Ciaté Mini Mani Month Calendar Days 22-24

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! I don't remember the last time I was so excited for Christmas. Perhaps I took my own advice to heart and really got into the Christmas spirit. I must say that having a Ciaté Mini Mani Month Calendar certainly didn't hurt! It was a bittersweet moment opening the last door on the calendar - we should have advent calendars all year round. How much different would the lead up to exams be if you had a calender with little gifts to count down the days?  

The last three polishes were: 

Caviar Pearls - Christmas Tree Caviar

Locket

Serendipity

After a week of pretty pastels, the closer we got to Christmas, the more festive the polishes got. Can't get more festive than 'Christmas Tree Caviar' with red, yellow and green pearls. I have yet to try out the pearls - I'm a little apprehensive about messing it up actually! I think I might prefer the silver glitters of 'Locket'. 'Serendipity', the full size Ciaté polish behind door 24, is the most festive of all as a red glitter. Red glittery mani for Christmas? Of course.

Did you have an advent calendar this year? 

Ciaté Mini Mani Month Calendar Days 15-21

Only three sleeps until Christmas! I'm not much of a Christmas person, but sending out Christmas cards, getting your gifts all wrapped up and listening to Christmas songs has this way of rubbing off on a person. Though I think one of my favourite parts this year has been getting my hands on a Ciaté Mini Mani Month Calender. It's not the Mini Mani Manor, but the shades I've gotten so far have converted me into a Ciaté fan (click here and here if you want to check out the other shades). 

This week I uncovered: 

Play date

Members only

Caviar pearls - frost yourself

Amazing Gracie 

Underwear

ivory queen

confetti

Whilst I was a little disappointed by similarity between 'members only' and 'ivory queen' (from what I can tell one is a slightly lighter nude, both with slight shimmers in them), I came to like 'amazing gracie', which is a really pale pastel pink as much as I suspected I would, and having the base coat 'underwear' to go with the top coat I got last week made me happy.  I didn't think much of 'play date' when I first opened the door, but when I went to take pictures, I realised that it was the perfect candy cane red which I do believe I shall be donning for the Christmas days. I'm not a massive fan of red, but for the Christmas season - yes please! I also suspect at only £9.00 for a full size bottle I'll definitely be repurchasing some of these beauties. 

Have you tried any of these shades? What will you be donning on your nails for Christmas?

Ciaté Mini Mani Month Days 8-14

"Life's too short to be wearing boring nail polish."

It's the second week of Ciaté Mini Mani Month Calendar, and so it's also only 10 sleeps until Christmas! I'm not usually this excited about Christmas, but I have been making more of a conscious effort to do so, and having an advent calendar this year certainly has helped. If you're a bit of a reforming Scrooge like me, last week I posted a little guide on how to get into the Christmas mood if you're not a Christmas person, as well as days 1-7 of the calendar. 

This week I got these shades: 

Kiss Chase

Pillow Fight

Speed Coat

Glitter Jingle Bell

Pepperminty

Ferris Wheel

Party Shoes

It is now official: I am a Ciaté girl. The shades I got this week were right up my street. I've been wearing 'Pillow Fight' all week, which is a gorgeous purple-toned grey that I unfortunately think is a calendar exclusive. Sad face. I've worn this since Tuesday, and on Sunday, without the top 'Speed Coat' that I was surprised to find behind door no. 10, and it's only just begun to chip at the tops. That's definitely the kind of durability I need from my polishes. Unfortunately 'Pepperminty' had dried out (and it's a shade I know I would have loved - mint greens are my favourite) but at least I got 'Ferris Wheel' the next day, a pretty pastel blue that's going to get a lot of wear in the spring. 'Party Shoes' is such a beautiful gold glitter with green/blue accents that I *almost* used it straight away. I still need to find a hassle-free way to remove glitter!  

This year's calendar hasn't come to an end yet and I'm already excited about getting next year's Ciate Advent Calendar, which I will definitely be getting my hands on - just try and stop me! Do you think you'd get it? 

Ciaté Mini Mani Month Days 1-7

"In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different" - Coco Chanel

Can you believe how fast time flies? We're already seven days into December and only 17 sleeps until Christmas! Thanks to having gotten my hands on the Ciaté Mini Mani Month, I have also acquired seven gorgeous shades of Ciaté Minis in the meantime. Until I got this calendar I'd never tried Ciaté brand and I have to say so far I've not yet been disappointed. I also really like how each day has it's own quote in the calendar (the quote above is today's quote). 

The shades I've gotten so far are: 

Snowglobe

Boudoir

Hopscotch

Sequin Miss Mistletoe

Encore!

Sugar Plum

Fit For a Queen

My favourite so far is 'Sugar Plum' which is a beautiful purple pastel. I did need three coats of it to get a nice opaque consistency but since it dries fast enough, I don't really mind. I'm also thinking that 'Fit For A Queen' is going to be my go-to silver for accents. Silver french tips on a blue base? Yes please! If you like any of these shades I recommend heading to the Ciaté site where some of them are in their sale. 

Overall I've been really pleased with this calendar and hopefully next year I'll be able to get my hands on whatever calendar Ciaté is doing. I've seen pictures of the Mini Mini Manor and the goodies, and it looks so good. 

Have you ever had a Ciaté calendar? What do you think of Ciaté nail polishes? 

Maybelline New York Color Show | Be Brilliant! Xmas Collection

As if having a Ciaté Mini Mani Month as an advent calendar wasn't enough nail polish in my life, when I was in my local Di scoping out St. Nicholas presents for my girl friends (which is today - December 6th - so happy St. Nicholas Day!), my eyes did a mandatory scan of the Maybelline New York Color Show display because I find this range to be so affordable for a polish that I can usually make last a week, and when I come across a colour I like, I end up loving it.

So, of course, when I saw they had a Limited Xmas Collection line:  'Be Brilliant',  the likelihood of me leaving the shop without at least one of the shades in my possession. Indecision between which appealed to me the most led to me leaving with all four in my possession. 

From left to right, the gems in this glittering collection are:

421 Purple Dazzle

420 Skyline Blue

419 Spark The Night

418 Light Up

Until I started getting Color Show nail polishes, I never really paid much attention to product names but I find that they get them just right. Don't these sound polishes that will get you through the entirety of the holiday season? 

I've yet to use them however because as much I love glitter nail polish, I absolutely loathe the removal process, so much so that I end up asking myself why I decided to get glitter polishes after I swore to only admire them from afar. However, I do believe that I have found a solution for wearing these dazzling beauties without the pain of removing them - and if my theory turns out to work in practice you can be sure that I'll be sure to share it with you. Saying that, it's doubtful that I won't be wearing one of these on New Year's Eve, removal process be damned! 

Have you tried any of these? Which would you wear for New Year's Eve? I'm not sure if this available worldwide - I think it might be a Benelux/France exclusive - but let me know if you've seen these around your area. I'll also be eternally grateful if you have any tips on removing glitter!