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DIY Nail Art: Fun with Ciaté Caviar Nail Polish

Last Updated on February 21, 2019 by Samantha - Georgetown University
This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you purchase through our links. Please read our full disclosure here.
Ciate Caviar Nail Polish

{Photo: Sephora}

One of the hottest new nail art trends is the caviar manicure, a three-dimensional look created when tiny beads, called “caviar pearls,” are pressed into regular polish. Created by UK-based company Ciaté, the Caviar Nails DIY kit arrived stateside in April and has been flying off the shelves ever since.

In this article, I’ll give you a quick overview of my experiencewith the caviar polish kit, plus some tips for creating unique nail art looks with it.

About the Ciaté Caviar Manicure Kit

The kit is available in three colors: “Black Pearls,” “Mother of Pearl” and “Rainbow,” shown above, which is the one I bought Each kit comes with one bottle of regular polish, a second bottle filled with caviar pearls, a tray to catch excess pearls during application, and a mini funnel to return the excess pearls to the bottle once you’re done.

Application is incredibly easy: All you have to do is pour the pearls from the bottle onto wet nails and then gently press them in. The tray and funnel ensure a mess-free process.

Is It Worth the Money?

At $25, the set seems expensive at first. However, there are several factors that I think make it worth the splurge:

First, the basic polish alone is fabulous – it’s a nice pale pink that is quite opaque and gives great coverage with just two coats. It dries very quickly, which is great, but also means that you have to apply the caviar pearls immediately so they will adhere. Another cool thing about the nail polish is that it isn’t any special formula, so you can switch it out for any color in your arsenal. Second, the bottle of pearls will last a long time. After doing my nails and those of my two friends, about 90 percent of the bottle remained.

So while the kit is expensive for a college gal, the $25 price tag is not completely unreasonable for a nice bottle of polish and some pearls, and you will get a lot of use out of the kit.

Nail Art with Caviar Pearls

While most people use this kit for full-nail application (as seen in the top photo), I decided to experiment and create nail art using the caviar pearls. Below, I’ll show you three unconventional ways to apply the caviar pearls to your nails:

Ombre

Ombre nail art with Ciate Caviar Nail Polish

To create an ombre effect with the caviar pearls, take the funnel and put it upside down on the mouth of the pearl bottle. (The widest part of the funnel should be over the bottle opening.) Hold the funnel in place and pour the pearls onto the tip of the nail, keeping the end of the funnel close to the nail. Then, take another finger to pick up a few pearls from the tray and gently press them into the lower half of your nail.

Polka Dots

Polka dot nail art with Ciate Caviar Nail Polish

For some cute and easy caviar polka dots, use a bobby pin or small brush to dab small dots of polish onto dry nails. Then just pour pearls over them. Gently tap off the excess and you’re done!

Stripes

Stripe nail art with Ciate Caviar Nail Polish

To get dotted stripes, wait for your nails to dry completely, then take scotch tape and place the straight edges on either side of the area you want the caviar pearls to cover. Polish the uncovered area, pour the pearls over the nail and carefully remove the tape to reveal a clean stripe.

Pros, Cons and Conclusions

My favorite thing about this kit was the addition of the tray and funnel. They were super helpful in terms of cleanup, and basically eliminated wasted beads. Also, as seen in the ombre tutorial, the funnel can give you great control over the placement of the pearls, which opens up possibilities for countless designs.

A few other things I loved about the kit: First, the caviar pearls come off easily with regular nail polish remover. Second, like I said above, application is a cinch. Last, but certainly not least, the caviar manicure looks, frankly, incredible.

However, there is onemajor drawback to the caviar manicure: While your nails may look great, they won’t last long. On the back of the box, it says that they can last up to 48 hours, but my friends and I all had a few pearls pop off within two hours of application (though it wasn’t super noticeable). I tried to apply a top coat to make them last, which the instructions advise against, and it was immediately clear why: A top coat will make the colors of the pearls run and mess up the look. Therefore, this isn’t a great everyday manicure because it just doesn’t have staying power.

In summation, caviar nails are perfect for special events – they make a huge statement and look fantastic. Just don’t expect them to last all week. Overall, I say give them a try – they’re both fun to do and absolutely adorable.

What Do You Think?

Do you like the look of the caviar manicure? Would you shell out the $25 to try it out yourself? What look is your favorite, or would wear them in a completely different way? I’d love to see your thoughts in the comment section below!

Tags : nail art, Nail Polish

20 Comments
Originally published on June 8, 2012
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Comments

  1. Jenna says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    Can I just have that pink color without the beads 😛

    Reply
  2. Sarah says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    I don’t think I would ever pay $25 for this kit…I was intrigued and wanted to try the look, so I bought a pack of 6 small bottles of tiny pearls from the dollar store (for $1!), and used them in the same way. Looked awesome, AND because I could use a topcoat on them, it lasted for around 5 days. So much cheaper for the same look.

    Reply
  3. Emma says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    The ombre look is super cute! I feel like a french manicure or reverse french manicure would work well too, even though the beads might come off the tips quickly. Accent nails are probably an affordable way to use up the pearls too!

    Reply
  4. Lydia says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    i think it’s kind of wierd, and would be annoying…. but very inventive, i must admit

    Reply
  5. Rachel says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    The ombre look is very cute! I prefer that to all the nails having the beads on them.

    Reply
  6. Bailey says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    Woww. I don’t usually go for nail art trends but the pearls are pretty fabulous.

    Reply
  7. Danielle says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    Martha Stewart has a microbead set (they look exactly the same as the beads sold in the Caviar kit) sold at craft stores like Michaels and Jo Ann fabrics for like $16. You get 12 different colors in the kit. I have used them to create the caviar nails and they work great. It’s a cheaper alternative on a college student budget and you get TONS of colors.

    Reply
  8. Shannon says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    I’m not a big fan of this trend, but I’ve seen a lot of people avoid the high cost of this by buying the beads at a craft store for $4-7 instead. Obviously you’d miss out on the funnel and tray, but might be worth it to save so much!

    Reply
  9. Jen R says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    Very cool. Although you could save a bunch of money by purchasing craft microbeads. They are a few bucks for each color, or you could get a multi pack like this:

    http://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewart-Crafts-Microbead-12-Pack/dp/B002YIRHPC

    Reply
  10. Milena says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    I really like the ideas you came up with! They are so cute! 🙂
    I might give this a try! Well done!

    Reply
  11. Helen says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    I’ve done caviar nails with some microbeads I bought at Michael’s. I like the ombré one you did.

    Reply
  12. Katy says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    I heard they were threatening to sue people over the term “caviar manicure”, when it had already been around for a while. Bloggers have been using craft store beads for some time.

    Reply
  13. julia says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:13 pm

    I bought a kit of 12 different coloured beads from ebay for $3 and instead of using polish, I do one coat of coloured UV gel, press the beads on top and cure, then put one of two clear gel coats on top and cure and they last until the gel needs to be drilled off.

    Reply
  14. Leslie says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    It looks like dirt on the nails…. Not a fan.

    Reply
  15. Maria says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    So much fun! But I will def be hitting up the craft store for the beads instead.

    Reply
  16. Tiffany oniq says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    Hit up micheals I bought the Martha Stewart ones I think like twelve colors each little thing has like over a thousand beads in each one this will last me forever

    Reply
  17. hautebrilliance says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    Wow! Those are really cool! But $25? I know nailpolish is only suppose to be $5, of course this IS an exclusive design.:(

    Reply
  18. Bridgette says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    I like nail polish that tends to last me awhile so this probably isn’t the nail polish for me…although it looks pretty cool 🙂

    Reply
  19. Michelle says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:11 pm

    You can also get the look for much cheaper by buying micro-beads and regular nail polish instead of using the kit! 🙂

    Reply
  20. brook says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:34 pm

    okay so i got these on sale and i love them so much!!! if you put clean/top coat on the ends/tips of your nails they stay on for WAY longer

    Reply

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