Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 24

Christmas Eve is here (how exciting!) and the calendar has come to an end. The final door revealed the last exclusive-to-the-calendar shade, 'Enchanted Rose', which is a clear-based red glitter. Again, I hoped that this would be opaque on the nails, but it goes on fairly sheer. I applied it on top of the unnamed shade in the calender, which I've worked out must be 'Mistress'. (Sherlock Holmes here...) The finished result is very sparkly and festive and reminds me a bit of Essie's 'Leading Lady', which I had been lusting after in Boots.

All in all, I'm happy I splurged and bought the calendar; there are definitely some gorgeous colours and formulas which I might not have tried otherwise. However, I think four Caviar blends is a bit excessive as they're not something I'll reach for that often. I would have liked there to have been a velvet powder or two included in their place as I'm curious to try those.

Merry Christmas!

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 23

Today's nail varnish is another bright one, grab your sunglasses. 'Mojito' is a lime green colour unlike anything else I own. Application was ok, although three coats are needed to get an opaque finish. I can't say bright green nails are ever something I fancy wearing, so don't see me getting much use out of this, and I'm not sure my sister would appreciate it as a gift either. I'm a bit disappointed that this is included in the calendar, not entirely sure how it's one of Ciaté's best-selling shades...

     

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 22

The final Caviar blend included in the calendar was hidden behind door number 22. 'Sundance' is a mix of teal and gold pearls, with gold hex glitter mixed in. I really love the colour combination, so liked the look of this straight away. Although I'm not a massive fan of the glitter chunks, they look more subtle than the glitters in 'Prom Queen'. I used it as an accent nail with Ciaté's 'Headliner' and am very pleased with the finished result. It's a nice fancy nail I'll definitely be sporting at some point over the Christmas period.

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 21

Door 21 was hiding ‘Fade to Greige', a lovely mauve tinged taupe. The formula of this was ok, but not as good as some other Ciaté shades have been. I had to use three coats to get an opaque finish - my nail was still peeping through with two - and the consistency is a tad thin. I already own Essie’s ‘Merino Cool’, which is an almost exact dupe for this and a much nicer formula, with two coats giving a perfectly smooth, opaque finish - see picture four. All in all, 'Fade to Greige' is a nice neutral shade, but better quality (and cheaper!) versions can be found elsewhere.

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 20

Behind door number 20 was the second of the exclusive-to-the-calendar shades. ‘Magic Carpet’ is a gorgeous dark pink, mid-size glitter. I hoped that this would be opaque on the nails – wishful thinking for a glitter I guess. One coat is pretty sheer, as you can see below, but with three or four coats, I’m sure you could pack it out to cover the nail. I paired it with Essie’s ‘Recessionista’, a beautiful deep berry shade which I’ve been wearing loads this autumn and winter. I absolutely love the finished look; it’s definitely a cosy winter manicure I’ll be recreating soon.

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 19

Today’s shade is ‘Cookies and Cream’ - a beige / light taupe colour. This looks like a pretty inoffensive and boring nude in the bottle, and it doesn't shine on the nails either. The thin formula made it difficult to get a perfectly smooth finish, and it took three coats before it was opaque. The first picture below shows two coats, while the last shows three. I don't like this on my nails at all; I don't think brown-based nudes flatter my skin tone and much prefer pink-based polishes, such as Essie's 'Muchi, Muchi', seen here. This is sadly another shade which I'll be palming off on a sister or friend.

Five nail varnishes to go... fingers crossed for no more nudes.

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 18

We’re now three quarters of the way through the calendar and, although I can’t wait for Christmas to come, I’ll be sad when the nail varnish treats end. Door 18 revealed the third Caviar blend in the calendar – ‘Candyshop’. This is a mix of fuschia, orange and turquoise pearls, which sounds like a bit of a mish-mash, but actually looks pretty good on the nails. I paired it with two coats of ‘Cupcake Queen’, but have seen this used with a turquoise polish and the result is equally nice. The darker colours in this and the lack of glitter chunks make it more wearable than ‘Prom Queen’ for me, so I’m pleased to get another Caviar blend which I’ll actually get some use out of.

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 17

Hidden behind door 17 was ‘Power Dressing’, a rich navy blue which looks gorgeous on the nails. The formula of this is great and it dries to a lovely glossy finish. I used two coats in the below photos and had no problems with opacity. For comparison, 'Power Dressing' is lighter and more of a flat colour than Rimmel's 'Midnight Blue' (seen here), which has a subtle, light blue shimmer running through it. I can't say I often opt for a navy manicure, but I really like the finished result. It's very chic and understated, especially on shorter nails.

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 16

Door number 16 revealed 'Big Yellow Taxi'. Although yellow is my favourite colour, I never opt to wear it as it looks weird against my pale skin and can make me look a bit ill. The formula is ok; I needed three coats to reach opacity as it was a little streaky with just two. As with other Ciaté polishes, it dries quickly so you need to apply an even coat in a pretty short time to avoid a streaky finish. It doesn't look quite as bright in the bottle as I was expecting (more like a dark pastel, if that makes sense...), although three coats on the nails give a rich, almost neon finish.

Three coats... sunglasses on
Deceptive in the bottle

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 15

‘Headliner’ is today's festive treat, a turquoise which is slightly more blue than green. The formula of this is great; very pigmented and easy to apply - you could get an opaque finish with one slightly thicker coat, but I opted for two thin ones. I'd normally save turquoise nails for sunnier months, but 'Headliner' is dark enough that it wouldn't look out of place throughout the year, and I think topped with a chunky gold glitter, it'd make a gorgeous festive manicure.

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 14

Door number 14 revealed ‘Speed Dial’, a colour which is described as an ‘extremely juicy orange’ on the Ciaté website. I’d disagree with this; I don’t find the colour all that juicy, or orange in fact. To me, this is a slightly pink-toned orange - though perhaps the limited natural light in the UK is skewing my perception of it. Aside from the colour, the formula was also not what I expected. Given Ciaté’s usual high standard, this polish falls short. It’s too thin to give much impact and, as you can see in the photos below, two coats barely give an opaque finish. Three or four would be needed to get a truly rich and ‘orange' result, but for me, the colour isn’t worth the effort. This is probably the most disappointing Ciaté shade so far, and I definitely don’t think it warrants the pretty hefty £9 price tag for a full size bottle.

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 13

Today’s nail varnish treat is ‘Glass Slipper’, one of the three exclusive-to-the-calendar shades. This is a bright blue glitter which is pretty sheer and works best as a topcoat. I’m not normally a fan of blue polishes, but when paired with a dark base (in this case Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in ‘Midnight Blue’), I really like the effect. It reminds me a little of Christopher Kane’s galaxy print collection, which I absolutely loved. A mix of 'Glass Slipper' and a purple glitter on top of a dark base would create an even nicer space-inspired nail - definitely something I'll be giving a go!

   

   

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 12

Today’s polish is ‘Twilight’, a black-based dark gold glitter. This colour looks absolutely beautiful in the bottle, and it’s no different on the nails. From a distance, it looks like an olive green shade, but up close you can see the individual gold flecks. The formula is slightly thicker than other Ciaté colours I’ve tried, which makes it a little difficult to work with, although a smooth and opaque finish can still be achieved. Two coats are definitely needed, as with one the black isn’t intense enough and comes off looking grey. On a side note, this may be the smelliest nail varnish I've ever used. My tip: try not to breathe too deeply when using it.

This is a nice vampy way to wear glitter and definitely one I'll get a lot of use out of. Are you a fan?

     

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 11

Door 11 revealed a second Caviar blend in the shade ‘Bumble Bee’, which is a mix of gold and black pearls (durr). This is more to my taste than 'Prom Queen' as there aren't any glitter chunks in it and the colours are more toned-down, making it less obnoxious and in-your-face. I’m still really surprised by how easy the pearls are to apply and how little mess there is (honestly, that funnel works wonders!). Paired with ‘Ladylike Luxe’ (two coats), it creates what could be the ultimate festive manicure - definitely a contender for my Christmas day nails! I imagine it'd look really pretty as a French manicure-esque tip too. If only my nails could grow half a centimetre in two weeks...