I have been a huge lover of Essie polishes for a while now. Everything I look for in a polish, Essie caters for. Now, I myself, can't justify paying £7+ for a nail polish. My purse strings wouldn't let me, unfortunately. However, I have luckily came across some local stalls that will feed me my addiction, at a fraction of the price. A mere £1.99! I know many online retailers sell discounted Essie polishes, which are only discounted as they are out of season! They include Fragrance Direct and Xtras. I am so impatient when it comes to any online shopping, so I am super grateful I can get many of the shades of these sites, in my hand the same day. There has been a few shades I am not particularly keen on, but for the price of an Essie nail polish, I really cannot say no.
I have so far accumulated 9 shades, which I was quite surprised about. I really would like a lovely nail polish rack to display these in, as I have started to expand my little collection! Some things I would like to point out, is each polish has it's pros and cons, which I will review. There is one shade I have yet to try, and I think I am going to pair it with L'Oreal's Confetti Top Coat, to break the colour up a bit. I also own one polish, with which I believe is their older brush. The rest have the signature flat, rounded brush. So, onto the shades!
Sugar Daddy
This is the very first Essie polish I ever bought. I was so excited to find an Essie polish, I didn't even care of the shade! Sugar Daddy is a very sheer pink shade. Ideal to use as a French manicure, or if your nails need to look polished, but you aren't a fan of colour. This does take up to 3-4 thin coats to have an opaque result, although if that's what you're looking for, I would suggest seeking another formula out of their range, with a similar colour.
Neo Whimsical
Now, without a doubt, this is my favourite all time shade. I have actually worn this numerous times, and had lovely compliments on it. I rarely reapply the same shade so soon after wearing it, but I adore this. In the bottle, it looks like a very muted nude. Almost a white with a touch of nude. On your nails, it transforms into something else. It's almost a muted pink, lavender in certain lights. A very difficult shade to describe, although I love to wear this for a professional look, something demure. The formulation is lovely to work with. Two thin coats and you're good to go.
We're In It Together
This is a shade I knew I didn't really need, but I had all the other shades in stock, and I was craving a new one. This is a light pink, with a pearlescent finish, with blues and purples running through it. As beautiful as it looks in the bottle, this does not transfer onto the nails very well. This requires 2-3 thin coats for an opaque finish.
Off The Shoulder
This has to be my second favourite and first favourite for summer colour! It's a gorgeous girly pink, with no shimmer. I have worn this a few times and I am in love with every application. The formulation of this one is thicker than the rest, so you can get away with one good coat, or again 2 thin coats.
Bikini So Teeny
It wasn't until after I purchased this, I seen online swatches as it floated around my blog reader. This is a light blue/lilac in certain lights, with the finely milled shimmer running through, in silver. However on me, this shimmer does not transfer, which I don't really find as the shade is so pretty, soft and pastel like. This polishes formulation is similar to the one above.
Navigate Her
I believe this is another one of the first ones I picked up, and not my favourite. I was obsessed with the fact I could get Essie, so I wanted every shade the stall had available. This is a pale green. An odd shade at that. I have worn it possibly twice. Application wise, this is the poor of the lot, in my opinion, It's a very thin formula, although does apply opaque with one application. It's one of those that shows your ridges in your nails, if you haven't used a filler prior.
Mojito Madness
I have yet to try this one. I have had it for a few months now. I'm not particularly keen on the shade in the bottle, however, I have seen swatches online, and it doesn't look terrible. This is a good colour to have if you like nail art. This is the shade I believe I will air with the confetti top coat, to give it some dimension. It does look perfect for summer, though!
Orange, It's Obvious
At the time of purchasing this, the stall hadn't restocked in a while, and they had this shade and some I already owned, available. I thought I may as well pick it up and I might be able to find a use for it. In the bottle, it is super orange, like neon orange. This is what scared me slightly. However, with the little burst of summer we had, I broke it out. It's not actually that bright on the nail, so it's bright and wearable for summer. I imagine with a white base, this would really pop!
Very Structured
Finally, my least favourite. A poor one to end the post on. This was one of the first I purchased, around last autumn. The shade seemed appropriate. It's like a burnt orange/brown shade? Again, difficult to describe. I don' believe this is the most flattering shade, and probably only suitable for autumn or nail art. I have the old brush in this polish, which is just a straight and thin brush. I struggle to create a neat finish, as the newer brushes have a flat, rounder brush, which makes it perfect to curve around the cuticles.
So, that is my lengthy blog post on my current Essie collection. I do love some of their current summer shades. With my experience with their discontinued polishes, if the shade is perfect for me and the formulation is what I like, I probably would purchase one full price, as I do reach for these every time I paint my nails. We shall see!
At the moment, Fragrance Direct are selling a few of the shades I have reviewed here (
link).
If you're interested in seeing swatches, let me know. You can also check out my Instagram:
@LuceeLoves, as I swatch on their as soon as I have painted my nails!
What is your favourite Essie shade?
Lucee Loves.
xxx
