How to: Bubbly/ Caviar style accent nails.

Bubble beaded accent nails. 

(Of course my iphone decided to have a hissy fit and not focus properly, but you get the picture.)

I've been eyeing up the Ciate Caviar manicure for a couple of weeks now, they have only just come back into stock and I was going to give them a go but I just can't allow myself £18 for an at home manicure at the moment. 

So, I thought, whats the harm in trying it at home using cheaper materials, if I don't like it then it's not like i'll be too out of pocket.

If you haven't already heard of the Ciate Caviar manicure, you can check that out here http://www.ciate.co.uk/caviar-manicure.html/,  there is no doubt that it is gorgeous. The idea is a 3d manicure using beads, basically.

This post is to show how to create a similar look at nearing half of the £18 price tag.

What you'll need:

• Craft beads -the smaller the better - in whatever colour your heart desires. I picked these transparent white ones up at a local craft store for £2.79
• A nail polish similar to the colour of your chosen beads. My colour was Essie's Instant Hot (A glittery white with pink undertones) which I got on the ASOS sale for just £6.50.
• Any tweezers you have laying around.
• OPTIONAL: Your choice of topcoat. I've used Nails Inc Kensington Caviar Topcoat, but any is fine, you can get a cheap one from boots from Natural Collection for around £2.

So basically, this needn't cost more than £10. I've used more expensive nail polish that I needed too, really you could get this all for about £7. Bargain.

Step by step..

 Okay, firstly paint your nails with two coats of your nail polish, with the nail you want to accent only do one coat.

Wait to dry. Booooooring.

Then, on your accent nail paint a thick layer of polish and wait about 20 seconds for it to get tacky.

Once its tacky pour your beads onto the nail, you can even place the beads neatly on a piece of paper and roll the nail over them to get a more even coat of beads.

You should have something like this..

Once you have done that, take your tweezers and push the beads in from the cuticles to make cleaner lines on the nail, its not likely to ever look perfect unless you have tiny tiny beads, but you can make it look neat with this step.

And the final, optional step is to coat the beading with a topcoat for extra staying power.

I really liked how it came out, I think it's a really interesting, unique look and you'll be surprised at how sturdy the beads are if you've adhered them well enough with the nail polish.

The next time I do this look i'm going to make sure to get smaller beads. Though these did work, I think it will look far more polished with tiny beads.

And that's it, 5 minutes and you are finito.

I hope you enjoyed this, let me know what you think about my cheapy alternative to Ciate.

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Seize the Beautiful xo