Nailed it: Sistaco Mineral Bond Nail Powder Review

Sistaco Reviews: this Sistaco Mineral Bond review is sponsored by the brand

I’ve never been good with nails. In fact, I think I might be cursed.

On me, any nail polish will instantly chip or flake. Gel polish simply peels off, like that scented stuff your mum used to sometimes let you use as a kid, as long as you peeled it all off before school. Not that it matters, mind you, because I’m so bad at actually applying the stuff that by the time it starts coming off, I’m normally glad to have an excuse to remove it.

So, painting my nails is one of those life skills I’ve never managed to acquire, in other words. (See also: doing literally anything other than ‘loose waves’ with my hair; changing a duvet cover; cleaning glass.) Which would be fine, except I LIKE having nice nails. (Picture me stamping my feet and screaming “It’s NOT FAIR!” here, please.) Nice nails make me feel “groomed” and “polished”. They make me feel grown-up and competent. I’m not saying they change my life, exactly, but… I’m not NOT saying that either? If that makes sense?

But, until recently, having nice nails did not seem to be part of my destiny. The fact is, I have neither the time nor the money to go to the salon every couple of weeks. I’m kind of in awe of people who DO, actually. Even if I could afford it, I’m way too socially awkward to want to sit around making smalltalk while my nails dry, and given that trying to do them at home normally ends up with me looking like I’ve allowed my 5 year old to use his marker pens on my fingers, I’d pretty much come to terms with the fact that I’d go through life with hobbit hands. (Which is probably really unfair to hobbits, actually, so apologies to any who happen to read this…)

Enter Sistaco Mineral Bond | Sistaco Reviews

                                                            Sistaco Reviews: unboxing my new Sistaco products

Sistaco Mineral Bond is a game-changing nail powder which allows you to create a salon-quality manicure at home, in less than 10 minutes. And yes, even I can do it, trust me.

The powders are applied with a brush and set with an LED lamp. They’re mineral-based and vegan, cruelty free, and completely non-toxic. Once applied, your manicure will last up to two weeks (There’s also a short-wear option, if you’d like to change colour more frequently), and it can be removed in minutes, so there’s no sitting around soaking your nails in harmful acetone (one of the other big downsides to gels, in my opinion).

The powders come in these cute little containers, and there’s also two empty tubs which come along with the starter kit, which you can use to mix your own custom colours, making it possible to do things like nail art and ombres, if that’s your thing:

Application is super-easy (I’ll get into that in a moment), and you’re pretty much guaranteed a smooth, flawless finish. So goodbye lumpy, amateur-hour gels, hello salon-style nails that you don’t actually have to go to a salon for: the introvert’s dream!

The Sets

Although you can buy the powders individually, Sistaco also have a few starter kits and sets available, which allow you to get everything you need in one go. I was sent the Deluxue Set, which includes three powders, an LED lamp, base and top coat, plus the dual brush applicator you need to apply the powders. There’s also a remover here which you simply paint onto the nails when you want to remove them or change colour, and the powder will start to peel off in just a few minutes.

Sistaco Reviews: Applying Sistaco Mineral Bond

There are two different ways to apply Sistaco Mineral Bond: I went for the ‘short wear’ version, purely because I’m the kind of person who paints her nails and then immediately regrets her choice of colour, but if you want your application to last for longer, the long-wear application will allow you to get around two weeks’ worth of wear.

For those of us with short attention spans, meanwhile, the short-wear method goes like this:

* Apply top coat to each nail. (Yes, that’s right, TOP coat, not base coat.)

* Cure the polish under the LED lamp. It automatically switches off when it’s done.

* Use the sponge applicator to apply the powder. I was convinced I’d mess this up, as I normally do with regular or gel polish, but it was pretty much foolproof (And actually quite satisfying, too…).

* Apply another, thin layer of top coat.

* Cure again.

* Admire your beautiful new nails.

And here they are!

This colour is called Latte, and it’s a gorgeous, glittery holographic shade which my photos totally fail to do justice to, but which did garner a lot of real-world compliments, so you can trust me when I tell you it’s definitely eye-catching.

For me, though, the real beauty of Sistaco Mineral Bond is how hard it is to get it wrong. Unlike liquid or gel polishes, which I inevitably end up getting on the skin around the nail, as well as on the nail itself, because this is powder, it doesn’t adhere to your skin, so once you’re done applying it, you can simply brush it off, or wash your hands, and any powder on the skin will disappear. Unlike a lot of gels, which can feel tacky for a while, even when cured, the Sistaco Powder also dries instantly, so you can do your nails, then immediately get on with whatever you’re doing, without worrying about smudging the polish.

Want to try it for yourself? Got any Sistaco reviews of your own to share?

You can visit the Sistaco website here to shop the various sets and colours, and the brand also has a Facebook community of almost 50K members, if you want to chat nails, or swap tips.