In December I could not resist purchasing Ciate London's nail polish advent calender. The idea of getting a new nail colour every day is a dream come true to any polish lover! I contemplated talking about the calender during December, but I thought it would actually be better to write my review after I'd really had a chance to try out all of the polishes. Read on to see my thoughts and see swatches of all the colours!
Obviously, the packaging is adorable. I think it's definitely the best out of all of their previous calenders. In terms of the contents, you get 24 pieces. I assumed this would be 24 polishes, but it's actually 16 polishes (15 mini, 1 full size), 5 bottles of glitter, 2 nail art bottles and some fairisle-style transfers. At first, I was a little disappointed by this, but if you're interested in trying out some more creative nail looks then these extras really do a great job.
Above you can see all of the nail polishes that you get in the calender. There's a really nice variety of glitters, metallics, neons, pastels etc. It's great to have to so much choice as there really is something for everyone, whatever your style. I'll now give you some brief comments about each of the polishes.
Big Yellow Taxi: Personally, I don't wear yellow polishes as I don't think they suit my skin tone - but this is a bright, pigmented shade that I think would look perfect in the summer with a tan. 2 coats for opacity.
Sherbert Fizz: This is sheer red with a metallic sheen. When I say sheer, I really do mean that it might take 2+ coats to get decent coverage. It's definitely more of a pinkish red than a typical red.
Members Only: This is a gorgeous pastel peach with golder shimmer. 2 coats for opacity.
Mineral Clarity: This is one of my favourites. It's a textured polish which is dark blue with silver glitter. 2 coats for the perfect look.
Candy Cane: A deep pink glitter, which I love. It has assorted sizes of glitter pieces to give a stunning finish. 2 coats for opacity.
Velvet Tuxedo: This is a gorgeous dark grey, metallic shade. This is perfect for when you don't want to go all out with a solid black nail, but still want to rock a dark nail. You could probably get away with 1 coat, but I tend to do 2 coats for a perfect finish.
Amazing Gracie: A very, pale pastel pink - almost white. Cute colour, but is very sheer. 3+ coats needed for opacity.
Sand Dune: A metallic gold. Like Velvet Tuxedo, you could just do 1 coat because the coverage is so good. This will look stylish all year around.
Celestial: This was the one, full-size polish in the calender. It's a beautiful silver glitter, but is unusual in that it reflects blues, purples and greens. Really pretty! 2 coats is enough to give the appearance of full coverage, but 3 coats would cover all the gaps.
Silhouette: Deep burgundy with subtle shimmer. A really unique colour that is perfect for the winter! 2 coats for opacity.
Sloaney, Sweetie: I loved this glitter so much I already reviewed this in a post for you (here). It's got strips of glitter combining pastel shades and metallics. 2-3 coats for opacity.
Cupcake Queen: A bright pink! Perfect to brighten up your looks in the colder months or to rock at the beach in the summer. 2 coats for opacity.
Sharp Tailoring: A sophisticated grey. I love grey polishes as I think they look equally great on short nails as they do on the long. 2 coats for opacity.
Strawberry Milkshake: I thought this would be quite transparent like Amazing Gracie because of how light the colour is, but thankfully I was so wrong! It's a baby pink, but is really pigmented and 1 coat gave a gorgeous finish.
Headliner: A gorgeous turquoise colour. I love green polishes, but this blends in blue to give it a softer look. 2 coats for opacity.
Unrestricted Glam: A staple black polish. Unfortunately, this is a little patchy because it's very sheer. Even with two coats it's not giving me a full opaque look. 3 coats would probably do it justice, though.
In general, I do love all of these polishes, but one thing that I have noticed is that they do chip quite easily - usually within the next couple of days after applying. This may just be because I'm always using my hands, but it's a little disappointing.
The above picture shows you the 5 bottles of glitter that you get. When I first saw these I thought they were glitter polishes, but they're just loose glitter. They're really fun to use to create a sparkly look, but the covering will be very brittle so won't last long before it chips. It's ideal for an evening out or a party, though.
For anyone that loves nail art, there is also a bottle of sequins and semi-spherical pearls. The kit also comes with some nail transfers which are fairisle-style.
All-in-all, this is a great gift for a nail polish lover and it's a lot of fun. You can still find this set online on the Ciate website (sale page) and on Amazon/eBay.
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