Essie ‘Braziliant’ Summer 2011 (swatches & review)

For Summer 2011, Essie brings us Braziliant, a collection of six utterly vibrant lacquers! With a mix of finishes, these were all highly saturated in pigment and applied like a dream, leaving absolutely no brush strokes behind. For swatching purposes, I’ve grouped the shades with similar finishes together: the shimmers and the crèmes. Go ahead and indulge your inner Carnival show-girl…with summer bright style! All swatches are with Sèche Natural base coat, two coats of lacquer and Essie Good To Go top coat.

The first three polishes, ‘Braziliant’, ‘Smooth Sailing’ and ‘Super Bossa Nova’ all have something in common: delicate and ultra-fine shimmer swirling throughout their base, giving these hues a unique finish.

The collection’s signature shade, ‘Braziliant’ is a feminine yet thoroughly modern tangerine shade, with the addition of baby fine pink shimmer. A very sweet hue that never borders on neon, this has enough vibrancy that says “Summer” and will compliment a variety of skin tones across the board. Notice how even in shaded light (bottom photo), the shimmer is still apparent…lovely!

‘Smooth Sailing’ is a cornflower blue shade with fine silver shimmer throughout, lending it an interesting depth. It has a dusty-looking quality that I love and is the one shade in this collection that will easily transition into Fall, making it versatile as well as beautiful. I really enjoy polishes that look like they change colour depending on the lighting; sunlight (top photo) gives it such warmth while shaded light (bottom photo) lends it a muted coolness.

Almost a duo-chrome in appearance, ‘Super Bossa Nova’ is a bright magenta hue with delicate purplish-blue shimmer in its base, giving it a multi-tonal effect. Something about this shade gives the most flattering pedi look, suitable for both warm and cooler skin tones. While sunlight (top photo) brings out all its shimmery glory, shaded light (bottom photo) adds a whisper of blueish depth.

The last three polishes of the collection ‘Too Too Hot’, ‘Absolutely Shore’ and ‘Meet Me At Sunset’ all have a luxurious crème finish, are highly saturated in colour and dry to an incredibly glossy shine.

‘Too Too Hot’ is an interesting mix of tomato red and coral, which also means that it can swing both towards warm & cool skin tones with ease. Almost a one-coater in application, it was perfectly self-levelling and surprisingly my favourite out of the collection! No matter what light its viewed in, something about this vibrant shade just makes me so happy!

While there’s been a plethora of pale green shades of late, ‘Absolutely Shore’ is still unique among them. This is the palest green I’ve seen yet and I find it’s an interesting alternative to wearing a super pale polish. I find it interesting that in full sun (top photo) it looks almost like a greyed-out white hue, while shaded light (bottom photo) brings out a more sea-foam tinge.

The last polish of this collection, ‘Meet Me At Sunset’ has a texture that’s almost a cross between a crème and a jelly…it’s like dessert for your nails! As orange hues seem to be all the rage this Summer, this one does not disappoint in either it’s depth of colour, formula or high gloss shine. Equally vivid no matter the lighting, this too will not only suit a variety of skin tones, but makes wearing such a bright shade effortless.

Final thoughts: As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I fully believe that since Essie’s buyout by cosmetics giant L’Oréal, their formula has definitely changed — for the better! All these polishes were incredibly pigmented and flowed super easy, with that thin flexible brush Essie has that I absolutely love to use (you can get to your nail’s edges with ridiculous ease). While the three crèmes all ended very glossy, I noticed that the polishes with shimmer all seem to dry rather satiny, requiring a top coat for added shine. Other than that, they are all very wearable and perfect for a hot & sexy Summer!