Tis the season for deals....

Ciate.co.uk
25% off
code: CIATE25MC
exp: 10/27/10


Sephora.com
20% off
code: FF2010
exp:11/2/2010


Beauty.com
20% off
code: BTY20
exp: 10/29/10

UPCOMING:

RescueBeauty.com
RBL 50% off sale
11/1/2010
11am-4pm EST
Newsletter subscribers only, so go sign up!

Please post any additional np deals I missed in the comments.

Ciate Stiletto

Today's manicure is Ciate Stiletto. Stiletto is a green jelly-ish creme from their new Autumn/Winter 09 collection.
Pretty, but not entirely unique - it's close to Nubar Forest (Forest is a smidge darker) and BB Couture Poison Ivy (pretty dupe-y).
This mani is one coat ciate underwear bc, three coats of polish, and one coat ciate speed coat tc.

Ciate Power Dressing

Today's manicure is Ciate Power Dressing. Power Dressing is a new polish from Ciate's Autumn/Winter 09 collection. I have three more of the collection upcoming on the blog. This polish is a true blue jelly. I think it's fantastic - it's not a navy that looks black in most lights (I have a few blue jellies like this - Nfu Oh 119, Lippmann Devil in a Blue Dress). It looks blue in pretty much any light. It looks a mess with one coat, two coats is nice, but it takes three coats to achieve a perfectly even finish - but it's worth it for the effect.

Where to get Ciate:
Ciate is a UK brand. It can be purchased from many sources across the pond (it's on sale on Asos.com right now), but Asos does not ship to the US.
The 3 sources that I have ordered from and found to be reliable shippers to the US are:
1.Ciate's official site ciate.co.uk
9 gbp per bottle, 10 gbp shipping cost to CA
great deals on sets - you can buy the whole Autumn/Winter 09 collection (6 bottles) for 27 gbp - the price of three individual bottles (I wish that I hadn't ordered hastily, as I bought 4 of the 6 bottles before figuring this out)
Their new site still has a few kinks, but they do have good customer service.

2.ABC Beauty abcbeautyshop.co.uk
7.5 gbp per bottle, 12.95 gbp shipping cost to CA
great deals on sets - you can buy the whole Autumn/Winter 09 collection (6 bottles) for 25 gbp
They do not get individual bottles of new collections immediately.

3.HairHQ hqhair.com
9 gbp per bottle, 12.50 gbp shipping cost to CA

This mani is one coat ciate underwear bc, three coats of polish, and one coat ciate speed coat tc.

Ciate Refresher

Today's manicure is Ciate Refresher. Refresher is one of the polishes of Ciate's latest release for Spring/Summer 2009 - the Candy Couture collection. This was another overly thick/streaky Ciate creme, but improved after I added BB balls and 20 drops of SpaRitual Nail Lacquer Thinner. I did three coats, but it was opaque in two - three just helped smooth everything out. Refresher is a pastel gray blue with a hint of lavendar. The most accurate picture colorwise is the third one, the sun bleaches out the photos a bit. You can purchase this Ciate polish by contacting the manufacturer through their site Ciate.co.uk
This mani is one coat Ciate Underwear, three coats of polish, and one coat of Ciate Speed Coat.

Ciate Silhouette

Today's manicure is another Ciate called Silhouette. Silhouette is another varnish from the Golden Era collection, which has been discontinued from the core Ciate line. It's too bad, because this polish was the best Ciate I've tried so far in terms of application. I didn't have to thin and it was opaque in one coat - but I applied two to smooth it out. This varnish is a vampy sparkling golden dark red. It's not particularly unique; it is pretty close to China Glaze Vampy - but a bit more blackened.

Ciate Mojito

Today's manicure is Ciate Mojito. It was unsatisfactory out of the bottle, so I put in 2 BBs and 10 drops of Spa Ritual Nail Lacquer Thinner (this only has two ingredients - butyl acetate and ethyl acetate). This was still the least attractive Ciate I've tried on the first two coats (and they're usually so thick!) - this is as streaky as a yellow creme! This is three coats and it still has a little vnl and some bald patches. I can't recommend it for the formula, but the color is unique in my collection of 65 other greens.
This mani is one coat Ciate Underwear, three coats polish, and one coat Ciate speed coat.

Ciate Golden Globe

Today's manicure is Ciate Golden Globe from their Golden Era collection. This polish has been discontinued from their main line. This mani was also a pain. After doing a manicure with old formula OPI yesterday, it was truly difficult to return to the obstinate Ciate line. However, this morning I received a package containing Ciate underwear base coat and speed coat top coat and I wanted to see how they play together with the varnish. I prepped the mani and tried to apply polish and, like all the other Ciate I've applied so far, it came out overly thick and lumpy. I am waiting to hear back from Ciate as to why they don't have mixing balls in their polish and to see if they recommend a thinner, but I just had to bite the bullet. I threw in two bb pellets and added about 50-60 drops (in 5 drop increments) of Nubar nail lacquer thinner. If you can believe it, the polish is still a bit thick, but it was much less stress to work with. On the plus side, this is a gorgeous polish - it's a vibrant blackened golden olive shimmer with peach and green microglitter. Ciate's base and top coat seem great to me. Both were easy to apply and dried crazy fast. This mani is not perfect, but it seems bubble free at least. Mani is one coat Ciate underwear, two coats polish, and one coat of Ciate speed coat.

Ciate Hour Glass

Today's manicure is Ciate Hour Glass from their Golden Era collection. It has been discontinued from Ciate's core line. The color is an electric blue like OPI Blue My Mind on steroids. Once again, I'm having Ciate trouble...This polish is thick and runny and ended up with brush strokes and mega bubbling on a few tips. The mani base and top coat combo I tried this time is from Rescue Beauty Lounge. I did RBL base coat, two coats of polish, and RBL top coat. This didn't seem to work as well as Nubar did. I'm working on communications with Ciate to see if they recommend a thinner. Maybe I ought to give in and get Ciate base and top coats...

Ciate Showgirl

Ciate Showgirl is part of the Passionista Collection and remains in Ciate's core line. It's a very dark and vibrant pink jelly base with purple, bronze/golden orange, and pink microglitter. This mani is one coat of Nubar Nu Nails, two coats of Showgirl, and one coat of Nubar Diamont. I didn't have the bubbling issue - but unfortunately I do have some shrinkage - see the "tipwear" even though I just did this manicure. I'll have to keep testing base and top coat combos for these Ciate polishes.

Ciate Apple & Custard

Today's nail varnish just arrived in the post from the UK. Ciate does not have the option to ship internationally from their online store Ciate.co.uk, but I contacted them and arranged an order.
I received my package today, and was excited to slap on some new greens. The first varnish I tried is a pastel green creme called Apple & Custard from Ciate's Spring/Summer 2009 Candy Couture line.
This mani is one coat of Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulator (I am trying this base coat for the first time), two coats of polish, and Nubar Diamont top coat.
This polish is highly pigmented - opaque in one coat, but applied a little too thickly. I will thin it out for my next manicure. I also had some bubbling issues, but it may be an incompatibility with the base or top coat I chose so I'm trying a different combo for my next Ciate.
I have a large collection of greens. I compared this color to Orly Mint Mojito, MAC Peppermint Patti, Barielle Sweet Addiction, Illamasqua Milf, BB Couture Laguna Lagoon, Hard Candy Mint and Cry Baby...all the light greens. It is unique. The closest is Barielle Sweet Addiction - they have a similar dusty tone, but Ciate Apple & Custard is a full step lighter.