weird when I looked at it in the pot, but when I tried it on, it totally changed my mind. It's a beautiful light greige color and it's the type of color you can wear with anything. What do you think of Ciate's nail polish line? I love Essie, I find their stuff really works from me, whether it's a treatment, top coat, or color, which is why I'm always using it lately. Is there an Essie product that you love the most? And what about your favorite Essie shade ever? I think mine would have to be Mint Candy Apple.
How do you like my little sneak peak of the next makeup look I'm planning on doing? I tried out the Makeup Forever Aqua Shadow sticks and did a look based on it. I'm still not sure if I like it cuz the colors I used are so out of my element!
Steph xo.
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