Essie "Lady Like" Swatch + Review

Essie "Lady Like"

 And my Essie obsession continues. Today I am doing an NOTD feat. the lovely Essie "Lady Like". After rocking the almost obnoxiously bright nail polish  Essie "The More The Merrier" for the past week, I felt that I needed something a bit more subdued on my nails. I've said this before and I'll say it again but Essie is the master of the neutral nail polish. If I want something natural and subtle, I will almost always turn to Essie. Lady Like is essentially a purple-brown nude. It is noticeable darker than my other favorite nude from Essie--"Sand Tropez"--but it is still a lovely nude. It would be a great color to look into if Essie "Sand Tropez" is still a little too light for your skin tone. 

Essie "Lady Like"

I first heard about this shade from the lovely and knowledgeable MissGlamorazzi on YouTube. And at first, I'm going to be honest, I wasn't that impressed with the color. It was nice but I didn't think it was something that I needed to add to my collection. But then I kept seeing it everywhere--on beauty blogs, in magazines, and from other beauty gurus on YouTube. I finally cracked and bought "Lady Like" because I thought it would compliment the dress that I'd picked out for my cousin's wedding. In the past year I've gotten so much use out of this shade. It is something that I tend to reach for when I need to look professional and polished--like interviews, award banquets, or other formal events. I also love wearing accent glitter with this polish--I recommend OPI "Princesses Rule!" or Essie "Set in Stone". In conclusion, this is a lovely nude polish that might be a better alternative for those looking to avoid the mannequin hand look that can sometimes be a happen with more traditional beige nude polishes. 

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Essie "The More the Merrier" Swatch + Review

Essie "The More the Merrier" Swatch + Review

 I think it's official. I'm having a moment of Essie obsession. Two weeks ago, in celebration of my 20th birthday, I picked up three Essie nail polishes at Target--as you can probably guess "The More the Merrier" was one of them. Click here to see the other two colors I picked up. But my obsession doesn't end there. On Friday I posted My Essie Nail Polish Collection blog post and today I'm going to review this stunning shade from one of my favorite nail polish brands.

Essie "The More the Merrier"

Essie released "The More the Merrier" in their 2013 Summer Collection. It was love at first sight. I own quite a few green nail polishes but they're all dark colors that I wear a lot in the fall and winter. "The More the Merrier" is the perfect lime green color. A few years ago I never would've picked up a color like this but recently I've been enjoying bolder nail polish colors--especially for summer. This is one of those colors that EVERYONE will notice. As an added bonus for any fellow Washington citizens this color is perfect for Seattle Seahawks or Seattle Sounders nail art. 

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My Essie Nail Polish Collection: Photos + Reviews

Happy Friday everyone! We did it! After two weeks of silence I'm back and better than ever. On Wednesday I published a post about my favorite new spring/summer Essie nail polishes. That was so well received that I thought I'd celebrate and share my Essie Nail Polish Collection. OPI is my true nail polish love but Essie is a close second. Essie has an AMAZING range of colors that only gets better and better with each collection they release. Essie colors cab be bright and bold or subtle and timeless. Essie literally has a color that will please everyone--for a semi-affordable price. What's not to love?

My Essie Nail Polish Collection

Here is a quick overview of my collection. I was able to split the shades into four categories: neutrals, brights, berries, and blue/greens. I will go through each group one by one and give each polish a quickie review (if you want to hear more about a certain color, I've linked to full reviews). I promise to try to be brief. Okay, let's get started. 

My Essie Collection: Set in Stone, Sand Tropez, Buy Me A Cameo, Lady Like, Figi

 Before Essie was known for their bold and bright polishes, they were the master of neutral polishes--especially their wide range of baby pink polishes. Starting from the left, Set in Stone is a glitter polish that I received in my Birchbox months ago. It is a beautiful color to give a manicure a little extra bling. Sand Tropez  is the only nude polish I wear. It is a great polish for a polished and subtle look--but it doesn't give me mannequin hands. The search for the perfect nude is a hard one and I highly recommend this one. Buy Me a Cameo is a shimmery dark nude. I wear this color to formal events like weddings or graduations. It's a subtle glamour. Lady Like is the purple side of nude. It is an interesting color but I don't find myself reaching for it very often. I prefer Sand Tropez or Buy Me a Cameo. And last but not least, Figi. This color is an Essie legend. Everyone loves Figi and for good reason. It is the perfect baby pink color. It does take A LOT of coats but if you're patient, the end product is stunning. 

My Essie Collection: Lilacism, Van D'Go, Tart Deco, Cute As A Button, Pansy

 Now onto the pastels and the brights. Lilacism is another Essie legend. It is the original lilac nail polish that almost all beauty bloggers own and love. In recent years almost every brand from Maybelline to OPI has released a similar shade. Lilacism is a lovely color but there are less expensive optionis out there. Van D'Go is a perfect creamsicle orange. The first time I wore it I was a little wary but the more I wore the color, the more I love it. It isn't available at drugstores but many salons like Ulta still have this limited edition polish in stock. Tart Deco, another limited edition color and another favorite. Even when I abhorred orange nail polish, I loved this one. If you are hesitant about orange nail polish, try this one. Cute As A Button has recently received a lot of attention on the blog-o-sphere and I can say that it is well deserved. Check it out the next time you're at your local drugstore. Pansy is a medium pink color. Quite honestly I forgot that I had this color in my collection. It is a nice color but nothing special. I can think of a half-dozen polishes that are very similar. 

My Essie Collection: Splash of Grenadine, No Boundaries, Watermelon, Head Mistress, Scarlet O'Hara

 Now, the berry polishes. The first up is Splash of Grenadine. As you can see from how much I've used up, this polish is well loved. It falls somewhere in between a purple and a pink. This color is perfect for spring and summer. No Boundaries is a shade that I've recently rediscovered. It doesn't look like much in the bottle but on the nails, it's exquisite. Watermelon as the name suggest this polish is the bright pink of summer's favorite fruit. It is lovely but it isn't anything terribly unique. Head Mistress is a color that has a funny story. I bought it mostly because I was looking for a great winter color. I thought it was perfect because it's very similar to the burgundy color of  Gryffindor and since McGonagall was Head Mistress after Snape, I thought it was extremely fitting. I bought Scarlet O'Hara because I'm a little bit obsessed with Gone with the Wind. I think Rhett and Scarlet's relationship is so iconic (although I think the movie is way too long to watch in one sitting). Every beauty junkie needs a nail polish named after the only woman who can pull off a dress made of curtains.

My Essie Collection: Wrapped in Rubies, Mojito Madness, Turquoise & Caicos, Borrowed & Blue, Dive Bar

And last but not least, the blue greens. The first polish, Wrapped in Rubies, is a gift from my aunt. I'd been lusting after this color for months before she was kind enough to give it to me. It is a lovely duo-chrome red/gold nail polish. It is a color that I love to wear in the fall and winter because it will go with everything. Mojito Madness is the only true green that I own and I love it. It looks wonderful in the spring and I especially love accenting my ring finger with a white and green chevron design. It looks so chic and modern. A lot of women are hesitant to wear green nail polish. So if you're rocking this color during the summer, you won't have to worry about someone matching you. Turquoise & Caicos is another one of those Essie legends. When it was released it was ALL OVER YouTube and beauty blogs. You know why? Because at the time there was nothing like it. Even now, I can't think of any dupes. This color is bold and perfect for the beach. Borrowed & Blue was released ages ago in one of Essie's bridal collections. I don't know if I would ever wear blue nail polish to my wedding but I have no problem wearing it everywhere. I've used almost the entire bottle and I don't think this color is available anymore. Sigh. It really is something special. I picked up  Dive Bar after I saw Amarixe's blog post about this nail polish ages ago. It looked so good on her. And I've learned that this girl knows a thing or two about nail polish. Whenever she recommends a nail polish I know I can trust her opinion. 

My Essie Nail Polish Collection

My Essie Nail Polish Collection

And that was my Essie Nail Polish Collection! I did recently buy three shades from the Essie 2013 Spring and Summer Collections but I decided not to include them because they threw off my organizing system. But you can click here to check them out! I hope you enjoyed this. Leave a comment below if you want to me do a similar post with my OPI or Julep or Sephora by OPI polishes.

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New Spring/Summer Essie Nail Polishes: Favorites + Photos

New Spring + Summer Essie Nail Polishes

In celebration of the end of the school year (and the 20th anniversary of my being alive) I decided that it was time to pick up some nail polishes that would be perfect for the next three months of heat, snow cones, and relaxation. Essie always has the best collections available at the drugstore. I always see them at Target or when I'm flipping through a magazine and I know that I have to have them all. Unfortunately my budget can't handle all buying all ten shades released from Essie in their 2013 Resort and Summer Collections--not to mention all the drool-worthy shades in the Neon Collection. So I picked up three colors. 

New Spring/Summer Essie Nail Polishes: In the Cab-ana, Naughty Nautical, and The More the Merrier

New Spring + Summer Essie Nail Polishes: The More the Merrier, Naughty Nautical, and In the Cab-ana

I think my nail polish choices are reflecting my subconscious desire to go to the beach. Wouldn't you agree? The first color I picked up was the light blue cream polish called "In the Cab-ana". I heard so many fantastic things about this polish from bloggers and beauty YouTubers that it would have been impossible for me not to look at it during my next Target run. Spoiler alert: It's a stunning color. You should check it out on your next Target run too. I don't think you'll be disappointed. "In the Cab-ana" was the only color I picked up from the 2013 Resort Collection. The other colors were nice but I felt that I had similar colors in my collection already. 

The next color I picked up was the bright lime green cream polish called "The More the Merrier". It is like nothing I have in my collection (and considering how large my nail polish collection is--that's pretty impressive). I have a few green polishes but they're all dark forest greens. Perfect for fall but for summer I wanted something a bit more daring. In the pictures the color is showing up a bit yellow but in real life I guarantee that it is a true lime green--this would be perfect for any Seattle Seahawks or Seattle Sounders fans out there. Unfortunately it was a gloopy application. And finally, the last color I bought--a medium seaform polish with silver glitter called "Naughty Nautical". This is the only color that I haven't worn and so I can't speak to the consistency of the product but from what I've seen it's a gorgeous color but the glitter isn't that obvious unless you look very, very closely. Which is kind of a bummer. These two shades were both recently released in Essie's 2013 Summer Collection. 

New Spring + Summer Essie Nail Polishes: The More the Merrier, Naughty Nautical, and In the Cab-ana

New Spring + Summer Essie Nail Polishes: The More the Merrier, Naughty Nautical, and In the Cab-ana

 There are seven more colors that Essie released in their Spring and Summer 2013 Collections but these were the shades that I felt were the most unique. I'm also lusting after "Sunday Funday", "The Girls Out There", and "Rock the Boat" from the Summer 2013 Collection. Summer is long from over, so I might end up picking up a few more colors. You never know. Which nail polishes are you wearing this summer? Leave a comment below! 

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Essie "No Boundaries" Swatch + Review

Essie "No Boundaries"

As the weather has been getting warmer, my nail polish choices have been getting brighter. "No Boundaries" is one of my favorite Essie polishes. It is so bold and bright. I love to give this color as a gift because it looks great with almost any skin tone and it tends to be a hard color to find if you don't know where to look. I have had the most success at Ulta (because they seem to have almost every Essie polish imaginable). And as much as I hate the Essie brushes (they're too thin and difficult to work with), I will admit that Essie has the best range of colors for spring and summer. There is simply no competition. So if you are looking for some great colors to wear in celebration of the oncoming summer months, I would recommend checking out the wide range of colors Essie has to offer (including this one).

Essie "Buy Me a Cameo" Swatch + Review

 three coats, natural light

I picked up "Buy Me a Cameo" on a whim this past weekend. I've been eyeing this nail polish for a while now--my collection doesn't really have any natural colors in it. I'm more of a bright nail polish sort of person. But bright nail polish isn't always the most appropriate thing. The day I bought this polish I was reading a book and in the book a boy gives a girl a cameo necklace. And like the nail polish obsessed girl that I am, that got me thinking about this color. Before I knew it I was already at the cash register with the nail polish in my hands.

"Buy Me a Cameo" is a unique color. The only way I can think of describing it is as a metallic pink-nude. It is a super soft polish. I hardly notice it when I'm wearing it. And unless you look close, from a distance it looks like you are wearing a super, super shiny clear top coat. Sometimes it is nice to take a break from bold color. And Essie is the brand for natural or soft nail polish. I did have a bit of trouble applying it the first time [I had to reapply because I thought my nails were dry enough to take off my socks. They weren't.] I wore it. The formulation is very liquidy--which normally doesn't bother me--but if I applied the layers too thickly then the polish would dry with noticeable brush strokes rather than a smooth solid finish.

It didn't happen so much the second time I wore this nail polish but I think that is because I was conscious and made sure to do thin coats. I looked over some reviews and none of them mention this problem. Just be wary if you buy it.

What do you think of "Buy Me a Cameo"? Does anyone know what the name is about? Normally I can figure them out but this one is a head-scratcher. Leave a comment! Chat with me on twitter! Check out my second blog!

Essie "Tart Deco" Swatch + Review

Summer is finally here! And that means bright, bold, look-at-me nail polish. I hope Covergirl doesn't mind me borrowing their ad logo for a bit. But Tarte Deco is a beautiful shade from Essie's permanent line. It is a bright orange--very similar to OPI's Hot and Spicy. I wrote a review last summer saying that I thought that orange nail polish didn't suit my skin tone and that I would leave that color to someone else.
  

Since then I have changed my mind. This color in certain lights looks like almost a neon orange but in others it looks like a soft, creamscile orange. I like the seemingly versatility of this shade. It went on smooth and easy although it did begin to chip along the edge of the nail rather quickly, like around the two day mark. That was a little disappointing but that is easily fixed by wearing a good top coat-- I was testing out a new one and so far it hasn't impressed.
  

Lately I have been loving Essie polishes. I hate their brushes but they do make excellent pastels, pales, and bright colors that are simply fantastic. Don't be surprised if there are quite a few Essie posts in the future. 

Essie "Mojito Madness" Swatch + Review

two coats, natural light

 

Another NOTD! But summer is the time when I love taking the time to paint my nails all sorts of bright, fun colors. It really is the most relaxing thing to do. Normally I'm not a big fan of green nail polish and other than OPI "Jade is the New Black" and Julep "Courteney", this is my only green shade. But as soon as I saw this color sitting on the stand at Target with all the other colors from the new Essie summer collection I was imediately drawn to it.
    

It is a bright, not-quite-lime color. The only way I know how to describe it is like...a summer version of "Jade is the New Black". It is much lighter and it has a slightly blue undertone to it. Don't get me wrong--this color is very green color and I can't imagine wearing it in the winter months--but there is something so carefree and young about this color that I absolutely love it. I was pleasantly surprised by how opaque the color actually was. I probably could have gotten away with just one coat but I felt better adding a second--just to be sure. The second my sister saw this on my nails she painted hers to match. Twins!

    

Random sidenote: I just went to the Essie website to double check that I spelt "mojito" correctly. Good thing too because for some reason I thought that it was spelled "moquito". But in my defense I'm still two years away from being legally able to drink. So maybe it's not a bad thing that I would come in last place in a spelling bee featuring alcoholic beverages? Probably. What are some other summer polishes that you are LOVING this time of the year?

Essie Nice is Nice Swatch + Review

Another NOTD. It's about time. I recieved this nail polish courtesy of Apothica.com [thank you!] and here is the swatch. It is actually VERY similar to OPI's Rumple's Wiggin'--check out that swatch here--and Essie's Lilacism--I haven't posted the swatch but it's coming soon. You don't need all three. I would only get one.

But even though I have three bottles of essentially the same nail polish. I'm still in LOVE with this color. Lilac is the perfect subtle color for summer, fall, winter, and spring. Maybe I'm a bit biased because purple is my favorite color? But I'm glad that I found a dupe for Rumple's Wiggin' because it was limited edition.

The consistancy is so much better than Borrowed and Blue. It also lasted on my nails for a very long time. Which is an excellent thing because nobody likes chipped nails. No one! I just wish the Essie brushes were bigger...but I think that ship has sailed, no?

Buy Essie's Nice is Nice online or at your local Wal-Mart and Target!

Essie Van D'Go Swatch + Review

Removed one Essie polish and put on another. I really liked Nice is Nice but I needed a change. I've had Van D'Go for a while now but I was never motivated to try it on until I saw it on my little sister. It was the perfect summer color. Bright. Bold. Pretty. Until I put it on my nails.

I wish that it showed up in the photo but it is this pretty light peach in person. It is a lot more orange. And it is considerably louder. I tried to like it, I really did, but after only about half and hour I removed it. I DID take pictures so that I could share my thoughts with you. Maybe it will look better when my slight summer tan has worn off? If not, I will happily give it to my little sister because it looks great on her.

Please don't write of this polish because it didn't look good on my skin tone. It really goes to show that nail polish, like perfumes and foundations, is very subjective. But something that isn't subjective is the formulation. It was kind of gloopy and thick. Not as thick as Borrowed & Blue but not nearly as smooth as Nice is Nice. Those are the only two Essie polishes that I've tried before.