BYS Caviar & Velvet Nails - Black Mix

Caviar nails have been around for a while now, with Ciate bringing out their range in 2012.  However advanced it was in new nail trends, it was horrendously expensive!  So I decided to bide my time until a cheaper alternative was introduced to the market (which it inevitably almost always is).

On the other hand, flocking, or furry or velvet nails is a relatively new innovation.

Introducing BYS Caviar for Nails and BYS Velvet for Nails

Instead of Caviar and Velvet overload, I decided to go with a couple of accent nails on each hand, along with some black & white glitter polish from Models Prefer (which I will review in a coming post).

Eager to try these out, and not knowing how long the process would take, I decided to apply them prior to going to bed.  Given that this probably wasn't the brightest idea, I then decided that I would take some photos the next day to see how they held up.

Photo no. 1:  Just applied

Aren't they just beautiful!  The Velvet (Bow Peep's Sheep) was super easy to apply.  By comparison, the Caviar (Jane Bond), was similarly straightforward to apply, but I can't help thinking there is an art to it to get better bead coverage.  You will also need to remove some of the beads around the edges so that the effect doesn't look so clunky, however, you'll need to wait until everything is dry.

Photo no. 2:  In the morning

As you can see, the Velvet endured a night between sheets, a shower, make-up application and travelling to work. 

The Caviar, however, didn't come off as lightly.  Where beads have fallen off, it has taken polish with them, leaving gaps and naked nail.  I can assure you that it doesn't look as bad from a distance, and you can get away with it by just painting the base colour over top of where you've lost beads.

The lesson learned here is to do your caviar just before going out so as to keep the effect fresh and beads still attached.  You will lose beads as you go along, so make sure you either put them back in the little pottle that comes with the kit or dispose of them immediately so little children/animals don't accidentally consume them.

Photo no. 3:  At the end of the (working) day

In my job, I am using my hands all day, so I wasn't surprised that I lost so many beads.  To be honest, I had actually started removing some beads prior to taking this shot, then remembered I needed an "after" photo, so this looks worse than what it actually was.  Most of the beads that remained in the morning stayed on for the rest of the day, so I think the tip here is to make sure when you apply the base colour of nail polish (for the beads to stick to), make sure you add extra so that it gives the beads a chance to properly adhere to the nail.

Regarding the Velvet, you can see it is a little more worse for wear, but actually not too bad considering I was touching it all day (it felt so nice and furry!).  Similar to the caviar/beads, you must ensure that your base coat of polish is thick to allow maximum adhering to the nail for optimum results.

I haven't yet decided if I will go all out and try each on my entire set of digits - I think they look nicer as accent nails, but if I do, I will be sure to post the results.

The sets are available at Gloss Cosmetics and Kmart for $7.95 each.

NN