Thanks to Pinterest, nails are having their moment in the sun. The latest advance? Caviar manicures - which are basically bead-topped nail art, designed to give your nails a little added drama and dimension. The back story is that the Creative Director of Ciaté - the company pioneering this trend - wanted a 3D manicure for a magazine cover shoot, and the rest is history. Since we love anything that remotely looks like sparkles, we took on the trend first-hand, and we’re here with some key caviar tips to make you all experts in the manicure field.

Tip #1: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. While I’m more of a trial and error type of person, my fashionable best friend (who purchased the Caviar Manicure kit) insisted we read the directions, and I begrudgingly admit now that it was the better road to take.

Tip #2: Unless you have an affinity for sparkles and bright colors, go with the neutral black for all occasions or the sleek white for your Miami-themed parties. The rainbow version’s base coat is more “Pepto Pink” than given name “Strawberry Milkshake.”

Tip #3: Use a large, flat surface such as a kitchen island. Many a trendsetter found herself with a lapful of beads after just a small flick of the wrist.

Tip #4: When applying the beads, it’s better to over-pour than to realize only three beads are going to stick, you only have a few seconds before the base coat dries.

Tip #5: Apply a clear top coat to the very edge of your nails only! Should you swipe a top coat on the entire nail, the color will run from the beads and your nail will look like a kindergardener painted them (not that this happened to me or anything).

Tip #6: Allow your nails to dry for at least 20 minutes, unless you want your kitchen floor coated with beads (again, not that this happened to us or anything).

Tip #7: Your nails will feel like there’s some sort of growth on them. Do not be alarmed, especially when you wake up the next morning and forget you’ve caviared them.

Tip #8: The more you wash your hands, the more the color from the beads will run onto the base coat. While this changes the look slightly, when beads fall off it won’t be as noticeable.

Tip #9: While the package says this manicure lasts up to 48 hours, you can stretch it to 72 hours if you don’t mind if the beads start falling off (which starts to happen about 10 minutes after application). That being said…

Tip #10: Reserve this for a special occasion, it’s a good amount of work for just two days at the office.

Check out the photo set above which chronicles our journey with caviar nails, from just applied (upper right-hand corner) to one day after (bottom left-hand corner) to two days after (bottom right-hand corner). Share your caviar manicure success - or horror - stories with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/STAconsignment!

~Ashley, FashioniSTA