Essie: Secret Stash

I loveeeeeeeeeeeeee this polish. I don't usually go for pinks, but this is just so bright and cheery. The perfect Barbie pink. And it's a jelly... so squishy Barbie. J'adore.

Though, you have to work for the jelly-ness. This was at least 4, possibly 5 coats. 

I found this on clearance at my Ulta, so if you're into pinks and don't have this one - grab it while you can!

Essie: Dive Bar

Here is one of the Essie polishes I grabbed when I saw the display at Walmart. I was really expecting to love love love this polish. But it seems a little mediocre to me. It is probably because I'm tired of dark polishes. I just wish this had more glitter, more sparkle, more something. More blue and green shimmer. I don't know. I just want more. Don't get me wrong, it is very pretty. Hopefully I will grow to love it. 

On a side note - omg it is soooo hot here. It was 80 degrees yesterday. I want the winter to last just a little longer. 

Essie: Chinchilly

Here is the first polish I grabbed when I saw the Essie display at Walmart. I've been meaning to add Essie Chinchilly to my orders on 8ty8 or Transdesign or whatever, but I never remember to. So when I saw it, I knew I had to have it. And I'm super glad I do. I love these dirty neutral colors. I've seen some pictures online where Chinchilly pulls very green. And I have to say that I did not have that issue at all (although I really wanted it to pull green). I still think its pretty when it looks like a very deep grey with a tiny hint of purple and brown like it does on me. 

The gorgeous grey color of this polish reminds me of the millions of cranes we have in Fl this time of the year. Here are a few that were in my yard today. They scare the shit out of my cats, which is always funny to watch. 

Periwinkle Comparison

In these pictures my first two fingers (on the left) are Essie Lapis of Luxury and the two fingers on the right are China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le. Honestly in these photos you can't even tell that the Essie polish has a jelly-like consistency. They look extremely similar, although China Glaze may be a bit blue-er and a bit brighter, whereas the Essie seems a little washed out. But honestly these are really minute differences. Plus, the China Glaze polish is not only cheaper, but it is a part of China Glaze's core line - so it can be found at any Sally's store. Plus the formula is 109728109230498 times better. I really hated the Essie resort collection. Both this polish and Turquoise and Caicos were really watery, sheer, and uncontrollable (in my opinion). They were just too hard to work with.

Essie: Lapis of Luury

Here is Lapis of Luxury from Essies 2010 Spring/Resort Collection. It is a really pretty color, but it is way too similar to China Glaze's Secret Peri-wink-le. I'll post a comparison in a second. 

Essie: Going Incognito

I love this polish! I think it is a gorgeous blue-leaning green creme. I love the teal nature of it. It really makes it unique, in my opinion. Go get it, if you can. I grabbed the last one at one of my Ulta's and when I went to the other Ulta in my area the Essie winter collection was almost completely gone. 

Essie: Turquoise and Caicos

Here is a polish from the Essie Resort 2010 collection which came out this past spring. It really is a crappy formula. Super sheer, balding spots that are hard to get rid of, and a long dry time all come together to create a trifecta of crappiness. But there is one redeeming quality - the color. I love the color. But a very very similar color is China Glaze For Audrey. And I never have any formula or application issues with For Audrey. So for me, it is a no brainer to go with the China Glaze. The only color difference really is that Turquoise and Caicos has a tiny bit more of a greenish tint. It reminds me a little bit of mint chocolate chip ice cream in these pictures. And another difference is that this polish is pretty jelly-like whereas For Audrey is a straight up creme. 

I am in the For Audrey court. Has anyone else compared the two? If you have, what do you think??

Essie: Velvet Voyeur

Here is a gorgeous color from Essie's fall collection, Velvet Voyeur. I actually purchased this a while ago and was putting off trying it on because I was afraid it would stain like crazy, but it didnt! Which was pleasantly surprising. I really love the color. I found it a wee bit tricky to put on and get even coats. Jellys are annoying in that sense, because I hate hate hate bald spots. But a third coat covered everything up and it looked phenomenal in my opinion. Very dark and vampy, yet still purple (actually I felt it was very purply/brown. Like eggplant or something). I'm loving Essie's new polishes. I still hate the Spring 2010 resort collection because those polishes sucked, but it was totally unfair for me to judge the whole company based on two polishes. 

I desperately need Smokin Hot. I'm hopefully going Monday to Ulta if I can get a ride. Sadly, since I sprained my ankle I haven't been able to drive my own car (which is a manual and involved clutching). So... if I don't get rides or borrow an automatic I am pretty much stuck at home. Big sad face. I hope I get better soon. 

Essie: In Stitches

Well here are some pictures from my least favorite polish of the Essie Fall 2010 collection. In Stitches is a muted dusty pink. I thought it looked fabulous when Emerald Sparkled wore it. And because of that I didn't believe Scrangie when she called it a grandmother color, but I was a fool to doubt her. It absolutely is. And the polish looked really strange and didn't end up smooth, but I'm probably to blame because I put lotion on shortly after putting the polish on. Anyhoo, I don't like the color. But it would probably be good for some nail art. Here are the pics, 

And in the shade. I like it better in the shade/indoors. But that doesn't really make up for me disliking it the rest of the time. I took this off after a few hours. 

Essie Sew Psyched Wear Test Results

Well, to be honest this polish wore pretty well. Something I frankly wasn't expecting after my last experience with Essie. This was after almost 3 days of wear. Unfortunately I just couldn't wearing the same polish any longer and had to change it up. 

You can see the tip wear on my dominant hand here. 

But on my non-dominant hand, there was not even the tiniest bit of wear. 

Overall: awesome! I love this polish set. Go get it! 

Essie: Merino Cool

Here is another polish from Essie's Fall 2010 collection, Merino Cool. This is one in a very long line of purpley taupes that have become very popular recently, but that's cool cause I really like it. Unlike Sew Psyched, in which I detected a bit of shimmer, I really think this is a pretty basic creme. The formula on these is great, again, it makes me feel foolish for discounting Essie for all those months. I think it makes my hands look dirty though, but oh well. It screams fall to me, which is awesome since we Floridians have to live vicariously through people on TV who actually experience a season between summer and winter. Anyway, onto the pics. 

Yes, lovely and fabulous, I know. Enjoy!

Current Reading:  Maya Jasanoff's Edge of Empire: Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East 1750-1850.
It may sound kind of boring, but it is actually really awesome.