Sunday 18 November 2012

MUA Nail Constellations (Caviar Nails)

Certain brands (who shall not be named) market something called 'caviar nails', which sells at ridiculous prices for a bottle of polish and a jar of tiny beads. You can do your own, using any old polish and tiny beads bought in a craft store. I had never got round to bothering though. However, cheap highstreet UK brand MUA (Make Up Academy) has now launched their 'nail constellations' range. These sell for £3 in Superdrug, but they were doing a 3-for-2, so these only cost £2 each. 

First up is MUA Gemini. This is a blend of tiny pale pink, turquoise and lilac beads. The pink nail varnish is Essie's We're In It Together, which I bought this weekend. We're In It Together was from Essie's breast cancer awareness collection of pinks earlier in the year.  It's a lovely shimmery pale baby pink, with bluey white flashes in it. This is three coats. I have to say, this Essie was not very nice - it looks lovely, but my brush was a bit thick and uneven, and the application was streaky and took absolutely ages to dry.
mua gemini 1
The MUA bottle has a tiny spout, so you can pour out the beads carefully. You paint one nail, and while the polish is still tacky, either pour the beads on, or dip your finger in beads that you've pre-poured. I found pouring to be the best way, with my hand held over a piece of tinfoil to catch all the excess beads. You can then pull off the pointy spout, and pour the beads back in. 
mua gemini 2
As you can see, the MUA bottle is small, but there are enough beads here to last for absolutely ages. The beads felt really odd on my nail, and I kept touching them, which did make several fall off. I added some topcoat, but that wasn't a success - it dulled the colour and made the texture look a bit claggy and odd.

This is take two - using MUA Leo over Barielle's Swizzle Stix.
mua leo 1
Swizzle Stix was a swap gift from Squeakymom.  It's very similar to Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream, although perhaps a touch brighter.  The formula on this was a bit thick and draggy, and I had to trim the brush for a few stray hairs pointing in all directions, but after two coats it levelled itself out and became a lot smoother, and dried to a lovely shine. This is without topcoat. 
mua leo 2

The beads in Leo are a mix of blue and purple. This time I think I applied them a bit more densely, as you can't see so many gaps between them. I also pressed them into the nail a bit more than on my first go, and they lasted well throughout me hanging up the washing, and making toast. I didn't notice any blue and purple sprinkles in my toast, so i think this was a success!

14 comments:

  1. I'll have to try these, they look so pretty!

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    1. If you can resist picking them all off, they are really nice!

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  2. So gorgeous, I've been eyeing these up for a while, I tried a different type and couldn't resist picking them lol!

    Jazz x

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    1. I think at that price (Ciate charge EIGHTEEN POUNDS!!!) it's worth a go. Even if you end up only wearing them once.

      I wouldn't do this for work or any day when I need to type or do lots of cleaning or anything, but I'd definitely wear them again for a night out or something.

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  3. I've always thought these beads looked really odd but you've made them look so pretty! I'll definitely be giving them a go now :)

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    1. Aw, thank you! Maybe it's because it's only one finger? I think a whole hand would look a bit ott.

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  4. How did I miss this before?!?!?!?! Damn job... anyhoo... I've yet to see a bead mani that I really liked... until now. These colors you picked really 'speak' to me! Now I'm wondering... what does libra look like? ;-)

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    1. Aww, thank you!

      Weirdly, I think they only do five! Gemini & Leo, then Scorpio (red/yellow/black), Pisces (I think blue and silver) and Libra (black and blue).
      Libra's here:
      http://www.magpieobsessions.co.uk/2012/11/mua-nail-constellation-libra.html

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  5. They look really pretty...but I'd drive myself mad fiddling with them so they wouldn't last very long :-) xx

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    1. I know exactly what you mean! I found it very hard not to fiddle with them.

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  6. I can't wait to try these out, Christmas party I think, otherwise I'll be pinging little balls all over the office.

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    1. Yes, they are defintely potentially messy!

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  7. Caviar nails have been playing on my mind for ages, I think I may have to finally try it out! The Essie colour is gorgeous too! :-)

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    1. I think at the price they are in Superdrug it's well worth a try of the MUA ones - if you hate it, you've not wasted much.

      The Essie is so pretty, but application was really difficult. I wonder if I have a duff bottle, I may try to change it.

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