Ciaté Mini Paint Palette

Hello lovelies,

Let me start by wishing you all a very Happy New Year! I've fallen off the radar a bit, I've got exams coming up and I flew home for Christmas, so I've been super super busy with my friends and family. I thought about doing a Christmas Goodies post but my main gift was money and I had to leave lots of bits and pieces at home, but I did bring with me the Ciaté Mini Paint Palette.

This gorgeous little Mini Paint Palette set contains 8 of Ciaté's bestselling shades in mini form picked by Charlotte, the creator of Ciaté. I adore the Ciaté brand anyway, they're very innovative and always bringing out something new, so receiving this was a great surprise as I missed out on their advent calender! I just find the packaging so adorable and unique, the little bows are just the cutest and I'm in for anything that's just a little bit different. 

Although I haven't tried any of the mini's yet, I have used polishes from the brand before. The handles are easy to hold and not too fiddly that you make a mess and I find the polish always has a longlasting finish taking ages to chip. 

The shades include:

Spending Spree - a duo chrome with a lustrous finish

Power Dressing - a rich, dark blue

Mistress - a classic red

Dangerous Affair - a burgundy

Amazing Gracie - a soft, silky pink

Heirloom - a subtle purple with a pop of gold

Antique Brooch - a ruby with a golden glow

Looking Glass- a holographic silver with a rainbow pop

This kit has everything that a nail polish addict could want, it balances nudes with statement brights ans shimmers. These are the perfect size to pop in my hand luggage when travelling about. This set is lovely and the perfect gift! 

The Ciaté Mini Paint Palette is available from John Lewis for £25.00

Have you tried any of the Ciaté polishes?

Monthly Favourites/ November

Hello lovelies,

Eeeeekkkk 22 days till Christmas! 20 days till I get to go home! I just had to get my little excitement outburst out of the way first. I really don't want to say I can't believe it's already December but honestly I can't, time just seems to be flying by. I've only got a few items that I've really been loving this month as I haven't really switched up my routine that much. I picked up the L'Oreal Skin Perfection Serum at the airport and so far so good but I don't think I've been using it long enough to definitely say it's a fave but it deserved a mention.

Mavala Nail Polish in 195 Shimmer Violet - £4.50

I spotted this whilst having a little nosy around the French pharmacies and couldn't not pick it up. Shimmer Violet is one of four polishes from the Arabesque Collection, which feature four metallic shades inspired by Autumn/Winter 2013. Shimmer Violet is a gorgeous light glossy purple with a hint of shimmer running through it, perfect for all those Christmas parties!

L'Occitane Shea Butter Dry Skin Hand Cream - £8.00

I may have featured this previously in one of my favourites but at the moment it's the only product working on my hands. They never normally get dried or chapped but this year, they're cracking. I don't know whether that's a mixture of now doing the washing up or spending days outdoors but they're definitely in need of some tender loving care. I've never been much of a fan of hand creams as I find them too greasy or they don't absorb quick enough but this is my saviour, it's so nourishing and I find myself slapping it on throughout the day. 

Bioderma Micellar Water - £4.50

I picked up a mini to try out because I went to Rome for the weekend. There's so much talk of Bioderma in the bloggersphere so I'm pretty sure you've heard of it. I wouldn't say it benefits my skin but it's such an effective makeup remover and just dissolves any makeup. I do like it but wouldn't say it's any different to the L'Oreal Micellar Solution if you can't get your hands on this.

Have you tried any of these? What products did you love throughout November?

NOTD: Kiko Nail Lacquer in 254 Wine Red Microglitter

Hello lovelies,

Just a quick one today. I picked this up in my big Beauty Haul as I'd been popping in and out of Kiko and decided that it was about time I tried something.

Wine Red Microglitter is a gorgeous deep claret red with a slight purple shimmer running through it, it's such a perfect colour for the Christmas season. It's quite opaque and if I was in a rush, I would just settle for one coat. The second coat just really brings out the purple sheen.

Application wise, I really like it. The brush is a good size and it goes on without smudging. My only issue is that it takes forever to dry, I tend to now do my nails watching catch-up tv as it takes a good 20 minutes to be touch proof. I have to say with only a days wear and without a topcoat or a base coat, it has started to wear a bit.

I will probably pick up a couple more shades, the range is massive. Kiko is quite readily available in Europe but unless you live in London in the UK, it's ordering online, sorry folks! However, I noticed on the website, they're offering free delivery to new subscribers, I presume that's to a newsletter of some sort.

Kiko Nail Laquer is available from Kiko (surprise, surprise) for £3.90. 

Have you tried anything from Kiko?

NOTD: Rimmel 60 Seconds in Mind The Gap, Victoria

Hello lovelies,

As soon as I saw "Mind The Gap - Victoria" on Estée from Essiebutton, I knew I had to have it. It's a vibrant blue but with a pastel undertone to it. Mind The Gap is from the 60 Second range at Rimmel and has a rather large brush, making it apply smoothly. I would say it needs two coats as the first coat can be a little streaky, yet it is opaque, so if you're in a rush, go ahead!

I've worn this a couple of times and the lasting time really is brilliant, I get the odd chip after 4-5 days. I've had several compliments on the colour, it's so beautiful for these last Summer days. The first time, I wore Mind The Gap, I popped a glitter topcoat over the top and the contrast worked fantastically. 

You can pick this up from Boots or Superdrug for £3.69

Have you tried this? 

NOTD: Leighton Denny Leading Lady/ Maybelline Express Finish Diamonds

Hello lovelies,

When it comes to nails, I either go for bright and in your face or nude and very understated. Currently, I have chosen to embrace the nude trend. I spotted my friend wearing an accent nail and decided to mix it up. I chose Leighton Denny Leading Lady and Maybelline Express Finish Diamonds in Cashmere Diamonds. Both are polishes that I use religiously.

Leighton Denny Leading Lady is really underrated in my opinion, it's a sophisticated pinky nude hue with a subtle grey undertone to it. It's so easy to wear and would especially suit darker skin tones due to its pinky blush colour. I used two coats of polish just to create a stronger colour.

For my accent nail, Cashmere Diamonds is my go-too when I'm not sure what to wear. It's a pink toned metallic gold which works perfectly alongside Leading Lady, again I used two coats. I find these last a good couple of days without a top coat.

Leighton Denny Leading Lady is available from Musthave for £11.00 and Maybelline Express Finish Cashmere Diamonds can be picked up from YuYu Beaute for a teeny £1.50.

Do you go nude or are you a never nude?

NOTD: Mavala the ELLE Orange

Hello lovelies,

I'm actually disappointed with myself saying this is my one and only Mavala nail polish. What's worse is that I've had it since 2011 and always thought an orange nail polish is not going to suit me, it'll just wash me out.

The ELLE Orange was created to celebrate the magazine's birthday and was given away free alongside the magazine. I think I had heard good things about Mavala and thought I may as well try them out, still not sure why I picked the orange though!

The Elle Orange is an intense and vibrant orange with a red undertone. I feel like it's more of a vermillion-red. It's a perfect summer manicure shade that just screams look at me! 

This applies so easily, you could easily get away with one coat and away. I would say it's a gel formula with a glossy finish. The photos are of second day wear without a top coat and so far I'm impressed. There appears to be a slight wearing away on the edges but that doesn't surprise me but no chips.

It wasn't the quickest at drying, I would say it needs 10-15 minutes but I usually apply nail varnish in the evening watching tv so I'm not sitting there waiting for it to dry. I think I'll try this with a top coat just to see how long it lasts.

Mavala nail polishes come in a mini 5ml bottle which is about half the size of what you normally find but honestly I'd rather pay less and get a smaller bottle. I can't say that I've ever finished a nail polish, they tend to go gloopy before I get anywhere near that stage.

Unfortunately as this was a limited edition nail polish, this colour is no longer available. I've had a little search and found Mavala Jaipur from the Chilli & Spice collection which appears to be very close shade wise and is available for £4.50 with free worldwide delivery. Everyone loves a bit of free delivery.

Have you tried any Mavala nail polishes?