Tuesday 18 March 2014

Ciate Paperdoll

Over the last week I saw two posts of Ciate's Porcelain Finish Dollhouse polishes with two of my favorite Blogs. And then, sometime last week, I was wandering my polish watering hole aimlessly, only to find me right in front of a shelf bending over with various Ciate Mini Paint Pot sets and there right in the middle sat Dollhouse. It looked über cute, came at a decent price so my resistance was dwindling within the blink of an eye, despite the reviews that promised a paint-challenge.

Paperdoll is the white porcelain finish of the five minis that come in the set:




I applied three of the most troublesome coats in a long time of Paperdoll over my regular Base Coat. You think of any of the issues you might encounter with a white polish - I promise, Paperdoll excels at them.  The formula is creamy-thick, unforgiving, patchy and the least self leveling I ever came across. The only positive fact with regard to the "technical" part is its incredibly quick drying time. This calls though for a quick application which adds to the challenge over all, no way you can go careful or the polish gets thick on the way from the brush to the nail. Without a Top Coat it is one irregular mess. But in the meantime I restocked my matte Top Coat gap in my stash with Mentality Matte Top Coat (WOAH - that purchase was one of my best!). It manages to nearly cover all irregularities - at least they are hardly seen in my pictures and it dries to my beloved matte-matte finish, just perfect.

Now you might wonder why I still go on and on with this post without declaring this buy a plain fail - it is because Paperdoll doesn't look stark white on my nails. No toothpaste look!!! And at two coats a wonderful base for GLITTAAAAA - look:




I applied one coat of Opi Polka.com over my Paperdoll mani and mattified it with my new super duper matte Top Coat from Mentality - doesn't it look absolutely cute????

I recommend to stop at two coats if you plan to wear a glitter over Paperdoll - the glitter covers all regularities well. If you go for three coats of Paperdoll AND add a layer of glitter you will end up with a fairly thick mani. Some of you might not mind but I dislike polish blurps on my nails profoundly.

Final thoughts: yes, I don't like the behavior of Paperdoll in any respect. However, I like the porcelain finish and the possibilities it offers as base for glitters.

I bought Ciate Paperdoll with Manor.

I look forward to reading your comments - thanks for stopping by!!!
Christine

13 comments:

  1. Wow. you'd think for such a high end polish they would have created a better formula! Looks great, though!

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    1. Thank you Anne! I agree, amazingly poor for a brand that is supposed to be high end. Wonder who did the testing of those pastels.......

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  2. Haha, that formula wasn't the easiest to work with but it did dry fast :D I love how you've put Polka.com over Paperdoll! It really looks awesome!

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    1. Thank you hon <3! I would have skipped the white but they came in the set and I wanted the other colors :-S - I currently wear Mentality Sunny - their white matte and it is galaxies apart!!! In the most positive way that is

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  3. Great review. I'm not even the slightest interesting in buying the ciate to be honest. Sure, I like challenges, pastel like colors and matte.. but I feel that I'll probably use a matte top coat when I want the matte pastel look. But I must say I adored the matte glitter layering you did. Feels like sugary frosting on a cup cake :D

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    1. Thank you sweetie <3! Well, I certainly could not recommend Paperdoll and you prefer those challenges that lead to stunning results, no need to add a challenging base too ;-)

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  4. I am glad you got a Ciate polish Christine! Its a pity about the formula, I bought their Mini Mani Month Advent Calendar and found the formula quite terrible on some of the polishes which is such a pity! I like the addition of glitter; sparkles make everything look better!!! <3

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    1. Thank you Em <3! I only heard about the Advent calendar - I love the idea!! The dollhouse is too cute and I hope that Paperdoll will be the worst of the pack - the colors are LOVELY!!!

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  5. It's a shame about the naughty behavior of the Ciate, because once you have everything put together, this mani is crazy pretty. I LOVE Polka.com over the white. I'm always a sucker for white on everybody else, but I hate it on me. And your hands look fantastic! I don't know how you manage to work in paper and in a colder climate and have such nice hands.

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    1. Thank you Melissa (I am blushing furiously over your compliment)!! I exactly know what you mean - I was having the hardest time of getting used to see my nails white - I was always reminded of over bleached teeth - eeeeks!!! I hope this was the worst of the bunch and we will travel uphill from here - there is a lovely peach and a cute lilac that wants to get on my nails asap ;-)!!! As for my hands: cream, cream, cream, and as least as much cuticle wax - basically after each hand wash. Oh and if my cuticles look like cardboard I wet my hands and rub them nearly dry and by giving them some squeeze any redness is gone for a couple of minutes - long enough to take the pictures ;-)

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  6. Ufff...white polishes; the bane of my polish existence! Until I found Tempest, that is. ;) I am very intrigued by the porcelain finish, but from the horrific behavior you described, I don't think I'll give these a try. :-/ Your mattified glitter combos though are to DIE for!!! :D I don't know why I haven't tried that yet.
    I am smiling at the image of you wandering your polish watering hole. :) I wish I had one! Do you still have the Dollhouse package they came in? I'd love to see it since I'm a cute packaging addict as well as a polish addict. A double threat!! ;) (to my wallet, that is)

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    1. Awwww thank you Emily xxx!! OK I have to admit that this Dollhouse played a major role in me getting those minis in the first place. I do own Tempest and you are right - it is the best white ever and no further purchase can be justified - LOL!! I will add a picture soon - since I bought it partially for the packaging I keep it too ;-) and yes, yes, try that matte glitter manis - you will love them for sure!!!

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  7. This is a good finish you got :-) What a nightmare!!!!

    It looks really good with the glitter and matte :-) I should have put a glitter on mine before I removed it!

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