Ciate Floral Nails | Makeup

I'm back! After a brief hiatus due to an unforeseen change in plans I took a little break from blogging, but now I back at it and I have the nails to prove it! To really kick off my spring nails I have gone back to an old favourite. Last year Ciate (one of my all time best nail brands) brought out a nail varnish set with real pressed flowers included and I snapped it up straight away.  After using it a few times I must have stored it away and lost sight of it, until the other day when I spotted it again.

The kit contains a mini pastel blue nail varnish in the colour Ferris Wheel, a full size Speed Coat Pro topcoat, 2 pots of pressed flowers (purple, blue and red), a pair of tweezers for ease of application and a nail file for the removal of excess flowers. The set I have is named Baba Bloom, but there is also another named Strike a Posy containing blue, white and yellow flowers and a pink polish. 

First of all, as always, the packaging is lovely and stores well alongside other nail varnish sets. The full sized topcoat is certainly a generous addition, and the tweezers and file are a particularly handy addition (as there is no searching with wet nails for your own). 

I've also found the staying power of this very good. As with all additions to the nail, whether it be studs or pressed flowers, I get a little dubious about the duration... I frequently change my nail varnish as I quickly get bored of the patterns, but I like to get as much out of prettier designs as possible, so longevity is a must. Especially being an artist I am often covered in paint, scrubbing my hands and splattered with ink, so poor nail varnish is a big no no. This however with the aid of a couple of layers of topcoat lasts a good 5 days at least! Very good in my opinion. 

Illustrated instructions are included on the back of the box adding even more ease than there already is. I simply applied a couple layers of a Ciate base coat, 2 layers of Ferris Wheel (allowing to fully dry), one layer of topcoat and applied the flowers one nail at a time, and finally once all nails were flowered applied a further 2 layers of topcoat to make sure they were steadfast. 

All in all I love Ciate and this certainly was no exception. Their vanishes have a beautiful formula and apply very well. I'm so glad I found this especially being as it is perfect for this time of year! 

Cheerio x