Another great day as I will be showing the rest of this amazing collection, so sit back and enjoy!

Essie Luxedo

Essie Luxedo (indoor lighting)

Essie Luxedo

First up is Luxedo…..I know, I know; I can’t figure out the names Essie chooses for some of their colours either, but obviously this is a play on the dark formality of a ‘tuxedo’ but with a ‘luxe’ turn, or at least that’s my take! Luxedo is deep and mysterious, and the darkest shade of this collection.  As with all polishes this dark, you need to be extra careful in application as it can get tricky but I found that this flowed very well.  It has deep plum tones which you can see under certain lights and definitely in sunlight but other than that it comes off as a velvety almost black shade. My first thought when seeing this colour was that it must be a duplicate for OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark and while the two are really close, when I swatch them to compare I’m sure I’ll find that LPAD has more of a dark berry base versus the browned plum of Luxedo.  I have to say that removal was strangely easy considering how dark this colour is, leaving no staining behind…a definite plus! All swatches of all colours are once again with base coat, three coats of polish and Seche Vite top coat.

Essie Hot Coco

Essie Hot Coco (indoor lighting)

Essie Hot Coco

As shades of taupe polish still continue to be all the rage right now, Hot Coco still manages to stand apart, mainly because of it’s pink-mauve undertones.  It has a creamy milk chocolate look with no yellow in it all, making it easily wearable for both warm and cool skin tones.  I found that from the entire collection however, that this was surprisingly the most difficult to apply as it went on a little blotchy at first and definitely needed three coats to be fully opaque. The finished result made up for that, as it still manages to look both cozy & edgy, suitable for work or play! The picture of the bottle clearly shows the more mauve tones while the swatches make it look more tan; it has the tendency to change like that depending on the lighting.

Essie Silken Cord

Essie Silken Cord (indoor lighting)

Essie Silken Cord

I honestly did not expect to fall so totally in love with Silken Cord (I really love this name, although the reference is lost on me), as I don’t tend to veer towards red shades, but….WOW!!  From the entire collection, Silken Cord packs the most punch and not only for it’s unexpected vibrancy.  This is more of a maraschino cherry colour as opposed to neon, with electric pink undertones.  From the six shades, this one had the best spread, being practically opaque with one coat (although I did apply three for swatching purposes and to keep them all unified). It literally flowed like butter and was true to the bottle shade from the first coat. I wondered what this colour was doing in a ‘winter’ collection and while initially it didn’t make sense to me, I must admit that it brings to mind the name of Revlon’s best-selling lipstick “Cherries in the Snow” which makes me think of glistening berries lying on pristine snow…..winter, indeed! This colour can also transition easily to Spring & Summer, making it not only the standout of this collection, but the most versatile as well. The only issue, as with all shades with any red in them, is that removal can be a little messy, but thankfully it leaves no staining behind.

This is the first time that I felt compelled to pick up every shade of an Essie collection, as I seriously could not choose from among them.  I loved how each colour bears a unique personality and look to it while the formulation, application and final look of every shade was truly outstanding, with very quick dry-time and a glossy finish. Do let me know which colour (or colours!) you’ll be picking up and what your thoughts on this collection are as well.

Essie The Winter Collection from left to right: Hot Coco, Luxedo, Silken Cord, Smokin’ Hot, Going Incognito and Masquerade Belle.