Over the last five or six years it's become a tradition of mine to count down the days 'til Christmas with a beauty Advent calendar. I love the daily ritual of opening a cardboard window, box, or drawer each day of Advent to find a beauty product waiting for me inside- it makes every day of December feel like Christmas morning!
I decided I wanted to go with a nail polish Advent calendar again this year as I enjoyed the experience so much last Christmas, and haven't treated myself to some new nail colours in ages. I was torn between Ciaté's and OPI's calendars, but eventually decided to go with OPI's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, as I found the nail shades the most irresistible.
The calendar arrived earlier this week, and I was so impressed with what I found inside that I just had to review it for you guys.
Before I start the review, please note this post contains spoilers and photos of the nail polishes you'll find in the calendar, so if you don't want to spoil the surprise for yourself, you may want to stop reading here. What I can tell you without giving anything away, is that this calendar is amazing, full of beautiful nail shades, and is well worth the purchase. If you are here for the spoilers, however, keep reading, and I'll tell you all you need to know.
So, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Advent calendar is part of OPI's new Christmas collection in collaboration with the upcoming Disney movie 'The Nutcracker and the Four Realms'.
This twenty-five day Advent calendar features twelve of the fifteen brand new limited edition Nutcracker nail shades which have been inspired by the colours of the four realms- The Land of Flowers, The Land of Snow, The Land of Sweets, and The Fourth Realm. It also includes thirteen popular classic OPI nail colours, including shades from last year's wintry Iceland collection, so there's an almost perfect balance of new and classic nail shades waiting for you inside.
There are festive reds, delicate pinks, icy whites, decadent golds, mesmerising blues, and so much more, providing you with something for every mood, outfit, and occasion to keep your nails looking fabulous throughout the Christmas season- and beyond.
The twelve nail shades included from The Nutcracker collection are:
♥ Berry Fairy Fun
♥ Black to Reality
♥ Candied Kingdom
♥ Dancing Keeps Me On My Toes
♥ Dazzling Dew Drop
♥ Dreams Need Clara-Fication
♥ Envy the Adventure
♥ Ginger's Revenge
♥ Lavendare To Find Courage
♥ March in Uniform
♥ Tinker, Thinker, Winker?
♥ Toying With Trouble
And the thirteen classic colours include:
♥ Alpine Snow
♥ A-Rose At Dawn... Broke By Noon.
♥ Aurora Berry-Alis
♥ Black Cherry Chutney
♥ Bogota Blackberry
♥ It's A Girl!
♥ Less Is Norse
♥ Princesses Rule!
♥ Reykjavik Has All The Hot Spots
♥ Samoan Sand
♥ Charged Up Cherry
♥ Suzi & The Arctic Fox
♥ Berlin There Done That
The polishes also come in a selection of finishes, and include shades from the Infinite Shine, Gel Color, and Nail Lacquer OPI collections.
The calendar is filled with beautiful nail colours, although, it does contain a lot of pinks, reds, blues, and purples instead of covering a whole spectrum of colours, which may be good or bad depending on the kind of nail shades you like to wear. Reds are my favourite nail shades, and I also enjoy painting my nails in all the colours of the rainbow, so I do love the polishes in this calendar... but it would've been nice to have just a little more variety. I think eight pink polishes in one calendar is quite excessive- even if they are all different. Still, I'm looking forward to trying them all, and I'm sure I'll wear all but the nudes to death. I'm particularly excited to try the festive reds and that gorgeous green, which are the main reason I chose this calendar over Ciaté's; they look stunning, and perfect for wearing over the festive season.
Each bottle of nail polish inside this year's Advent calendar is an OPI 3.5ml mini, so if you were hoping the calendar was filled with full-sized OPI nail polishes, you may be disappointed. Yes, these mini polishes are small in size, but they look so cute, and they're the perfect size for popping in your handbag or suitcase to use on the go. I'm not sure how many manicures each bottle gives (does anyone know the answer?), but I'd estimate at least half a dozen two-coaters, if not more, so you still get a lot of manicures for your money. I think this calendar is a great way to try lots of new shades, especially if you want to decide which colours you like before you commit to a full sized bottle, as they are quite expensive.
My only bug-bear is that the names of the shades aren't printed on the bottles, which could make it difficult to identify the correct shade if you want to reorder a polish once you've used it up. The names are printed on the back of the packaging, but without images to help you identify which is which, that might not solve the problem for some of the shades.
My only bug-bear is that the names of the shades aren't printed on the bottles, which could make it difficult to identify the correct shade if you want to reorder a polish once you've used it up. The names are printed on the back of the packaging, but without images to help you identify which is which, that might not solve the problem for some of the shades.
The calendar itself is crafted from thin but sturdy cardboard, and features images from The Nutcracker and the Four Realms movie. The front of the packaging features an image of Mackenzie Foy (young Murph from Interstellar) as Clara, dressed in a blue gown in front of a palace lined with soldiers and a mesmerising sky that looks like an oil painting.
The golden edged calendar then opens on a hinge to reveal twenty-five numbered windows, each in numerical order, with a background of the palace flanked with soldiers and lanterns lighting the way towards the doors. It's a beautiful design, but as I've not yet seen the movie, I can't say it wows me. I think you'd have to have seen the movie and get some context to really appreciate the imagery.
Overall, my first impressions of the OPI Advent calendar are almost entirely positive, and I'm so glad I chose it to countdown to Christmas with this year. The nail colours are stunning, and I think it was definitely worth the purchase. I can't wait for December 1st to arrive so I can start opening the windows, and begin wearing them all!
I'll be giving you a closer look at each polish (with swatches) over on Instagram every day of Advent, so make sure you're following me on Instagram if you'd like to follow along.
The OPI The Nutcracker and The Four Realms Advent calendar retails for £59.95, although I found it from Candy Shop Cosmetics for just £47.95 (with free delivery)! Delivery took about six working days, it was well packaged, and I also got a free mini OPI nail polish in my parcel, so I'd definitely recommend them.
You can also purchase the calendar from John Lewis, Nail Polish Direct, Sephora, and 123 Hair and Beauty,
Will you be treating yourself to a beauty Advent calendar this year, or will you be going with something a little more traditional?
P.S. For more beauty Advent calendars, check out my full beauty Advent calendar round up for 2018, which includes over 200 of this year's calendars!
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