Ciaté Mini Mani Month 2019 // Days 8 - 14

Day 8

Royal Reign // Midnight Blue Creme

This is a cross between Knee Highs and Total Eclipse; it's a super dark blue/grey creme that's ready in one coat if applied slowly. I'm really impressed with the formula on this one as it was super easy to apply and no clean up was required.

Day 9

Cyclone // Purple/Green Shimmer

This was Day 1 from the 2018 calendar and one of my 6 mystery shades. I love how this looks in the bottle but I still stand by the fact that it looks like a bruise when on the nails. It's just not a great combo. The first photo is the swatch from last year which is two coats on bare nails. The second and third swatches are one coat on top of a black base. I much prefer this as it appears more of a green/blue shift with the purple only coming out at certain angles. It's reminiscent of oil on water. Also, my nail photography skills have gotten so much better lol.

Day 10

Iced Frappe // Dusty Pink Creme

This was my very first Ciaté shade way back in the day. I got it in a Glossybox and it was my introduction to Ciaté and I fell in love with the formula and the bottle shape. I now have 2 mini's and full size as this was Day 6 in 2018's calendar. I'm wearing two glossy coats in the swatch.

Day 11

Pepperminty // Mint Creme

This was Day 17 in last years calendar and one of the days in the 2013 calendar. I swear every time I get this shade though it's a different colour. The 2018 is lighter, more sage-like than the 2013 (in the swatch my thumb is the 2018 and the wheel is 2013) and this 2019 one is lighter than both and more minty. The formula is also slightly watery for a creme and needs at least 2 coats but it's nice and shiny.

Day 12

Total Eclipse // Dark Grey/Blue Creme

This was Day 15 in last years calendar and is another one of my 6 'mystery shades'. I actually use this shade quite a bit as it's a lovely dark blue/grey that's not quite black but dark enough. One coat is almost enough by itself but two does the trick.

Day 13

Phantom // Blue/Purple Shimmer in Sheer Black Base

Finally! I a new shade for me and an absolute stunner. This definitely falls into the "starry sky" type of nail polishes with it's dark jelly base filled with blue and silver shimmery pieces. 1 coat on top of black base gives a beautiful blue shimmer with a hint of purple every now and then. By itself, 2 coats is more than enough to build up the shimmer and cover any streaks.

Day 14

Gilded Goddess // Gold Flakie in Clear Base

This is a simple gold flakie in a clear base. It's cute but nothing to write home about, I already own a few like this. I'm wearing it on top of Ice Cold Milk from H&M and it's a perfect party look.

// Verdict

This week was a bit boring for me as I already have four of the shades. Phantom is definitely this weeks winner though and it'll be perfect for space looks.

Days 1 - 7
Days 15 - 21
Days 22 -24

Tutu Bijoux // Pink & Rose Gold Snowflake Nail Design

I keep saying "tutu bijoux" like "boop boop be-doo" and it's starting to annoy me. What a shocker, I'm annoying myself. November was a very annoying month though because Black Friday happened right at the end of my self imposed "No Nail Polish November" and I bought all the fucking nail polish. No joke, I literally bought 25 polishes from H&M. 

And so now I have all this polish I just bought and an advent calendar to swatch. So I did a nail look instead because I can't stop.

I just bought the glitter topper from H&M in their sale for £1 and it's just stunning. I wore 3 coats of it alone for the work Christmas party. It does distract from the snowflakes a little too much though. @paulinaspassions also posted a similar look to this a few days ago using some iridescent hexagonal glitter which suits it more. I wish I'd seen the post before I did this!

Polishes/Tools Used:

- Ciaté // Tutu (pastel pink)

- H&M // Bijoux (Rose Gold & Silver glitter)

- Born Pretty // #4 (white)

- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy // Diamond Top Coat

- Harunouta // L056 Stamping Plate

Nearly But Not Quite // November 2019 Nail Fails

It's time for some more nail fails! These three looks were done right at the start of November and I wanted to do so much last month but got hindered by the hideous looking nail. I like having short nails but that was ridiculous. Thankfully, it grew back enough in time for December because I was not missing out on snowflake and Ciaté swatching. But it meant that I didn't have much time to make it up and posts were sparse.

Autumn Falling

This wasn't supposed to be a nail fail, it was supposed to be glorious. I used watercolour paints and everything to create the burnt orange and red background. The problem happened after the stamping. The thumb used my most opaque white stamping polish and it looked pretty good. Some colour was still coming through but it wasn't obvious. I then applied the top coat and the white just turned to water and ruined the entire look. 

Winter Leaves

Now this wouldn't look so bad if it weren't for the horribly stained yellow nails shining through. I need to start wearing a base coat on top of my peel off base now as I keep getting horrible stains even when I'm only wearing polishes for an hour or two. Unfortunately I'm still growing out the stains on my ring finger so I can't recreate this just yet but it is a cute look so I might use a opaque background.

Forest Drag

What a drag. I enjoy doing drag marble looks however I chose the wrong shades for this one and there is way to much white. I'm trying to perfect that geode rock formation but it's not quite right just yet. 

Ciaté Mini Mani Month 2019 // Days 1 - 7

Sing it with me now! "It's the most wonderful time of the year". That magical time when we all sit down with our family and argue about whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas film. Also it's the time for another Ciaté Mini Mani Month! I loved last years and when I saw that at least half of the shades were brand new (and I managed to snatch up the box for half price) I couldn't resist.

Day 1

Mineral Positivity // Dark green with gold and green textured glitter

This is a textured glitter that dries matte in the same way as the Zoya Pixiedust collection. This shade is actually similar to Chita from that collection but it's much darker and the gold pieces shine more. I never used to like matte textured polishes but now I love them; they're just perfect for winter. This shade is also ready in one coat and dries very fast.

Day 2

Tutu // Sheer Pale Pink Creme

I love this colour! It's beautiful and one of my favourite shades of pink. It's a little streaky at one coat but still wearable if you're looking for a sheer pink wash of colour. If you want a solid colour though it needs at least three coats but it does dry quite quickly, a few minutes depending on your temperature. It is nice and glossy though without a top coat but I imagine it will have nice gel-like shine with Barry M's plumpy top coat. Once you build up those three coats though, it kind of has a peach-feel to it, similar to Nails Inc Peach Tease. I'm a little obsessed with this shade and I'm going to have to buy it full size.

Day 3

Paparazzi // Deep Crimson Jelly

This is so dark after two coats it's almost black. It is the kind of red shade that I like though. You definitely need two coats as one is streaky but it's nice and glossy by itself. I'd say this is a bit darker than Dangerous Affair but is almost identical to Raising the Barre (both by Ciaté). Just be warned though, all these shades stain the skin easily and it's hard to get a clean edge when doing clean up.

Day 4

Tempest // Blue, Purple and Green Sheer Shimmer

This was Day 18 in last years calender. The first photo is the swatch from last year using 3 coats on bare nails. The second photo shows 3 coats again but on top of three different bases; black (middle), blue(ring) and white (index, the pinkie is just 3 coats for comparison). On top of the black, this shade really comes alive and the shift is much easier to see. It's definitely the worst on top of lighter colours.

Day 5

White Heat // White Creme

I already own this shade but another is welcome as this is my go-to white shade. I love it, even if it isn't a one coat wonder. I'm wearing two coats in the swatch with no top coat. My bottle is quite old so it's nice to have a fresher version available on hand. This polish though has one of the best formulas and 9 times out of 10, I don't even have to do clean up because of how easily it glides across the nail.

Day 6

Kiss Chase // Dark Pink Jelly

This is not my kind of pink shade. I prefer more pastel/dusky shades. This flamingo pink though is nice and bright for those who like their pink mani's super pink. The formula is thin but not streaky; a true jelly. I'm wearing two coats with no top coat and it's still nice and glossy.

Day 7

Sweet Treats // Pink and Gold Sheer Shimmer

If you want to transform your pink polish, this shade is how you do it. I stuck it on top of Kiss Chase and I much prefer the combo over Kiss Chase alone. It reminds me of Sailor Moon magical girl nails. By itself is just as pretty and the gold shift gives it an almost foil effect when the light hits it. This doesn't look great on top of black though; it's just a bit too obvious.

// Verdict

Whew! What a week. I already own 3 of the shades this week (Mineral Positivity, Tempest and White Heat) but they're all fantastic shades and two-thirds of the way to a full size bottle with them now. Tutu is definitely my favourite from this weeks shades and I've already done a christmas look using it. I want my walls painted in this colour.

Days 8 - 14
Days 15 - 21
Days 22 - 24

Meebox // Donuts Edition

And it's finally time for the unboxing of my final Meebox that I bought in October when they were having a sale. I was super excited for this one due to the creamy pastel shades and indie brands. I'm loving the discovery of Deco Miami! Let's have a closer look at the products shall we?

Kure Bazaar // Cappucino
RRP £15

Collection: ??

Release Date: ??

This uses the same thin brush that old Essie shades used to have and I don't like it. It's just so hard to get a good swipe and prevent flooding. I am happy to have received this shade though as when I was researching the "Hope" shade I got in this years Sunday Times LIB box, this was the shade I wanted the most when I saw the shade range. The shade itself is a little darker than whats in the bottle and under bright light it goes even darker which is strange. But it is the perfect shade to create some donuts with. I'm wearing two coats in the swatch with no top coat.

Little Ondine // Ripple
RRP (no longer sold, was £11)

Collection: ??

Release Date: ??

My first time using this did not go well as I used it on top of my peel off base coat (as usual) and it started instantly cracking and splitting (see the second photo). After some research it turns out this brand uses a water-based, peel off formula made from resin and many other nail artist use them as a peel off basecoat. Little Ondine says all their polishes are odourless and surprisingly, there isn't really much of a scent. This one smells a little minty but I'm not sure if that's just my brain making it up because of the mint colour.

I'm actually really interested in this brand, however it doesn't seem to be available in the UK anymore and their twitter account stop posting a year ago. In the US though it still seems to be thriving which is a shame.

As for the polish, I don't think the formula holds up well over time. Normal polishes don't really go off, but the "peel off" part of this polish has caused it to become lumpy and dry with those PVA glue-like chunks. It's also streaky and needs several coats but the lumps never go away. It does peel really easily in the exact same way as my PVA-based peel off which just makes wonder if this is the exact same product but with colouring.

I'm wearing three coats with no top coat.

Deco Miami // Cake
RRP (not sold in the UK, $6 in US)

Collection: ??

Release Date: ??

I think this is my favourite polish in the box; it's just so cute! I love interesting and unique bottle designs and now I want more of them but they're kind of hard to get hold of in the UK. The shade itself is perfect though and makes me look beautifully tan. I almost can't believe how well it matches my skin tone. Instead of being a bright hot pink this is a neon peach/pink pastel that dries quite quickly to a satin finish. You do need at least three coats though as it is very streaky.

After perusing their website, they do ship to the UK, but shipping varies on the weight and then there's tax and import fees so it will end up being an expensive order. But they do have some seriously amazing shades.

NCLA // Sivan Ayla Donut Wraps
No longer sold (was £11.95)

After some research I discovered this was part of a range in a collab with someone called Sivan Ayla. I think she's a vlogger/lifestyle influencer but anyway it was released in 2017 and full of neutral skin tones and donuts. I feel these wraps look a little "kid-like" for such an elegant collection. I probably won't use them as me and wraps don't mix well.

Miss Cat Nails // Nail Art Pearls
No longer sold (was £1.99)

Another item that probably will never be used mainly because things stuck to my nails annoy me. They just catch on everything. Also, these are tiny and I don't have the patience to glue lots of little pink beads to my nails. Some other reviews said they got champagne coloured ones and I think I would've preferred them.

Art Club (by Color Club) // Nail Art Pen in White
RRP £4.99

I was really excited when I saw this (even if the metal tube bit scratched me when taking the lid off). Then I used it. If you're doing stripes and nothing else this is fantastic but I found it ridiculously hard to draw shapes with. The polish itself is lovely and opaque however I would use an actual brush to do more detailed looks with it. I found that huge blobs would run straight down the brush at random intervals and flood the nail. It's also hard to clean up and leaves white streaks on you skin making it look dry and flaky. When researching this product, this appears to be quite an old bottle as well and whereas nail polish doesn't really go off, this doesn't feel like proper nail polish and I think it may have gone off. Good idea, shame about the execution.

// Verdict

This was one of the boxes I wanted the most when I first discovered Meebox and I think if I had received it back in March 2018 I would be estactic however, I feel some of the products have lost their shine and the only one I'm really happy about is the Deco Miami polish; I have got to get me some more of those. For £15 though, I'm not going to flip any tables.

When Meebox stopped doing monthly boxes last December they said they were going to reduce their boxes to quarterly to give them more time to collaborate with indie brands. However, it's now December and the last box they released was the Atlantis edition back in March so I have a feeling that sadly, they may have stopped doing boxes. It's a shame because there really was no other sub like this one.