Tag: Christmas

23 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Mojito

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Today is Mojito, a creamy acid green! Not very festive, but very distinctive!

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Ciate’s site says: “A true apple green. Show off your personality with this bright shade. Only for the extremely fashionable and outrageously bold.” 

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I’d definitely agree with that! The photos came out really well, but in real life, this definitely doesn’t fit in with anything in my wardrobe… It does have a beautiful, glossy finish though, and looks amazing next to those other bold colours. This is a brilliant summer shade, I reckon.

 

22 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Sundance

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Sundance 1 Sundance 2

Today’s shade was another lovely pot of caviar pearls! This time, the blend was called Sundance, and contained teal and yellow baubles, along with some discs of gold.

Sundance 3

I decided it would go perfectly with Headliner, so I broke that colour out again and did two fingers on each hand.

Sundance 4

I love the way the gold discs pick up the light – no wonder it’s called Sundance!

21 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Fade to Greige

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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…

ONE!

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TWO!

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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?

Christmas party daytime look: Nordic print T-shirt and ballet skirt combo

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I can’t be the only girl who secretly wants to wear ballet skirts all the time, can I? There’s just something so beautiful and elegant about the soft layers of netting that will make anyone, even a heffalump like me who only barely knows what a pirouette is, feel like a prima ballerina! So I took the plunge and ordered a cheap skirt from eBay, figuring that even if it didn’t suit me, at least it wouldn’t break the bank in the process…

Stag Tee 2 enhanced

I have to say, I think it looks pretty good, even with my pear shape – the length is long enough to make it tolerable for winter, too!

Ballerina skirt detail

I paired it with my new Brat & Suzie Loose Fit Nordic Stag T-Shirt from ASOS (here), which I love, because it’s very festive and comfortable. AND, it’s not another Christmas jumper, but it’s still very seasonal. Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE Christmas jumpers. But, as we all know, most of the time, the heating on in people’s houses means it’s actually too hot for a lovely thick jumper, and then what are you supposed to do? My answer: rock a festive T-shirt!

Stag Tee detail

Check out the adorable detailing, with the Rudolph-lookalike, and the Fair Isle style patterns. Love it! The colour is bang on trend, too.

I had to break out my latest favourite shoes, which I’ve been coveting for months now – these beautiful leopard print, pony skin* India flats from French Sole! (* Just so you know, pony skin is not actually made of ponies!)

French Sole Leopard 3

If you had told me last year I’d be buying a pair of animal print shoes, I would have thought you were mad, but somehow the trend has really grown on me – I think it’s all the vintage fashion I’ve been looking at recently! And the red trim is amazing, too!

French Sole Leopard 2

Of course, you know I love me some French Sole, right?! There’s just something about these shoes which are really Christmassy and festive – I guess it’s the implied warmth of the animal print, and the red trim which just screams FESTIVE TIMES ARE HERE!

This kind of look is the sort of thing I think would work really well for an informal, daytime Christmas party – it’s not too dressy, but it is playful and festive. And, you won’t be panting like a dog in your thick knit jumper when someone whacks the heating up!

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!

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!

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!

Daniel Wellington Watches: A Watch For All Seasons

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Is there anything more classic and elegant than a well-made, analogue watch? Let’s just say, as a child of the ’80s, this fact completely escaped me for many years. When I were a lass (and all this were fields, err, mines… and coal… factories?) all I wanted was a digital watch with the most number of features humanly possible. I distinctly remember staring at the Argos catalogue, comparing the number of functions each watch had to the other, and trying to work out what was the best one my parents would let me get away with. Waterproof – yeah, but HOW DEEP COULD IT GO? Calculator? But how many time zones does it cover? And how many buttons does it have? And, DOES IT HAVE A STOPWATCH?

Nowadays, we all have phones to do all that for us, and in twenty years time I guess another girl will be updating her holographic diary about how she loves retro smart phones, but at least her robot companion can cook dinner and play movies from his forehead. For now, though, let us admire the sleek, simple, stylish lines of the humble, yet sophisticated, wristwatch…

You might have seen a few other bloggers raving about the beautiful watches from Daniel Wellington, a company whose style is both preppy and vintage, and manages to be modern and classic at the same time. The company has recently expanded, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about them as time goes by – these watches are truly beautiful. The first watch that caught my eye was the Classic St Andrews Lady – I’m a sucker for brown leather and gold – especially rose gold!

Classic St Andrews Lady

What sets Daniel Wellington apart, though, is the use of Nato straps on their watches – brightly coloured striped bands which give the brand a distinct personality and sense of playfulness.

Classic Oxford Lady

I love this great colour combination! Nato straps are certainly nothing new for watches, but I’ve never seen them so elegantly presented as they are here. Even better, the Nato straps are interchangeable, and you can purchase additional straps so that you can constantly update your look. Here’s the strap named after my home town of Southampton!

Southampton Strap

What a brilliant idea – and it makes you feel better about investing in a watch that is so versatile! Check out the site at www.danielwellington.com and tell me which one is on your Christmas wish-list!

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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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?