Filed In: Essie

Essie | Winter 2014 Collection

Essie Winter 2014 opener

 

At first glance, the colour selection of Essie’s Winter 2014 Collection might seem counterintuitive, but if we separate ‘Winter’ from ‘Holiday’, it starts to make sense. There’s white to represent snow and silver for all things tinsel – even a berry red that’s just so seasonally appropriate, but the other three? Well, let’s just say that when Winter has us in a major chokehold, those 3 warm-leaning hues will act as a getaway, as far as my nails are concerned.

 

Essie Winter 2014

Essie | Winter 2014 Collection

 

Essie Winter 2014 macro

Essie | Winter 2014 Collection

 

Essie Tuck It In My Tux swatch

Tuck It In My Tux | A semi-sheer ivory hue in a hybrid crème/jelly formula that applies relatively easy and leaves a glossy finish behind. Two coats provides a translucent effect, but you do need to load up your brush to ensure it falls patch-free. Beautiful on its own, Tuck It In My Tux will also work well as a sandwich shade (i.e.: added as a last layer over a glitter polish for a frosted-glass effect). Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat

 

Essie Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Lo swatch

Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Lo | A brilliant pewter foil/metallic hue with ultra fine bronze flecks that give off a slightly oxidized tone. Highly pigmented, this is basically a 1-coater, with the added advantage of applying in a self-levelling way as well as brush stroke-free. Bear in mind that Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Lo (get it? Jiggle Lo-gigolo. Right) dries fairly quickly, so I recommend you work fast and and with as steady a hand as you can. Coats applied: 2, no top coat

 

Essie Back In The Limo swatch

Back In The Limo | A semi-sheer blush/apricot hue in a hybrid crème/jelly formula. Application is self-levelling and comes to an über-glossy finish, to compliment its plush cushiony tone (looks so squishy/juicy). Two thick-ish coats gives decent coverage, although still somewhat translucent. Even the addition of a 3rd coat doesn’t turn Back In The Limo fully opaque, but provides pretty solid coverage. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat

 

Essie Bump Up The Pumps swatch

Bump Up The Pumps | A highly colour saturated & ridiculously pigmented pink-based coral crème hue. Self-levelling and glossy at the finish, Bump Up The Pumps is definitely a 1-coat wonder, although I would advise you to not skip applying base coat first, to eliminate any possible staining issues. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

 

Essie Double Breasted Jacket swatch

Double Breasted Jacket | Another exceptionally colour saturated shade, this is an intense fuchsia hue in a crème format, with blue undertones in the base for a cooler-leaning touch. The formula on Double Breasted Jacket falls a little thick but does not interfere with its application, and as with the previous shade, I advise not skipping base coat here either, to ensure your nails stay stain-free. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

 

Essie Jump In My Jumpsuit swatch

Jump In My Jumpsuit | A rich berry red crème hue with blue undertones in the base, in a superbly flowing and easy to apply formula. Super pigmented and highly colour saturated, Jump In My Jumpsuit applies in a self-levelling way and leaves a brilliant finish behind. Note: Do not avoid base coat first, to avoid any potential staining. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

 

Essie Winter 2014 Collection nail wheel

The above nail wheel has the shades of Essie’s Winter 2014 Collection broken down with comparisons:

  1. Tuck It In My Tux
  2. Minimalistic – extremely close both in colour and in texture, a couple of degrees dustier-looking
  3. Blanc – opaque, crème format, whitest
  4. Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Lo
  5. Hors D’Oeuvres – similar underlying base, glitter larger and more olive-hued
  6. Back In The Limo
  7. Resort Fling – similar texture, several degrees deeper & peachier
  8. Tart Deco – opaque, crème format, darkest in the range
  9. Bump Up The Pumps
  10. Cute As A Button – sheerest, jelly hybrid formula, more pink based
  11. Sunday Funday – base hue is similar, sheerer, holds a fine silver shimmer
  12. Double Breasted Jacket
  13. Watermelon – almost identical, a degree or two lighter, a touch less blue based
  14. Style Hunter – slightly more sheer, similar blue base tone
  15. Wife Goes On – sheerer, dustier tone, less blue based
  16. Jump In My Jumpsuit
  17. Head Mistress – a few degrees brighter
  18. Size Matters – deepest and more red-leaning

 

Surprising, is the best way to describe this collection. Far from the traditional hues associated with Winter, Essie’s take on the season is one that’s full of vigorous colour – a festive collection, in fact, with nary a brooding shade in sight. I adore Tuck It In My Tux – despite its slightly finicky nature, and I’m weirdly drawn to the almost searing tone of Double Breasted Jacket. Metallic nails are so on point this year, and Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Lo bears a fab application to go with the provocative name. Back In The Limo scores major points for being unique, especially in my collection of polishes – something that doesn’t happen often. As I said at the start: surprising … just like all proper gifts should be.

 

Essie Winter 2014 closer

 

 

 

Kindly provided by Essie for my unbiased consideration

Runway Beauty Bar event | Essie’s first Canadian Flagship Store

Runway Beauty Bar opener

 

This past August, I was privileged to be one of the select few media to be invited to a very special event held at Essie’s first flagship store, Runway Beauty Bar, located here in my hometown of Montréal. Apart from being in my element (as in: surrounded by endless rows of nail polish), we were treated to previews of Essie’s Winter 2014 Collection as well as the 2 latest lacquers to join the Essie Luxe Effects Collection – all of which will launch in stores this November (reviews will be up soon). The highlight of the evening for me, was in meeting up with my girl, Rita Remark, lead nail artist for Essie Canada and a woman who is not only a drop-dead stunning beauty, but one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

With my baby champagne bottle by my side (how fabulous are those blue POP bottles?) and piles of sweet treats to choose from – including personalized Essie Cookie pops from Sweet Isabelle, I selected ‘Tuck it in my Tux‘ – an ivory jelly-like crème hue for my mani, and Rita put in her trademark magic touch by using ‘Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Lo‘ (get it? LOL) – an antiqued silver ultra fine shimmer, and ran it slightly up the nails from the tips, creating a unique icicle effect. I loved it so much, that I kept the look on for days!

Located at Complexe Les Ailes, Runway Beauty Bar offers amazing mani/pedi sessions that you can basically customize, depending on how much time you have to indulge, with the full range of Essie lacquers to choose from including the gel polishes – as well as several other treatments, including threading, waxing, lash extensions & lash perms/tinting.

A special mention goes out to both Katie and Claudia – thank you so incredibly much for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful event!

 

Runway Beauty Bar 1

Champagne just totally goes with Essie, no?

 

Runway Beauty Bar 2

Essie Winter 2014 Collection

 

Runway Beauty Bar 3

Essie Winter 2014 Colletion

 

Runway Beauty Bar 4

Essie Luxe Effects: Summit of Style (bronze) & Rock At The Top (gold)

 

Runway Beauty Bar 5

Essie Luxe Effects: Summit of Style (bronze) & Rock At The Top (gold)

 

Runway Beauty Bar 6

Essie exclusive hand treatments, available through salons/spas

 

Runway Beauty Bar 7

Getting the royal treatment from Rita Remark

 

Runway Beauty Bar 8

 

Runway Beauty Bar mani 1

 Cameo appearance of my customized Sapphô cuff by Kim Smiley

 

Runway Beauty Bar mani 2

My ‘icicle mani’ – love, love, love!

 

Runway Beauty Bar mani 3

 

Runway Beauty Bar 9

the sweet table (with a double dose of yours truly)

 

Runway Beauty Bar 10

 

Runway Beauty Bar 11

 

Runway Beauty Bar 12

 

Runway Beauty Bar 13

Triple threat: Champagne, cookie pops, & Essie

 

Runway Beauty Bar Rita

Seriously, how gorgeous is Rita?

 

Runway Beauty Bar Rita 2

Manadatory ‘mani’ shot ….

 

Runway Beauty Bar group

We all apparently got the memo to wear white: Claudia, Katie, myself & Rita

 

Runway Beauty Bar closer

 

Essie Bridal 2014 Collection

Essie Bridal 2014 opener

 

In honour of wedding season, Essie has once again released a small and beautifully curated little collection, Bridal 2014. Consisting of 4 delicate hues, this soft grouping may not be outrageous colour-wise, but is absolutely spot-on for those who want understated elegance.

 

Essie Bridal 2014

Essie Bridal 2014 Collection

 

Essie Bridal 2014 macro

Essie Bridal 2014 Collection

 

She Said Yes – A semi sheer off-white hue with ultra fine silver shimmer, that somehow manages to stay visible even in low lighting. This shade may need 3 coats to reach full opacity, but it’s absolutely worth it for the gorgeous and super glossy finish it provides. One of few white colours that will NOT look stark upon the nails – LOVE! Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat

 

Essie She Said Yes swatch

Essie Bridal 2014 – She Said Yes

 

Got Engaged – A dusty ballet-slipper pink with what looks like finely ground silver and baby pink shimmer. The formula is semi-sheer upon first application, but manages to offer slightly more opacity that She Said Yes. Self-levelling and ending with a high-gloss shine, this particular shade of pink will suit both warm and cool skin tones equally. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat

 

Essie Got Engaged swatch

Essie Bridal 2014 – Got Engaged

 

Meet the Parents – (All I can think of with this name, is Ben Stiller/Robert DeNiro …!) A muted baby blue with greyish undertones, in a jellyesque formula. Application is ridiculously easy – self-levelling, a plush cushiony look, and ending with a super-high glossy shine. I so totally love this! Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

 

Essie Meet The Parents swatch

Essie Bridal 2014 – Meet the Parents

 

Love Every Minute – A true (but slightly warm-leaning) pink hue in a similar jelly-like formula as that of Meet the Parents. For those with pale skin tones, this will definitely appear to have coralish undertones and thus look much darker worn, but still wearable just the same. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat

 

Essie Love Every Minute swatch

Essie Bridal 2014 – Love Every Minute

 

The word to best describe this collection, is: demure. Interestingly enough, I am quite drawn to all 4 of these shades – perhaps because it’s nice to see classic hues for the occasion (or maybe I’m just old-fashioned that way shrugs). None of these shades scream original, but then again, sometimes understated speaks much louder. What works for me personally, is that these are some of the easiest to apply pastels I’ve come across – and all so very wearable. My favourites here, are without a doubt She Said Yes (absolutely perfect for a white-lover such as myself) and Meet the Parents for being so blue & squishy … a gorgeous and fun shade!

 

Essie Bridal 2014 closer

Kindly provided by Essie for my unbiased consideration

Essie Spring 2014 Collection with Comparisons

Essie Spring 2014 opener

 

At first glance, you might be tempted to think that there’s absolutely nothing that unique about Essie’s Spring 2014 Collection, but one swatch of each shade would prove you dead wrong. The six colours shown, are a wonderful representation of the season but yet classic enough to be easily worn throughout the year.


Essie Spring 2014

Essie Spring 2014

 

Romper Room – a soft petal pink hue that was probably the only fussy one of the entire group, but as I’m 100% addicted to white-leaning shades, Romper Room is so worth the extra effort. As with many pastels, the first coat may apply a touch patchy – I found it easiest to work 3 thin coats with a good wait time in between each for the best results. Final look is self-levelling and highly glossy. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat


Essie Romper Room swatch

Essie Spring 2014 – Romper Room

 

Spin the Bottle – a buttery smooth nude with pink tints in the base for a touch of warmth that applyies with amazing coverage: self levelling, non-patchy, and very glossy at the finish. Oh yeah, and my new favourite nude shade. Coats applied: 3 (thin, for photo purposes), plus top coat


Essie Spin the Bottle swatch

Essie Spring 2014 – Spin the Bottle

 

Fashion Playground – a semi-sheer celadon green hue with ultra-fine silvery shimmer that remains hidden for the most part, but can occasionally flash when it catches the light. I FREAKING LOVE THIS COLOUR. Very retro appearing – think Fender Stratocaster guitar or FireKing mixing bowls, and completely unique in my Essie collection. Coats applied: 3 (thin – that 3rd coat is TOTALLY worth the extra step), plus top coat


Essie Fashion Playground swatch

Essie Spring 2014 – Fashion Playground

 

Truth or Flare – a semi sheer Wedgewood chine blue shade with a dusty/translucent appeal and in a jelly formula, rendering it totally self-levelling and über-glossy at the finish. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat


Essie Truth or Flare swatch

Essie Spring 2014 – Truth or Flare

 

Hide & Go Chic – a denim blue, hybrid crème-jelly hue so highly colour saturated, that you barely need more than 1 coat for full coverage. Self levelling and ending in a glossy shine, the bonus is that it is also completely non-staining upon removal. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat


Essie Hide & Go Chic swatch

Essie Spring 2014 – Hide & Go Chic

 

Style Hunter – a tropical rich magenta hue in a crème-jelly ultra pigmented hybrid formula with an absolutely superb flow, opacity and application. Self-levelling, ridiculously glossy and non-staining upon removal, this is a colour that will be highly flattering on a broad spectrum of skin tones. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat


Essie STyle Hunter swatch

Essie Spring 2014 – Style Hunter

 


Essie Spring 2014 comparison nail wheel

 

The following comparisons are all using Essie shades in tones I found the closest to the Spring 2014 hues – all are 3 coats applied, no base or top coat:

  1. Romper Room
  2. Guchi Muchi Puchi – similar tone but slightly bluer based, less opaque than Romper Room
  3. Better Together – warmer toned, peach-tinted, sheerer than Romper Room
  4. Fashion Playground
  5. Absolutely Shore – no shimmer, much paler green but with similar sheerness to Fashion Playground
  6. First Timer – no shimmer, more opaque than Fashion Playground
  7. Truth or Flare
  8. Bikini So Teeny –  silver shimmer throughout and brighter than Truth or Flare
  9. Lapis of Luxury – more blue based but with same dusty tone as Truth or Flare
  10. Coat Azure – densely shimmer packed, bluer and more opaque than Truth or Flare
  11. Spin the Bottle
  12. Not Just a Pretty Face – very similar in tone but much sheerer than Spin the Bottle
  13. Topless and Barefoot – sheer, paler and more beige in tone than Spin the Bottle
  14. Style Hunter
  15. Wife Goes On – crème formula, a brighter pink base and a touch more opaque than Style Hunter
  16. Hide & Go Chic
  17. Mesmerize – brighter and bluer based than Hide & Go Chic
  18. Smooth Sailing – cornflower blue base filled with fine prismatic shimmer and sheerer than Hide & Go Chic

 

I found something to love about each and every shade of this collection, with Romper Room, Fashion Playground, and Spin the Bottle total standouts for me personally. I can already see Style Hunter as a sandal-worthy pedi shade, and even though the Truth or Flare and Hide & Go Chic will transition beautifully into the cooler months down the road, they are both bright enough to wear now as well.


Essie Spring 2014 closer

Kindly provided by Essie for my unbiased consideration

essie – Resort 2014 Collection

Essie Resort 2014 opener

 

Back in October when I was attending the World MasterCard Fashion Week in Toronto (previously reviewed here), I was given Essie’s Resort 2014 Collection for review (but I couldn’t reveal it until now, obviously). While none of these shades initially made me think of a steamy getaway, I have since revised that opinion; they are all absolutely and perfectly curated to represent luxury and vacationing at its finest. Think: a lavish spa in Bali, or a yoga retreat in Costa Rica … maybe even a jaunt to St. Tropez. All of the afore-mentioned would suit me just fine, especially since that damn groundhog just predicted another 6 weeks of Winter. Sigh …

 

Essie Resort 2014

essie Resort 2014

 

Essie Resort 2014 B

essie Resort 2014

Find me an Oasis – Before I get into the description, let me say that last year I was obsessed with white, but that was then; 2014 is going to be all about this ‘cloud blue’ shade for me. Icy and utterly clean looking, the first coat applies a touch patchy, but that’s totally resolved by the second layer. Super glossy and the most modern way to wear white, it takes 3 thin coats to achieve a perfect finish – but the end result is so. darn.worth.it.  Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat

 

Essie Find me an Oasis swatch

essie – Find me an Oasis


Essie Find me an Oasis swatch 2

essie – Find me an Oasis

 

Resort Fling – A semi-sheer, soft cantaloupe hue in a hybrid crème-jelly formula, that also holds a pink/peachy tint in the base to warm it up. Self-levelling and über-glossy at the finish, I love the slight translucency it gives my nails at 2 coats, although there was still some visible nail line showing (will not show on those with shorter nails). Application could not have been more perfect and buttery smooth – something I’ve never experienced with a lacquer before. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat


Essie Resort Fling swatch

essie – Resort Fling


Essie Resort Fling swatch 2

essie – Resort Fling

 

Cocktails & Coco – A sandy nude hue that holds mauve/pink tints in its base, with a finely ground silver & pink shimmer throughout. Semi-sheer but also totally self levelling and with a ridiculously high glossy shine at the finish, I love how this isn’t the ‘invisible’ type of shimmer, but the type that can be seen even away from direct sunlight – but definitely not over the top either. Very ‘café au lait’ in tone, I may have just found my absolutely perfect nude. Coats applied: 3 (thin), plus top coat


Essie Cocktails & Coco swatch

essie – Cocktails & Coco


Essie Cocktails & Coco swatch 2

essie – Cocktails & Coco

 

Under the Twilight – the deepest indigo crème in an INSANE formula: basically a true 1-coater, self-levelling, high-watt glassy shine and 100% non-staining upon removal. Yes, you read that correctly. There’s a hard to describe, almost dusty quality to this shade (it sounds like an oxymoron, I know, but it’s literally glossy & murky at the same time – at least, in my eyes) and the application almost has that jelly-like feel to it. Really stunning, sexy and a gorgeous alternative to black. Coats applied: 2, plus top coat


Essie Under the Twilight swatch

essie – Under the Twilight


Essie Under the Twilight swatch 2

essie – Under the Twilight

 

I can sum this collection up very easily: back up worthy, each and every shade. With its mix of pale, dark, crème, jelly and shimmer, this capsule collection of just 4 shades are all unique – perhaps not overtly, but take a second look: the ethereal blue tinge of Find me an Oasis, the cushiony tone of Resort Fling in the most wearable orange-y hue ever, the opalescent shimmer of Cocktails & Coco that adds an edge to an otherwise safe neutral, and the mysterious purple depths of Under the Twilight – they all have an understated sophistication to them without sacrifice any fun. Well done, Essie … well done.


Essie Resort 2014 closer

Kindly provided by Essie for my unbiased consideration