21 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Fade to Greige

21 Dec Fade to Greige
21 Dec Fade to Greige
21 Dec Fade to Greige

Today’s colour is Fade to Greige, a cool, grungy, grey-purple.

21 Dec Fade to Greige

This creme is described by Ciate thusly: “A violetly grey that delivers a unique take on the fabulous taupe trend colour. Perfect for adding an edge to black and teaming with silver jewellery.”

21 Dec Fade to Greige

I love this colour – it’s a very dark purple, but that taupe edge just stops it from tipping too far over into Halloween territory. It totally doesn’t go with the outfit I planned for this evening, but hey – it’s Christmas! You can wear what you like on your nails, right?!

21 Dec Fade to Greige

20 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Magic Carpet

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Today’s colour was another advent calendar exclusive – Magic Carpet, a shimmery purple glitter. Like Glass Slipper, it needs multiple coats before its true beauty shines through…

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THREE!

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The polish consists of a fine glitter with larger specks inside – the formula is very thick and gloopy and hard to apply, and like Glass Slipper, I think it’ll start to peel off before the end of the day. But while it’s on there, it’s a very shiny, cheerful colour – I think I prefer it to Glass Slipper.

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What did you all think of today’s colour?

19 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Cookies and Cream

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Today’s colour is a pretty light beige called Cookies and Cream!

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Ciate’s site says: “A light taupe pastel grey that is versatile and easy to wear. A soft nude milkshake delight that can elevate your workwear or even relax a grunge rock look.”

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This is a really lovely colour – a nice, soft neutral. I’m really drawn to polishes like this, so I was definitely pleased to see it in the calendar today! I decided to add a topcoat, and as Pirouette My Whistle by OPI was already sitting on my desk, I decided it was a match made in heaven…

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Subtly festive, right? Love it!

GlossyBox December 2012: Round-up

This Saturday, I got home to find my GlossyBox waiting for me by my patio doors – and what a box it was!
December 2012 UK GlossyBox

Inside was a great range of products, and the cosmetics were all in colours I definitely would have picked for myself.

December 2012 UK GlossyBox

December 2012 UK GlossyBox

For example, a full-sized bottle of Seche nail varnish in Portobello! I can’t wait to try this shade out (although, I’ll have to, because I’m still deep in my Ciate Mini Mani Month…). I knew Seche produced a renowned top coat that beauty bloggers love, but I didn’t know they didn’t have a colour range – until now. I expect big things, so stay posted for a review!

December 2012 UK GlossyBox

There was also a lovely red, full sized lippy from Sleek in Stiletto – very festive.

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Matches my red reindeer jumper perfectly!

December 2012 UK GlossyBox

This pretty pink blusher was a ‘bonus’ item, produced for GlossyBox by Kryolan – a professional make-up company. The shade is called Glossy Rosewood – I’m a massive pink blusher addict, so I can’t wait to try this one out properly.

December 2012 UK GlossyBox

There was also a body cream from Rituals, a company I’ve not looked into much, but I know people rave about. Not tried this properly yet, but it smells amazing.

I also got a sample of Lemon by Mary Greenwell, which seems to have mixed reviews – some people reckon it smells like detergent, but I think it’ll come into its own in spring. It does smell very lemony, which isn’t a bad thing, but maybe it’s a bit too ‘fresh’ to be appreciated in winter…

December 2012 UK GlossyBox

Finally, some samples of the uber expensive face cream Argentum, which is so pricey I have no idea how I would even bring myself to purchase it, even if it did work miracles. Like the Wei Black Soy face mask from last month, I almost feel too scared to use it. I already lust after clothes I can’t afford, never mind skin care…

December 2012 UK GlossyBox
December 2012 UK GlossyBox

I’ve got to go to my husband’s work Christmas party on Friday, so maybe I’ll break it out then and see what it can do! Anyone else tried this yet?

You can get your GlossyBox here, at http://www.glossybox.co.uk!

18 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Candyshop

Dec 18 Mini Mani Month Candyshop
18 Dec Ciate Mini Mani Month Candyshop
Inside Candyshop bottle

Yay, another bottle of Caviar Pearls! This mix is called Candyshop – fairly appropriate, I think!

Mini Mani Month Ciate Pearls bottle

This is an amazing mix of sweet colours – hot pink, light navy blue, and orange!

Baubles

So Christmassy – it ties really well into the Russian Christmas theme I’ve seen in some of the shops this season, based on the  amazing colours of the famous Onion Domes seen on Eastern European churches.

I had no end of trouble trying to capture the beauty of these colours in the dull overcast light of a miserable Tuesday…

Ciate pearls on tree

This one is probably the best reflection of these vibrant colours – lit by the fairy lights of my Christmas tree, appropriately enough!

17 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Power Dressing

Dec 17 Mini Mani Month - Power Dressing
Dec 17 Mini Mani Month - Power Dressing
Dec 17 Mini Mani Month - Power Dressing

Today’s mini was a beautiful, deep navy blue called Power Dressing.

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What a lovely, glossy finish – love this colour! Ciate’s site says: “Rich dark blue. This colour is for the strong and powerful women in high places, let your nails do the talking.”

17 Dec Ciate Mini Mani Month Power Dressing

This is one colour I’ll definitely be happy to break out after advent is over!

16 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Big Yellow Taxi

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Today was Big Yellow Taxi, a super super bright yellow!

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How fluorescent is this?! Ciate’s website says: “A high fashion ‘it’ statement bold yellow with a crème finish. Brighten up your talons and toes and compliment your summer wardrobe.”

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Definitely not my colour, or anything I’d ever buy! What did you guys think?

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15 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Headliner

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Today’s shade was Headliner, a strong, pastel-hued teal creme. The formula today was really impressive – a very thick liquid that went on well and gave great coverage!

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Ciate’s site says: “Turquoise, an extraordinary cocktail of blue and green and a marriage made in fashion heaven! If you love to colour clash, this is a perfect mix to your colour scheme by adding a unique blue tone to your collection.”

Quite by accident, the colour exactly matches the boxes of Nintendo’s new Wii U console games!

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Pretty funny coincidence – I thought it was neat, anyway! Any Nintendo PR girls should take note!

The pics above were taken in daylight, but I also took some shots later in the afternoon (in Starbucks actually, getting my Eggnog latte in!).

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14 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Speed Dial

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Today’s post is a bit late because I was on deadline – ugh! Anyway, I still managed to find time to get the snaps in during daylight, so there’s that! The shade is called Speed Dial, and it’s a deep coral pink – although the website describes it as orange…

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It definitely doesn’t look like the colour on Ciate’s site, where the description reads: “An extremely juicy orange. Wear two coats to induce a sunny smile every time you catch a glimpse of your nails.”

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It’s definitely a vibrant shade – a bit of sunshine in December, maybe? Not something I’d pick myself, but it looked better on my nails than in the bottle… What did you think – was your shade as pink hued as mine?

13 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Glass Slipper

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Today it’s the first exclusive colour in the Mini Mani Month, Glass Slipper! It’s a turquoise glitter suspended in clear varnish. You need a lot of layers to get good coverage!

ONE!

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THREE!

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The formula is actually pretty hard to work with, as it’s very thick – in the end, I was dabbing it on rather than applying it properly with brush strokes.

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It’s a very pretty shade, but I don’t think it’s my colour – a wee bit young, perhaps? What did you guys think?