Ciaté MMM - Mistress

Hi Everyone,

Another quick Ciaté polish for you today, this time - a sexy little Mistress.

This was a polish I loved wearing - there is something hard to resist about a simple glossy red nail! It's the type of red that can be rather sexy, and also dressed down for a more festive twist - which is what I did with it!

This is definitely making the list of my favourite red polishes!! It's just right :)

 

I turned this into a more festive mani with China Glaze's White on White, and a dotting tool. This was the first day I would have broken my 'tradition' of a different mani each day, as I really loved it. I say would have, as a nasty nail break meant that I had to take the polish off to assess the damage. It wasn't pretty. They're just about getting back to normal, in February. I have been mourning my lovely long and strong nails since the 9th of December. /sigh

Do you have a favourite red polish? 

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x

Ciaté MMM - Ladylike Luxe and Bumble Bee

Hi Everyone,

Yet again, I'm showing you two polishes from my MMM (Mini Mani Month) as they really do go together!

Ladylike Luxe is a kind of dirty yellow, but shimmery gold - a nice change from my Barry M Gold Foil (which gets used a LOT).

Bumble Bee is one of my favourite Caviar concoctions - black and gold pearls. A lot more grown up than some of the colour combinations; it doesn't make me feel like I've been dipped into a sweet shop with wet nails! And yes, that's a good thing!

 In theory, Caviar nails are easy to apply: apply your polish, dip your nails into the beads, and let it dry for 20 minutes.

20 minutes? The horrors. I don't like to wait 20 minutes for anything. Also, doing the 'Caviar' nails on your break at work? Not recommended. That is all!

What do you think? Are you a fan of the Caviar effect?

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x

Pretty Pictures From My Phone - Dorothy Rose Bridal

Hi Everyone,

This is a totally non-nail related post. I found these in the depths of my phones picture library - they're actually from my sister-in-law Sophie's Bridal Boutique - 'Dorothy Rose'. I felt as though the pictures were just too pretty to not be shared!

She opened her own shop just before Christmas and whilst being rather jealous of all the pretties, I was massively impressed and proud of her! She has designed all of her own dresses and decorated the store herself! (Well, there was a crew of us all pitching in to help with the painting etc, and I know her dad and my brother helped a hell of a lot too! Even I did a bit of painting... out the back... apparently painting walls is NOTHING like painting nails!!)

Either way, I just wanted to show you guys a couple of the pics I found!!

How gorgeous is this? I just want to dress up in here everyday!! I love the attention to detail, and how she has managed to make it into a princess playground!

Any brides to be in North-West England should totally check her out - Sophie herself is beyond lovely, and her dresses are amazing. She even helps you to design your own if you can't find what you want - or if you just want something unique!

Seriously Soph, where were you when I was getting married???!

She's on twitter at @DotRoseBridal - go follow her - even if it's just to see pictures of pretty dresses!!

Normal service (if it ever was normal...) shall now resume!

Love Charlotte x

PS. Her website is http://dorothyrosebridal.com/ if you want to have a peek. She's also on Facebook, but I don't really do the whole FB thing myself!!

OPI Liquid Sand Swatches - The Mariah Minis

Hi Everyone,

I think that like most OPI fans, when the term Liquid Sand started popping up, I was rather curious.

The whole textured thing has been rather massive so far, and whilst I can't ever see myself with Care Bear nails, glitter is a bandwagon I can jump on!

So, rather than go crazy and just buy everything, I decided getting the minis would be a sensible and less space consuming idea. (I just got my first Nail Polish Only Helmer - and it's almost full...).



First up, we have Get Your Number. A mid blue with holo glitter pieces.

This is two coats - and as you can see, the colour is a fair bit lighter than the bottle when it's fully dry. It takes about 10 minutes to dry completely.

I didn't expect to like this - I'm not a huge fan of blue polish normally, but I really loved it. Possibly because of the holo glitter infusion. It was surprisingly easy to apply, and a rather hard wearing polish. I only had it on for about 30 hours, but I didn't see any tip wear or chips in that time. The texture took a bit of getting used to - I found myself rubbing my nails quite a bit!



Next is Can't Let Go - a rich purple with purple glitter.

As a self confessed lover of purple, I knew I would really like this one! But - shock horror - it's not my favourite. It comes second, in case you were wondering haha!! It comes up a bit blue - and reminded me of a darker version of Get Your Number. And I think the glitter pieces are lacking something. I would have liked to see this with a different colour glitter, perhaps a pink or gold. Again, this is two coats.


Third is my least favourite from the collection - Stay The Night. A blackened base with red sparkles.

OK, I'm just going to say it. This made me feel like I had a disease growing on my nails. Did not like. No matter how I tried to look at it, I hated it. I kept thinking of bacteria and microbes and Dettol adverts about killing E-coli. Sorry OPI, but ewww. This took three coats for proper coverage. Again, a great formula, but if you want my humble opinion, wear it like this:

With a glossy top coat! It magically turns from an ugly duckling and into a gorgeous swan.The red becomes all glowy and bright, and the shine adds depth to the polish! I actually sighed with relief when I did this. It saved this polish, and gave it a place in my collection. I probably would have labelled it as a Biohazard and called a Hazmat team in otherwise.

Finally, we have my favourite from the minis collection - The Impossible. A Fuchsia pink - which allegedly has star shaped glitter in it. Mine didn't. Where are my bleedin' star shaped glitters?? WHERE OPI, WHERE?!

Anyway. I've calmed down, so lets have a peek!

It's just so pretty. The colour is bright, despite it being matte, and it gives a girly element to the rough texture. I say this a lot, I realise, but this will look beautiful with a tan.This was two and a half coats. The half was me fishing for the star shaped glitter that I was promised, but did not get. Pfft.

What do you think about this Liquid Sand collection? Do you have any favourites? Personally, I was a huge Mariah fan when I was growing up, but I felt that this was not a great collection. Where are all of the pinks? The butterfly references? A collection of charms to stick on? With the exception of the Liquid Sand polishes, I couldn't help but feel like we had seen it all before. I would have loved to see some references to early Mariah too! I mean, Hero is one her best known songs - where was the nod for that?

*Goes back to the 90's*

Any thoughts about this collection? I'd love to know,

Love Charlotte x

China Glaze Hologlam Swatch - Get Outta My Space

Hi Everyone!

This is just a quickie post to share the loveliness that is Get Outta My Space, from the rather exciting China Glaze Hologlam collection due this Spring.

It arrived on my doorstep this morning... so I took off the mani I had just applied... as you do... just so I could spend the day wearing this beauty!

Please ignore the state of my cuticles - I'm literally on my way out of the door to work!! I just had to share this gorgeous polish with you!!

FYI - This is two coats - rather quick drying, as with my Layla holos - and can drag if you're not quick enough. No top coat (of course). The formula is beautiful (except for the drag - but just be aware!) and the colour is gorgeous. The holo flash is not quite as big as it is with the Layla holos, but I am a little bit in love with this polish already. A huge thumbs up (with a cheesy grin) from me!

Nail Squee!!

Love Charlotte x

Ciaté MMM - Cabaret and Angel Wings

Hi Everyone,

I have another Ciaté manicure for you today, featuring not one, but TWO nail polishes!! I know, I know, a treat!! Only kidding, but to be fair, it would have been plain daft to show these separately!

I first wore the lovely Cabaret on it's own - which I'm sure does not surprise you as it's PURPLE!! I love purple polish. There, I said it. Again!!

 Yes, it is rather lovely. This was another three coater, and was streaky and draggy to apply, but the end result is so worth it. I love this one.

 In fact, I loved it so much that when Angel Wings turned up the next day, I was torn between the two. I wanted to stick to trying each new polish each day, but I also knew that a white frosty polish was not going to look attractive on my nails on its own.

 I was really rather happy with my gradient mani - it was frosty enough to be all Wintry, and purple enough to be purple. Which makes me happy :)

What do you think of these polishes? Would you wear them both alone or do you like the combination of the two together? What would you do?

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x

Ciaté MMM - Vintage

Hi Everyone,

Today I'm going to show you another polish that I wouldn't have picked personally. There seem to be a few of those in my little Ciaté section - some of them turned out to be nice surprises, some... well.... didn't make it onto the blog. So...

As for the colour on the nail - I'm still undecided. This is Vintage - a dusty, greyish green in the bottle. A bit mossy, but a softer version of khaki I would say.  Do I like it, or don't I? I don't know!! Sometimes I look at these pictures and think 'meh', and other times I kinda like it. Let's be honest, I don't love it - and I think that's all we need to know!

As I wasn't sure if I would make it through an entire day with this polish, I added some of my OPI 18k top coat. A bit of bling never hurt anybody!

I can't remember how many coats this took, but the coverage was certainly a lot better. The polish is a lot more pigmented than some of the others!

What do you think about this one? Would you reach for this off the shelf, or leave it behind?

Love Charlotte x

Ciaté MMM - Cutie Pie

Hi Everyone!

When this little lovely came out of my calendar, I was, well... underwhelmed. Baby pink is not often a choice for me. It's so sweet and soft - and I'm not sure if those words could ever describe me. But I gave it a go - as you should! You never know when something might surprise you. Like this pretty polish!

Cutie Pie is the softest of soft pinks, and it really is kind of lovely! The thing that surprised me most, is that I would totally wear it again.

The formula is slightly better on this one, a much creamer formula which didn't drag when applied. Although, it is another three coater. And does still show VNL. But seeing as it was cold and frosty outside, I added a few snowflakes to draw the attention away from that...!

Are you a fan of baby pink? What's your favourite brand for a cutie like this?

Let me know,

Love Charlotte x

Ciaté MMM - Dangerous Affair

Hi Everyone,

Here is the next polish in my Ciaté MMM Adventure, and it's called Dangerous Affair. It's a darker, more vampy red creme, which to me reads grown-up glamour. Truth be told, it's not a colour I would pick up off a shelf to purchase, but it IS the type of colour every girl should own.

Some days, you do just wanna vamp it up... even if it's just your toes that are getting vampy!!

Anyway, lets have a peek!

Application was... well... not very nice to be honest. For what seems to be a premium brand (given their price tag), their formula can be a bit hit and miss, and this one was a miss for me. Another three coater - which is very annoying when you only have 5ml bottles to play with. And, for a shade as deep as this to still show VNL after three coats, I have to say I can't recommend it.

Disappointing formula, but beautiful colour.

What do you think?

Love Charlotte x

My Ciaté Advent Calendar Adventure! Cupcake Queen

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to the lovely Beth, I managed to get my manicured mitts on one of the Ciaté Mini Mani Month Calendars that were all over the Blogosphere last year.

As almost the entire planet (slight exaggeration there...) was taking pictures of these polishes (me included, of course) I aimed to try and do something to my nails everyday. I tried (and failed) to wear each different polish each day. Some days I was just too busy to spend 20 minutes waiting for the Caviar Manicures to dry. And then there was the whole issue of how to pull off the bright green Mojito, and the equally bright Big Yellow Taxi. Which was very yellow. Pulling those off in the middle of December would take some braver nails than mine!!

As I had quite a bit of fun with these polishes, the next few posts are going to be dedicated to them!

So, let's have a look at a swatch of my favourite!

Cupcake Queen:

Well, firstly, who doesn't love cupcakes? Exactly.

Secondly, who doesn't love a bright pink with a blue shimmer running through it?! Exactly, again!

This was three coats, and sadly it still showed the dreaded VNL. But it's pretty enough to forgive it haha!

What do you think? Did you get the Ciaté MMM?

Love Charlotte x