After 24 days and 24 different nail polishes from Ciaté's Mini Mani Month, I thought I would share what a few of my favorites were!
Let me start with the formulas. Overall, I was impressed with Ciaté’s general crème and shimmer formulas, though it was not without some duds – mainly notoriously tough shades like yellow and white. I can’t really comment on the durability of the polish since I wore each shade for only a day or two tops. The glitters were a bit disappointing as they were pretty sheer, but the colors were so nice! Because I liked the colors so much, I was hoping for more of a full-coverage glitter. The other problem with the glitters was the strange plastic-like smell they all seemed to have. It went away, but a few of them were pretty strong. The Caviar Manicure beads are really just not that interesting to me, but the one or two that I tried were easy to use and the little funnel that came with the set made for easy clean up with minimal waste, so that was nice. I do like that Ciaté seems to come up with rather unusual, if not gimmicky, new manicure products each season and the new “Very Colourfoil Mainicure” sets look really intriguing, so perhaps I will spring for one of those some day. Overall, I am impressed with Ciaté’s range of products and would consider buying them in the future, though the single polishes are on the pricier side at $15.00 a bottle. I don’t relish paying that for a single nail polish, but I will if I really love the color. But enough about that, how about the colors?!?! J
The first day started off with a winner in “Cupcake Queen”. I really love this color. It’s a nice bright pink with a very subtle blue-purple sheen. It went on beautifully in only one coat too which always impresses me! You can buy the full size of this shade from Sephora for $15.00.
The following day, “Dangerous Affair” appeared and is another of my favorites. It’s a deep red that is just beautiful!
Day five brought “Cabaret”, a lovely plum purple crème. I really like this one because it’s not too dark, nor too light and it’s not too blue or too pastel. It’s kind of the perfect medium grape shade. You can buy the full size of this shade from Sephora for $15.00.
I really like “Vintage” from day eight as well. On first glance, it looks like a standard grey, but it’s actually kind of a greyish-khaki shade that changes depending on the light. It’s very pretty and far from standard! J
The tenth day brought “Ladylike Luxe”, which is a beautiful metallic champagne-gold. It’s similar to other gold shades I have seen, but I really love gold, especially around Christmas and New Years.
I think my absolute favorite polish is “Speed Dial” from the 14th day. It’s a beautiful orange crème polish which I would probably never think to look at. It is the perfect orange in my opinion. It’s not too bright or too red or too pastel. It looks nice even with my pale winter skin (not that it’s much different in the summer!) and it’s just a lovely color – and one I would never expect to like which makes it doubly fun! J
“Headliner” from day fifteen is a really nice turquoise. I probably have about 100 different turquoise shades and, though this isn’t necessarily all that different from the rest, I just love turquoise nail polish!
The deep blue of “Power Dressing” from day seventeen is another favorite. It’s the perfect dark blue. It is not so dark that it can easily be mistaken for black, nor is it a so bright that it screams blue. It is just a beautiful navy blue shade.
I think the only glitter to make it into my favorites would be “Magic Carpet” from day twenty. As I said, the Ciaté glitters are not my favorite due to the varying degrees of the strange plastic scent and the mostly sheer coverage. But “Magic Carpet” is a definite exception because it is just that pretty! It also was a bit more opaque than the rest. It is a beautiful fine fuchsia glitter in a clear base. I don’t think I have ever seen another glitter that is quite the same color, but then I don’t frequent the glittery nail polish selections either so I may have just missed a dupe for it! J Definitely one of my favorites from the Mini Mani Set.
So there you have my top picks from Ciaté’s Mini Mani Month. I really enjoyed opening up each little door and discovering what new color awaited me. I hope you all enjoyed seeing the colors as well! I had never tried Ciaté polishes before, so this was a really fun way to try a new brand and collect a boat load of new colors! As I feel like I’ve said many times now, I hope Ciaté, as well as other beauty brands, will make more amazing advent calendars in the future! Thanks for a wonderful way to ring in the Holidays Ciaté!!!
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Ciaté in any way, nor have I been compensated for this post.
