Freebie Fursday: Mon petit bonbon

It is not without an intense feeling of awkwardness and shyness that I went to work today with my wonky slaughtered brows. (catch up on brow gate here). Fortunately, I was busy with a conference and that helped keeping my mind off my brows. However, I just couldn't help thinking about another thing: the free Ciaté nail polishes in the July edition of Marie Claire magazine (£3.70) out today, and I couldn't wait till my work day was over to check the 3 shades of polishes on offer: Jelly Bean, Purple Sherbet and Bonbon.



I am not sure how much the word bonbon is used in everyday conversation in standard English but in French we use it all the time, and it is the most commonly used word to mean 'sweets'. The name certainly helped, but ultimately, it was not my memories of sweets eating times in France which led me to buy Ciaté Bonbon: it was its delicious shade reminding me of Smokey Lilac (BeautyUK), Innocent (ELF) and Steady as she rose (OPI). I am not the best at describing colours. For me it's a dirty nude lilac, and it's right up my street.











Unlike My Fair Lady, the Ciaté freebie we got a year ago, Bonbon's coverage was much better and I achieved the opacity you see on my pictures in 2 coats. The formula was a dream to play with and the flat brush made the application even more dreamy. This polish is such a good quality, it's worth its £9 retail value and more. So you can imagine how chuffed I am to have managed to get it for a mere £3.70.










If I listened to my heart, I'd rush to the shop to get a back up. However I must stay sensible. I have nowhere finished the nail polishes in my collection that Bonbon reminds me of and having a back up of bonbon would just be pure gourmandise. I wish it had been sunny today, I like photographing my nail polishes using natural sunlight you see and I can only apologise for these indoor snaps, and inability to wait for a sunny day to capture and share my impressions on Bonbon. I like it so much, I want to frame it.

Check out Purple Sherbet beautifully captured by Nic (Strawberry Blonde) here.  

What: Ciaté nail Polish, in shade 'bonbon'
Where: a decent place which sells Marie Claire Magazines
How much: £3.70

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Free Benefit and Ciate in Magazines start tomorrow

This is your 24 hour reminder about some fabulous magazine freebies available from tomorrow, 31 May 2012. Grab the July 2012 Edition of Marie Claire Magazine (£3.70) and get a free ciate nail polish worth £9. The shades to choose from are Bonbon, Jelly Bean and Purple Sherbet. I am not sure which shade is which from this shady scan but I really fancy trying the greige purple number! I will make a definite purchasing decision when I will be able to see the bottle in real life.







More freebies did you ask? Buy the July 2011 Edition of Glamour Magazine (£2.00) also out tomorrow, 31 May 2012 and get a free benefit primer sample/travel size (to choose from That Gal or Porefessional) and a mascara. Expect a stampede for this one and don't delay your trip to your newsagent if you want one of those. I predict a riot on the primers and a mountain of unwanted bad gal lash mascara (I have yet to read a positive review about the mascara). I was impressed by the that gal primer during my makeover so I really want to get one. I prefer using nanoblur on my pores but the porefessional is so smoothing, I am tempted to get one of these as well.

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My fair lady after dark - nails of the day and night

After kicking myself metaphorically in the shins for having missed the gorgeous Ciaté 'kitten heels' nail polish as part of the Glossy Box Subscription Service this month, when I saw that Marie Claire was offering free Ciaté nail polishes on purchase of their magazine this month, I didn't want to run the risk of missing out on something potentially special. If you are resident of the UK and purchase the September issue of Marie Claire (£3.60) you can get your hands on 2 free polishes from Ciaté: a nude polish called My Fair Lady and a dark purple called, called 'Wait until Dark'.



 

 
I enclose a picture of the magazine to make sure: please do not get confused with another magazine with Jessie James on it, also wearing a dark top with stars on..


This was my first experience with Ciaté polishes and the first thing which caught my eye was the elegance of the packaging. I love the shape of the bottle and the cute bow on it and this is definitely a polish I would want to leave around and display because it's too pretty for words. I first tried 'My Fair Lady'. Well, they really were not kidding when they used the term 'fair' to name this shade. Perhaps they should have called 'sheer blouse' as this polish is extremely sheer.



 

My photos show 3 generous coats of 'My fair lady' and I am not sure 5 would have given me the opacity I want. The shade is very pretty and delicate but for me this polish is not working as it is unfortunately too sheer. Application was an absolute dream which makes it even more a shame.






'Wait until Dark' is a different kettle of fish altogether and much more my style. Application was again absolutely flawless and I reached opacity after 2 generous coats. The polish applied very smoothly, no hint of streakiness, bubbles, like butter on a toast without the delicious smell (argh, I've just made myself hungry for toast).






Wearing this polish makes me feel elegant, sexy and polished and not too vampirish. However it made me feel a little sad. This is definitely more a autumn/winter shade, and this is something I didn't want to think about since I've just started my 'summer' holidays.






I've enjoyed my first experience with Ciaté. These are definitely high quality polishes. If you like the colours, you won't be disappointed with the application and the finish. I have enjoyed swatching them to share the shades with you, but I now want to reach for a lurid lime green or yellow polish and enjoy the month of August to the full. Long live summer.


Will you be getting your hands on these shades of Ciaté polishes?

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