Tag: Advent calendar

18 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Candyshop

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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!

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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

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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?

10 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Ladylike Luxe

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Today, behind door number 10, we have a beautiful, festive gold colour – named Ladylike Luxe! You might remember from a previous post that I’ve been searching for the perfect gold colour, and this comes pretty close. It’s nowhere near as bold as my favourite, OPI’s GoldenEye, but it’s a strong yet subtle gold that might be more suitable for the day time or low-key festive occasions where you don’t want to go too over the top. I guess ‘ladylike’ is a good descriptive for this pretty gold!

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Here’s how Ciate describes this shimmer: “Pure gold silk in a bottle. Iridescent gold with a subtle layer of shimmer to  catch the light. Champagne darling!”

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Very pretty – a true gold with a soft edge.

9 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Mistress

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Yes! I am a massive fan of classic red nails, and this is truly a brilliant colour – and very festive, too! A tiny hint of pink, but an overall bold, brassy red – perfect for modern and vintage looks. Here’s what Ciate says: “Everyone loves and needs a classic pillar box red. It’s the ideal go-to colour if you need to get noticed no matter what you are wearing.”

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I think of all the colours I’ve had so far, this is the one I’d be most likely to have purchased anyway, and it’s good to know that there’s a really good go-to red in the Ciate range for me!

8 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Vintage

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Okay you guys, I have a confession… I took these yesterday, because I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to get everything done today – I’ve gone off on a day trip with my parents to a Christmas fair. Or rather, by the time you read this I will have! I also took a peek behind the window for this colour earlier in the month – and I’m glad I did, because the bottle had a tiny hole in the top, hence the colour leaking everywhere! Thankfully, Ciate’s customer service was excellent, and they sent me a replacement.

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This creme is called Vintage, a blue-hued grey. Ciate says: “Rich, deep and majestic grey. Unusually striking and even more so when paired with our Matte top coat, Mattnificient. Wear this futuristic nail trend and watch the compliments roll in.”

Unfortunately, I don’t have a matte topcoat, but I still like the look of this bold colour! It’s lovely as a creamy gloss, but I think I’ll try it out with matte if I ever get one…

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6 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Angel Wings

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Day six of the Mini Mani Month, and today’s colour is Angel Wings, a pretty, shimmery white. Ciate says: “The perfect pretty pearl. Clean fresh and perfect for the ultimate high fashion look. Team with your cropped jacket and pearls for a finish of class and luxury.”

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In all honesty, I found this hard to apply – it was quite streaky and I needed three coats to get rid of all traces of my nail colour. Also, because my nails often peel (ugh, I know), the shimmer caught the imperfections of my nails and showed them up, rather than helping to conceal them.

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That said, the colour is very pretty and pearlescent, especially under soft lighting.

I had a Christmas present delivery today for my sister in law, and of course, I couldn’t resist adding a little something for myself too (the old one for me, one for you rule, I’m sure you’re familiar with it…) – a lovely new bottle of Pirouette My Whistle from OPI, which is part of the New York City Ballet collection, but is also beautiful for frosty, winter nails! It’s a subtle glitter in a clear top coat, with white hexagonal shapes inside (tricky to get those to stay on my nails, but I persevered!).

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I think it adds the perfect festive finish to these nails – an extra dimension of Christmassy-ness!