Ciate Mini Mani Month Wrap Up

24 Ciate Mini Polishes for $89.00

December 24 brings us to the end of the Ciate Mini Mani Month Advent Calendar for 2012. Overall, this set had it's good and bad points but this wasn't such a bad investment and if you received this as a gift it is even better!

This was my first exposure to the Ciate brand (besides the Velvet Manicure but I bought that at the same time ;p) and I have to admit that they really impressed me with their formula on most of the polishes (and some needed a bit more work).

The BIG negative I had with this set was the lack of effort put into the three exclusive colours Glass Slipper, Magic Carpet and Enchanted Rose as it doesn't take much to make a glitter top coat (heck even I can make one with a trip to the art and craft shop and a cheap clear nail polish). I just feel that they could've done so much more and really created something special for nail polish collectors to cherish and drool over.

All in all, this is a great gift idea for those who love their nail polishes and also for Ciate to introduce their brand to new potential customers. I just hope other companies/brands follow suit and bring out advent calendars next year!

I hope you enjoyed my daily blogging on this set and thank you for taking the time to read my blog and mini reviews.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy your holidays with your loved ones!


Jolina xxx

Day Twenty Four: Enchanted Rose

 

Enchanted Rose is the last of the exclusive polishes within this calendar, and just as the other two exclusives, it is a glitter top coat. I am actually quite disappointed with the exclusive colours as it doesn't take much to make a glitter top coat like these ones and to me it felt like this was a last minute idea. They could've put holographic glitter, or even made it a glitter colour polish rather than a top coat.

Anyways, end of rant and back to the polish itself.

Enchanted Rose is a nice red glitter top coat that reminds me of all things Christmas, which of course suits today as it is Christmas Eve. There isn't anything about this that enthralls or excites me but on top of yesterday's Mojito it looks quite festive.

Unfortunately, this is another one that I won't be buying once it runs out. What do you think of the three exclusive colours?

Day Twenty Three: Mojito 019

 

Hmmm..... what can I say about Ciate Mojito besides the fact that it reminds me of Kermit the frog?
I can definitely say that this is not a colour I would wear frequently, in fact most probably only for dress ups or for Christmas and as it is the latter I would say that this is fair for Caite to include in the Mini Mani Calendar.

This colour does not go on well, much like all the pastel colours, and would recommend applying three layers as I have done on my thumbnail (pic below).

 The other fingers only have two layers and you can see what I mean by it not applying well as it looks streaky/patchy on the nail.

Overall I would have to say that I won't be buying this colour again as it's just not something that I would usually wear, not to mention the patchy/uneven results from two layers. I would expect that from a cheap nail polish but not for a polish that is $20 a pop - I'd rather buy OPI or China Glaze instead!

Day Twenty Two: Caviar Pearls Sundance

Sundance is the last of the caviar pearls in the Mini Mani Calendar and has gold and blue beads with little bits of gold glitter. They chose really great colours for Sundance and I really like when they also add a dash of glitter in the caviar pearls as it just makes it that little bit more interesting without going overboard.

I still haven't found a way of making these stay on for longer than a couple of hours so I haven't done a swatch, but as I've said before once I find a method that works I'll be letting you all know!

Day Twenty One: Fade to Greige

Fade to Greige was another surprising colour from Ciate that I really liked. The colour is a grey/beige, hence the name Greige (although I am tempted to say its more of a mauve beige), that appears to be a darker version of Ciate's Cookies & Cream.

When I first saw this bottle I thought I would hate it as I thought it was quite an ugly colour and it isn't typical of what most women choose when selecting polishes, but it's actually quite nice and it has grown on me. Try it out if you dare and let me know your thoughts on it! :) 

Day Twenty: Magic Carpet

Magic Carpet is the second of  the three exclusive colours to this calendar and I must say it is GORGEOUS! Once again, really nice textured glitter in differing shapes and sizes and the colour is just perfect!

I put two layers over Cookies & Cream but admittedly I think I went overboard and should've just stayed with one layer.

Only four more to go/four more days until Christmas (that is unless the Mayan's were right and the world ends tomorrow ;p).

Jolz xxx

Day Nineteen: Cookies & Cream 058

 Day 19 brings us one of Ciate's most popular colours Cookies & Cream. At first I thought that I wouldn't like this colour as it is quite pale and pastel like, but once I put it on I understood why it is so popular.

Cookies & Cream is a universal taupe colour that looks good on all skin tones - LOVE IT! It actually reminds me of a pair of shoes I had back in my heyday when I was 19 (ha - look at the coincidence door 19, shoes when I was 19 - lol) and I haven't been able to find another pair of those shoes ever since. Anyways, back on track, Cookies and Cream is GORGEOUS and I highly recommend it!

Day Eighteen: Caviar Pearls Candyshop

 Candyshop is a bit of a fail for me. I usually like their caviar pearls (colour wise - I still haven't found a way to make them stay on for at least a day) but the colour combination in this one is just too much. They should have either left it as contrasting colours/complementary colours (blue and orange) or harmonic colours (orange and pink). It's looking all just a little bit too "cray cray" (ie - crazy) for me. I am definitely passing on this one!

Day Seventeen: Power Dressing 063

Behind door 17 is the lovely Power Dressing which is a deep dark navy blue which is PERFECT for those who like dark polishes but want something other than black.

Macro shot - no filter.

Once again, this polish goes on smooth, dries smooth, and the pigment in the polish is fantastic - another win for Ciate!

Day Sixteen: Big Yellow Taxi

Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE YELLOW! If I could I would wear yellow everyday but for obvious reasons I don't - lol. So, when I saw this polish behind door 16 I was so happy but then that quickly turned to disappointment.

The formula for this polish was so chalky (similar to Cabaret ) that it laid on the nail quite patchy and uneven which is a shame as I was looking forward to having this as one of my favourites but I will most likely never use this again. It must be the colour yellow - I can never find a yellow eyeshadow that isn't chalky/patchy when applied and I didn't think it would apply to nail polish.

Big Yellow Taxi is a great colour but unfortunately it loses BIG points for consistency and texture. I guess I better keep my eyes out for another yellow polish.

Macro shot - no editing.

Day Fifteen: Headliner 066

 Sorry guys for the lateness in this post! It is the silly season (as they say) and time is just going way too quickly and life is so busy that the blog is being neglected once again. It's now 12:35am on the 18th of December and I can't sleep so I thought I would catch up on some entries! :)

Day 15 of the Ciate Mini Mani Calendar brings us Headliner which I would describe as a Tiffany blue. I tried taking pics in varying light but none of the photos are showing exactly what the colour looks like in real life (I even tried editing the photos to get closer to the true colour but to no avail).
The only picture that got close to true colour is the top left image.

Headliner is a nice colour that goes on nicely (like the majority of Ciate polishes) but once again, nothing remarkable about it that would make me go out and buy it once this little mini is finished.

***UPDATE*** When removing this polish be super careful as it goes everywhere and stains the skin a little (I don't know if it's because I use 100% acetone though but would love to hear if you did or didn't have the same problem).