Ciate Haute House Leather Look Fall 2014 Collection Review and Swatch

Good afternoon!

Today I have a review of Ciates newly released Haute House collection. There are two finishes available, the leather look and the ink look. Today I have a review of the leather look collection. I just love the packaging of this collection! It is so original compared to other brands. The collection includes four lovely fall colors and a silicone top coat for extra shine. Each bottle is 5ml of polish. The four colors are 'Dare to Bare', 'Mostly a Minx', 'Can't it be Kinky', and 'Good to be a goddess'.

'Dare to Bare' is a tan polish perfect for all skin tones. The color is self leveling and opaque with two medium coats of polish. On the first coat, the polish was slightly see through, which is a common finding with most tan/nude colored polishes. But as you can see in the picture, the second coat took care of the problem! The consistency was good and the application was smooth. The formula has a glossy shine. This is with no top coat.

'Mostly A Minx' is an apple red polish. This is one coat of polish. The formula is self leveling, has a smooth finish on its own, and a semi glossy shine. I added one coat silicone topcoat on my index and ring finger to show you a comparison. As you can see the fingers with the top coat look very glossy and finish off the manicure nicely. I must say that this topcoat is a must have in any collection!

'Good to be a Goddess' is a deep blue polish. This is one coat of polish with one coat of silicone topcoat. The formula was smooth, self leveling, and easy to work with. Under the white light the color appears to have certain patches that could have been covered with another coat of polish, but in room lighting you can not tell the difference. I decided to try this polish out and wore it for 1 day. I was happy to find that the blue did not stain my cuticles or nails! Remember that when removing darker colored nail polish you should swipe away from the cuticles to avoid staining.

'Can't be Kinky' is a pitch black polish. I do not usually wear black polish but the color looked very classy. This is one coat with no top coat. The formula was smooth, self leveling, and easy to work with.

Overall I had a great experience with these polishes. The collection has a nice spread of colors to choose from and I must say that my favorite is "Dare to Bare'! The topcoat that was included in the collection added an extra shine to each polish when applied. What is your favorite out of the collection? Let me know if you would like any swatch comparisons! Be sure to pick up this set at your local Sephora stores for $25. I can imagine that it will be hard to find as we go further into the fall season.

*These items have been sent for honest review*

Appliq Nail Wraps Review + Giveaway!!

Good evening!

Today I have a review on five nail wrap designs by Appliq. The nail wraps come in sets of 16 nail strips enclosed in a plastic wrapping. The wraps have a matte finish and are very easy to use. They are not too sticky and allow you to reposition them if you are not satisfied. Below is snap shot of all five designs I chose to review. The website has so many designs to chose from!

Alright, lets get started! The first set is 'Morocco'. There are five different designs in this set. I decided to show my four favorite designs. The colors are very pigmented and the pattern is very unique.

The second set is 'Blush Bouquet'. There are four different designs in this set. It is a perfect girly mix that would be perfect for weddings.

The third set is 'Fuchsia Explosion'. There are two different designs in this set. This design is so vibrant and detailed! No way would I be able to do this with a brush. Glad I could just slap these on in less than a few minutes.

The fourth set is 'Maps and Mermaids'. There are three different designs in this set. My sister loved this design. Again I love how much detail is in this design. It would be crazy difficult to draw this myself.

I had the opportunity to design my own set of nail wraps! I chose a bunch of fun designs on their website. You can even download any pictures and put them on the nail wraps. I like how you can put one picture or design on each nail strip. So essentially you can have 16 different nail wrap designs for accent nails! Just an idea ;)

Overall I enjoyed the nail wraps! The ends of the wraps can be filed off with the file that was included in the package. The file is nice but since I have shorter nails I had to use a file with smaller grains. The wraps do not have a plastic covering over each stripe like other brands. This is nice cause you do not have to peel it away, but you have to be more careful to not get stuff stuck on them.

*The best way to apply the strips is to pull the middle of the strip and pressing down. To avoid wrinkles, you need to pull one side at a time towards the middle. *

Guess what?!? Appliq was kind enough to provide lot of goodies for an INTERNATIONAL giveaway. The winner will win any 5 nail wrap designs of their choice from the website! The giveaway will go live on 9/15 and end 9/29 at midnight!

Rules:
1. 18+ or parent consent
2. International (must provide company with address to send once you have won)
3. Fill in the rafflecopter gadget below and fulfill all the tasks for lots of entries!

Have fun and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*The items were sent for honest review*

Born Pretty Store Stamper + Plates

Hello my lovely followers,

I hope everyone is having a nice Friday, well this is my second post of the day. As you can see I got a little excited with the items that came in! Today I have another review from The Born Pretty Store. I was sent three items to review for the month of September. The items included a stamper and two cute plates I picked out.

This is my first time using a square stamper. I thought it would be good to try on rectangular full nail designs. I have been having some trouble with certain designs. This was the solution to my problem! The stamper is firm and little squishy. I think it works better for advance stamping techniques. I posted a video on my YouTube channel (Christy Dee) if you are interested in seeing how it works. The scraper is metal as you can see in the picture below. Unfortunately, I noticed it does scratch the plate if you are not gentle. This is why I opt out to use plastic scrapers. It still works well, but you need to be gentle.

The link to the stamper is here.  I liked this stamper set and would recommend it for those of you who have longer nails.

The next two items are stamping plates. The first plate is item #14688. This plate has four full nail designs. All the designs transferred very well to the stamper I received in the review. I decided to take a crack at advance stamping techniques with this plate. It worked out very nicely. The leaf design was perfect. I included a photo below on the final product.

I had a good experience with this plate. The polish was really easy to pick up. I used Essie Fall in Line for stamping and filled in with Nichole by OPI Alex by the Books and Essie Ruffles and Feathers. I will included a video of the technique on my Instagram if you would like to see. Let me know in the comments if you would like me to explain the process and I can add it in. Here is the direct link to the item so you won't have to search around.

The next plate is item #14747. I chose this plate because it had a lot of line designs. I thought it would fun to have a little more freedom with stamping. I used one of the curved designs on two of my nails. I stamped with CultCosmetics El Porto on top of Joshua Tree. 

I think this design turned out very nice. It is simple and elegant. I noticed that with stamping it can become overwhelming when it covers the entire nail. This design adds just a touch of detail that I think is appropriate for work. This plate is currently sold out on the website but be sure to check consistently they restock often!

Overall, I had a good experience with the designs again. The plates from this store do not dissapoint and they are such a good deal at $2.99 each. Also head over to there site to vote for new stamping plates they are releasing. Participates will be enter to win some plates too! 

*Items were sent for honest review*

ThumbsUp Nail Wraps

Happy Friday!

Today I have a new collection of nail wraps just released by ThumbsUp Nail Wraps. Here nail wraps have been featured in Cosmopolitan healthy and beauty Lust - Haves. I personally have tried her wraps before and loved them. The nail wraps are not too sticky when removed from the backing. This allows them to be easily repositioned if you put it down wrong on the first attempt. The nail wraps are stretchy as well. By simply pulling on the sides, I can make sure the pattern covers the entire nail. I will be giving a brief description of the wrap above the pictures. Enjoy!

H2O is a lovely baby blue. The nail wraps pack comes with enough for two - three manicures

Aloha is a fun mixture of hawaiian pattens and coral. 

Awe is a fun mineral texture design.

Mentha is a teal blue.

Roco is a marble texture with fun stripes.

Midnight Party is fun Halloween pattern that GLOWS IN THE DARK! 

Rosa is a clear overlay rose petals. This can go over any polish! 

Henna is another overlay nail wrap that can go over any nail polish. I put the nail wrap over Essie Ladylike.

Tribe is a fun tribal pattern with lots of different patterns.

Ror Chach is an inkblot pattern. I loved the variety in this pack!

Overall I had a great experience with these wraps. The different nail sizes offered allowed me to chose from different patterns for each nail. I was not locked into the pattern chosen for the middle or index finger. I also liked the fact that the wraps were long enough for me to use on two nails. I was able to use the products for two manicures!

Also, just an FYI...the company is having 50% off the last collection too if you wanted to try out the wraps.

I am on a nail wraps kinda kick right now!! Do you have any recommendations? What brand of nail wraps do you like the most? Anything else I should try? 

*Items were provided for honest review*

Milani Color Statement Review and Swatch

Hello lovely followers! 

I have a huge review of the entire Milani New Color Statement collection. When the colors arrived, I was a bit overwhelmed at first. The collection has a wide variety of colors with glitters thrown in as well. There are 37 colors to choose from. I loved the collection more and more as I swatched. Pardon the different skin tones in my photos below, I tried my best to adjust the photo to portray the color accurately.

'Peri-Wink' is a blue with a slight shimmer. The formula is thin so I used two coats to even out the formula nicely. 

'Blue Print' is a navy blue. The formula is good, but required two coats for full opacity. This color is gorgeous!

'Water Front' is an ocean blue that was opaque in one coat. The formula was great. 

'Mint Crush' a baby blue. This is one coat. The formula was great and easy to work with. 

'Tattle teal' is truely a teal blue. This is one coat. This color is gorgeous!

'Bronze' rose gold color. The formula is a little bit streaky. This is one coat. 

'Lovely Amethyst' is frosty purple. The formula is streaky. This is one coat. 

'Silouette' is a pale green. This is one coat. The formula was great and easy to work with. 

'Mauving Forward' is a dusky pink. This is one coat. This color is gorgeous!

'Cupcake Icing' is a blue based pink. This is two coats. 

'Mango Tango' an orange red. This is one coat. 

'Red Label' is an apple red. This is two coats. 

'Modern Rouge' is an apple red. The formula is thin and if I used one coat the color is see through. 

'Imperial Purple' is a creme purple. This is two coats.

'Vintage Lace Sheer' is a sheer color. This is two coats. 

'Ultra Violet' is a shimmery purple. This is two coats. 

'Corrupted Coral' is pink coral color. This is two coats. 

'Hot Pink Rage' is a bright magenta pink. This is two coats. 

'Pink Beige' pale nude pink . This is two coats. 

'Bombshell' is a bright barbie pink. This is one coat. The formula was great and easy to work with. 

'Doll Face' is a pale barbie pink. This is one coat. The formula was great and easy to work with. 

'Lady Like Sheer' is a pale washed out white creme. This is one coat. This color was actually my favorite pale white out of the bunch because it was the most opaque. 

'Frenchie Sheer' is a sheer color. This is one coat. The formula is thin. 

'Gilded Rocks' is a clear polish packed with small and medium size glitters. This is one coat on top of 'Lady Like Sheer'. 

'Ruby Stone' is a shimmery red. This is one coat. 

'Iconic Red' is an apple red. This is one coat. 

'Club Lights' is a pink glitter top coat of small and medium sized glitter. This is one coat. 

'Gold Plated' is a microshimmer of gold. This is one coat. 

'Crimson Jewel' a ruby red with microshimmer. This is one coat with a textured feel. To get a smooth finish you need a top coat. 

'Sugar Plum' is a shimmer maroon. This is one coat. 

'Charcoal Charm" is a coal gray. This is one coat. < Picture will be updated soon!>

'Ink Spot' The formula was great! This is one coat. 

'Enchating' is a deep purple. This is one coat. 

'Pearl-plexed Sheer' is a clear shimmer white. This is one coat. 

'Spotlight White' is a pure white. This is one coat. 

Overall I must say that I really enjoyed this collection. The colors were opaque with 1-2 coats for the most part. There is a wide variety of colors to chose from. Here is a direct link to the website so you can see bottle shots of all the polishes.  I saw preview shots of the colors for next year and they have the polish color swatched on the top of the lid so you can easily find the color you are looking for in your drawer. 

*Items were provided for honest review*