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!
TWO! 
THREE!
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.
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?
On Saturday, I went with my folks to Bath Christmas Market – a mix of festive fun and crowd craziness, as we battled the hordes of people to get a glimpse of the wares on offer. I didn’t actually buy much except a present for my uncle and aunt, and a few cups to match a set I got from Anthropologie… To be honest, the amount of people there made the whole thing really claustrophobic, so I don’t think I’d be going back at Christmas next year. Still Bath is a lovely place to visit when it’s not rammed to the gils with tourists like me, so I’d still recommend a visit, just make it off-peak!
Here are some of my favourite sights at the market! 
Yay, another bottle of Ciate Caviar Pearls! Today it’s Bumble Bee, a mix of black and yellow-gold. There are no sequins this time, just pure microbeads. Because yesterday was Ladylike Luxe, a gold shimmer, I decided to keep that varnish on and layer Bumble Bee over the top.
What did you guys think of today’s colour? I have to admit, I love the Caviar Pearls even more than I thought I would! I wore some during my trip to Bath at the weekend and got so many compliments… It really is a bit of a show stopper. If you’re looking for a present for a nail varnish addict this Christmas, a bottle of these would be brilliant!
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!
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!”
Very pretty – a true gold with a soft edge.
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!
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.
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…
Yay! My first ever Ciate Caviar! I’ve been dying try these out ever since I heard about them, so this morning was like an early Christmas for me!
The calendar comes with a cute little funnel to pour the beads back into the bottle when you’re done. I’d read about how to do these Caviar manicures on various blogs, so I knew what to do – and it was very easy, I have to say! I’m not sure what I thought would be hard about it, but it was very quick and simple to pour the beads onto my wet nail, push down, and then repour for extra coverage. I applied it over a plate with a sheet of greaseproof paper on it, so I could just fold the paper up and pour back into the bottle, and it all went without a hitch. I only did one nail on each hand, because I didn’t want to get carried away – plus, I cook a lot and I didn’t want to shed baubles into my fajitas tonight (oo er!).
As for the Caviar itself, it was everything I hoped for and more! Again, not a colour I would have picked for myself, but I love it – the mixture of blue, silver and pink is very pretty, and the nail’s texture is divine. There are also pieces of flat, hexagonal, reflective discs in the pot, which add a bit of interest to the baubles.
I’m very impressed with how well the baubles are sticking to my nail at the moment – I applied top coat to the tips, but all of the balls feel very sturdy. However, the test will be whether they can withstand a shower – I’m betting not, but I’ll let you know tomorrow!
You know I loves me some French Sole. I also love the new studded slipper trend. Put the two together, and you get these beauties! 
Black dome studded leather Henriettas from French Sole! Oh my… Let’s look a little closer at these beautiful little studs!
Even though I love the bold, rock chick look of the pointed studs of the current trend, these domed studs are beautifully feminine, like little golden bubbles! 
There’s something really Christmassy about these sweet flats – and it would definitely make a great Christmas present for a lucky girl! Purchase these beauties at French Sole for £150.
Ever wondered what happened to the golden nail varnish of my dreams? I’d been too afraid to try it on properly until yesterday, keeping myself to just a one nail swatch to try it out. Why, you ask? Well, because I didn’t think I could handle all that awesome at once. Who knows what could have happened? One minute, you’re painting your nails, and the next minute, you’re standing in the garden, holding your hands up to the sun, shrieking “EUREKA!” and doing a special nail varnish dance*. (Don’t look at me like that, you know which one I mean.) Frankly, my neighbours think I’m weird enough as it is. Anyway, I finally tried it out last night, and here are the glorious results:
Here it is in the daylight:
Ahhh, so beautiful and shiny! The colour is actually glitter suspended in a clear varnish, I think, and you layer it up over several coats (this is three). This is the perfect way to get a complex, ultra sparkly colour, without it being overly girly or glittery (nothing wrong with glitter! But I wanted GOLD!). This, to me, is the perfect festive shade! Has anyone else planned some festive colours this holiday season?
* Actually, the real reason I haven’t worn it yet was because I was saving it for post-Thanksgiving/birthdays Christmassyness… WHICH IS NOW!
Risotto isn’t one of those quick and easy, on the table in 20 minutes kind of dinners. You have to stand there and cook and stir and add stock for a looong time. But you know, when it’s dark and wet outside and you’re kind of fed up with everything, that’s okay. Sometimes you just want to stand there and stir something.
This roast chicken risotto recipe used to be my number one method of disposing of a dead body. There’s nothing like it to get rid of the evidence you had a chicken for your dinner than using it up in this delicious, simple risotto. But now I’m cooking a chicken every week, it would get a bit samey. If you try this, though, you’ll see why it’s my number one chicken disposal plan.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
Serves four adults.
Food, Fashion and Fitness 