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 beauty

 Urban Deacay Naked Illuminated Trio, $21 – Naked Illuminated is a limited edition –  lightweight, baked powder with a sophisticated, microfine Naked shimmer. Each shade contains light-reflecting particles that give your skin a luminous look. Simply dust on this smooth, silky powder wherever you want to create an instant glow – for a radiant Naked look from head to toe.

Iluminage Eye Mask, $35 – This rejuvenating sleep mask covers your delicate eyes with advanced care to minimize wrinkles while you sleep. Beyond blocking all visual stimuli to quiet your mind and senses, this silky, soft, smart textile is carefully embedded with copper, derived from the well-known essential mineral. This technology is clinically proven to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles for smoother, younger-looking skin in as little as four weeks.

Aveda Balance Set, $79 – This set includes 7 mists with an authentic fusion of pure essential oils blended to balance the root chakra according to Ayurveda, the ancient healing art of India.

Philosophy Amazing Grace, $48 – Philosophy’s iconic amazingly clean, beautifully feminine fragrance comes wrapped holiday style, in limited-edition nutcracker packaging.

MAKE UP FOR EVER  Artist palette, $34 – This palette contains a selection of 3 perfectly matched Artist Shadow trios to create 3 easy and effortless looks and an educative leaflet. This is currently my favorite shadow palette! You can create so many looks as well as go from day to night instantly.

IT Cosmetics Brushes, $58 – Ahhhh and my love for IT Cosmetics continues.  This limited-edition set includes 5 full-size, ultra-plush brushes for face and eyes to cover all your makeup needs – plus a coordinating cosmetics case that doubles as your night-out clutch. It Cosmetics makes my favorite brushes so when I saw this set, I knew it had to make my gift guide. They are super soft and great quality. (P.S – go follow my Instagram @pearls_and_paris, I’m posting a giveaway for this exact brush set later today)

Kat Von D Mini Lipstick Set, $49 – I love this mini lipstick set! It includes 7 everlasting shades that are sure to make you stand out… and LAST! The set gives you the perfect spectrum of statement pops and everyday neutrals.

OPI Breakfast at Tiffany’s Duo, $22 – OPI has created this collection based on one of the most timeless movies to date – the Breakfast At Tiffany’s Collection which is inspired by the glamour filled hit film starring Audrey Hepburn. This set includes the polishes I Believe In Manicures (classic Tiffany Blue) and Black Dress Not Optional as well as a Cosmetic Bag.

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With the New Year in full swing and the weekend approaching, I thought this was a perfect time for a fresh mani. I was short on time so I wanted to go with something simple but with a kick! I decided on a nude/gold mix.

Leopard OptionalOnly Gold For Me

Main Polish: Sephora By O.P.I in Leopard Optional

Top Coat Polish: Sephora By O.P.I in Only Gold For Me

I always start and end my manicure’s the same way – 1 layer of a base coat and 1 layer of a quick dry top coat.

I applied 2 coats of Leopard Optional and then followed up with 2 coats of Only Gold For Me.

Nails

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For my CHRISTMAS manicure, I decided to go with a bold red and include a fun accent color on the ring finger.

Nails1

Main Polish: Sephora by O.P.I in And A Cherry On Top

Accent Polish: Nailtini in Millionaire

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Nails3a

 I love the Sephora by O.P.I brand – all the colors are so beautiful and the polish does not chip easily, which is always a plus! Nailtini is a brand I was not familiar with until I received this full size bottle in my November Ipsy Bag. The texture is a little on the rough side because of the confetti in the bottle but I actually love it. The color is so nice and again, this polish is not moving!

Nails4

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As a self-proclaimed specialist when it comes to the at home manicure, I was intrigued when I came across the Ciaté  products at my local Sephora. They offered a few different options but I went with a smaller set since I was not  too familiar with the brand.

Ciate-Caviar-Mini-Bar_hg_full_l

Ciaté CAVIAR Mini Bar $29.00

includes: – 4 x 1.7 oz Paint Pot Nail Polish
– 4 x Caviar Pearls
– Funnel

I started off with a Sally Hansen basecoat.

SH

After the basecoat, I decided to try out a nail polish that I’ve had for a while but never got around to using. Sephora by OPI Nail Polish in Mermaid to Order.

mermaid to order

I did double coats on all my nails except the ring finger since you need to pour the Caviar Pearls on right after the last coat is applied. I decided to use the Caviar Pearls in CandyShop – I felt like all the colors blended so well with Mermaid to Order.

candyshop

The Ciaté set comes with a plastic tray so you can place it under your hand while pouring the Pearls on to your nail(s) to catch all the excess. It also comes with a funnel for easy clean up. You just place the funnel into the bottle and pour the unused pearls back in from the tray. After I poured the pearls on both desired nails, I pressed down on them to set them into place. I also used the same basecoat and went around the edges of the nail to try to hold them in place more. I do not recommend using a top coat over these pearls. It makes the pearls look super sloppy and basically ruins the look.

My Results:
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Overall I love the concept. The Caviar Pearls give a very unique “rich” look and makes the nails stand out. Do not purchase this product thinking your manicure will last a week or honestly, even 48 hours as the box states. Within an hour I had pearls coming off but it is not very noticeable. This is great for a special occasion or a night out but definitely not your everyday longwear manicure. I was a little worried that the removal of the pearls might be difficult but with a swipe of nail polish remover, they were gone with no mess or fuss. I also want to note that I am not a big fan of the actual nail polish the set came with. I felt for the price point that it lacked quality. I tested them out and they peeled pretty easily and needed about 3 coats for the color to pop and that is why I decided to use a different brand of nail polish for this look.  For $29.00 though I got my moneys worth and I do not regret the purchase. I am excited to try different styles of manicures with the Caviar Pearls.

Here are a few other kits Ciaté offers:

sequins

Ciaté Sequined Manicure Kit, available in 3 colors – $19.00

 velvet

Ciaté Velvet Manicure, available in 3 colors – $19.00

You can view all the Ciaté sets Sephora offers here.

Have you tried any of these products? If so – let me know what you think!

xo