Essie Nail Care Line Follow Up

Press Sample

Hi guys!  As promised, here's my follow up on these three Essie products after having used them exclusively for 1.5 months.  For my first impression and in depth product description, visit my previous post found here.


Apricot Cuticle Oil:  I've used this consistently on nearly an every day basis.  Usually before and after a mani, or whenever my cuticles looked like they could use some love.  Because it absorbs quickly, I was able to use it between swatching sessions as well.  When I started out, my cuticles were a bit dry but now they are in good condition.  This may also be due to regular use.  I generally kept it around me so that I remembered to use it. 

*Helps dry cuticles?  Yes, with consistent use.
*Maintains cuticles?  Yes.  Again with consistent use.


Millionails Treatment:  This was my only base coat for 1.5 months.  I even wore it on its own over bare nails and during swatching sessions.  Basically, it's supposed to strengthen your nails and resist peeling.  Lately I've been having problems with my pointer and middle nails peeling where the corners curve.  After using this, I'm happy to say my nails have stopped peeling!  Peeling up to this point had been inevitable on my left pointer nail once it got long.  Right now my nails are pretty long and not even a sign of peeling.  So happy!  This will be joining my regular nail care routine. :)

*Resists peeling?  Yes!
*Resists splitting?  Yes.


Fill The Gap Treatment:  I don't have any major ridges in my nails, so I've been using this as another base coat over the Millionails Treatment.  I mainly used it only when using very pigmented colors to prevent staining and under creme polishes for extra smoothness. x)  It's nice, but I don't think it's essential to my nail care routine because I don't have any ridges.  It did prevent staining though. ^^

*Conceals imperfections?  Yes.  The sheer color is nice for covering minor staining.  Great if you wear a lot of sheer nudes or pinks.
*Fills in ridges?  Not applicable to me, so I'm still not sure.


Verdict:  I definitely love the Millionails treatment.  The cuticle oil is nice as well and smells very good.  The only thing I wouldn't purchase when I run out is the Fill The Gap Treatment because I don't really need it.  But I think it's worth a try if you're looking for something to fill nail ridges.  As always, these are my honest opinions based on my experience.  Results can vary from person to person depending on factors like lifestyle and body chemistry.

Availability:  Apricot Cuticle Oil retails for $8 / Millionails Treatment for $10 / Fill In The Gap Treatment for $10.  Visit Essie.com for a full list of their nail care line and to find a store near you.


Liz

First Impressions: Essie Nail Care Line

Hi guys!  Essie recently came out with a new and improved nail care line.  I'm pretty fortunate to have strong nails that grow relatively fast, but winter is taking its toll on my nails and cuticles.  One of the main issues I have is peeling on my left pointer and right middle nail.  Not sure why, but it's always just those two.  It may be because the sides curl more on those two nails.

I was immediately interested in these three products for my dry cuticles and peeling nails.  Here is some information on each of the products below, as well as my first impressions after using them for a week.

Essie Turquoise And Caicos

Hey all!  I haven't used an Essie color in a long time, so I decided to reswatch Turquoise and Caicos.  My original "swatch" can be found here.  I didn't have as much trouble with it this time around.  This is either 4 or 5 coats.  I lost count because I was multitasking to give each coat ample time to dry.  I'm leaning towards 5 though.  It's just as streaky as ever, which is why it needed that many coats.  It's such a shame, because the color itself is lovely.  Essie, please fix the formula!

Alright, short and simple post today.  I did do some cute nail art over this, so hopefully I'll have that up by tomorrow!  It's another Youtube tutorial. :)


Until next time!


Liz

The Stash: Essie

I admittedly don't own a lot of Essies.  I used to be quite enthusiastic about them, but their collections haven't been catching my eye as much lately.  I did really want Camera from their Summer 2012 Poppy-Razzi collection, but it was sold out everywhere. :/  Otherwise, I tend to gravitate toward other brands because I don't like Essie's small round brushes.  I think their bottles are really cute though, and I love how the drugstore ones have color coded labels at the top.

My first Essie was Coat Azure from the Spring 2011 French Affair collection.  But my oldest bottle is probably the darkest one called Night Cap.  Not sure when that one came out, but it's a watery dark blue/teal tint.  It's discontinued, but I was able to get it because I won it from Body & Soul. :)  Since I have so little Essies, I can definitely pick a favorite: School of Hard Rocks.  (PS. It looks amazing with Essie Shine of Times - my favorite combo.)

I think my group of Essies need some more friends...like Leading Lady from the new winter collection. :P

(*edit: I replaced the original picture with a better one. ^^)

What are your favorite Essies?  And which shade was your first?  


Liz

Essie Demure Vixen

Sweet and simple post from me today.  This is 3 coats of Essie Demure Vixen, a lovely mauve/taupe with pink shimmer.  I can't decide if this color looks good on me.  It might be a bit too cool, but I'd wear it anyway because it's so pretty.

Do you own Demure Vixen?  Love it?  Hate it?  Let me know in the comments! :)


Liz

Got my Klout Perk: Free Essie!

Hey all! :)  I got my Klout Perk in the mail today- a free Essie!  I got Bikini So Teeny, the namesake of the collection.  Did anyone else get theirs?  Did you get the same color or a different one?  I'm curious!  Let me know in the comments. :)


Liz

NOTD: Graduation Nails

Wow, I can't believe this day has actually come.   I finally finished my last final ever, and I'll be graduating from college this coming Saturday.  I decided to go with neutral nails for my graduation.  This is the mani I'm wearing right now, and I love it!

This is 4 coats of Sally Hansen Parchment from the new Alexander Wang Spring 2012 line.  I adore this color, and I'll do a full review of it in a few days.  After the third coat I used Essie As Gold As It Gets, then layered the fourth coat of Parchment over it.  The Essie adds a subtle glow to the color when the sun hits it.  (Honestly, you can't see it that well... lol.)  Even though I was going to keeps these nails low key, I still couldn't help but add some bling to it.  I used silver rhinestones and rose pink micro beads to match the blush colored dress I'll be wearing for graduation.

Overall, I think this is a very sweet and simple look.  What do you think?  Also, anyone else graduating this spring (high school or college)?  If you are, what color are you wearing on your nails for graduation?


Liz

*The polishes reviewed in this post were sent to me for my honest review.
Please view my Disclosure Policy for more info.

Quilted Bow Nail Art

Hey there!  Today I have a quick nail art post for you.  This is another take on the quilted nail art I did before for Valentine's day.  I actually did this one first.

If you'd like a tutorial on how to do the quilting, please refer to my post here.  For the bows, I used Milani nail art polish in white to draw a X.  Then I added lines to the sides of the Xs to make a bow.  I colored the bows in and layered Essie Pure Pearlfection over only the bows to take off the harshness of the white.  I then finished them off by adding a gold glitter (Milani Jewel Fx Gold) to the center of each bow.

Can you tell that I love using Sinful Colors Tutu (base color) for quilted nails.  I think they go so well together. :) 

Hope everyone had a lovely Monday!

Liz

Everything about this mani feels so right

Am I the only one that feels this way?  I can't get enough of how this looks.  It seems so perfect for now.

Urban Outfitters Smush & Lace Nail Accent

I don't know why but there's something nostalgic about this picture.  I know I'm weird.

Essie Skittles

Sort of.  I swatched these yesterday after swatching $OPI Caught With My Khakis Down.  That day was just not a great swatching day.  Originally I started out with Essie Turquoise and Caicos on all my nails, but as you can see there is now only one on the middle nail.

Theme Monday: (Polka Dots) Lanterns and Fans (Pic Heavy)

Hey all!  The ladies over at Polish-aholics Anonymous wanted to do theme manis on Mondays and post pics!  Today is our first theme Monday, and we all did polka dots.  It's still not too late to join in!  Here's what I did. :)

Okay, let's dissect this mani! :P 

NOTD: Essence Chacalaca & Mosaic Nail Art

Here's a quick review of Essence Chacalaca (how fun is that to say?).  Chacalaca is part of the limited edition Whoom Boom collection!  It's a lovely dark blurple creme that leans more towards purple in my opinion.  I had no problems with application.  This is 2 coats without top coat, because I forgot. >.<

Then because I was feeling artsy and had some spare time, I did these mosaic nails.  ^_^  The bubbles shown in the mani aren't from any of the polishes but my top coat.  I kind of glopped it on because I wanted to take pics of it before the sun completely set.  In the process I smeared the white polish on one nail too. :/  Don't the colors remind you of something?  Maybe...Zoya's Mod Mattes collection? :P  For the other colors, I used Revlon Tulip, Revlon Garden, and Essie Coat Azure.

What do you think?  Would you do these nails?  I personally liked it very much.  Probably because I spent a bit of time on it. :P  I think it's fun and bright.  Makes me want to go to a summer party. :)


Liz

NOTD: Rain, Rain, Go Away

It hasn't been that sunny these past few days, so I haven't really been swatching much.  My pictures don't come out that great unless I have plenty of natural lighting. :/  Today was no exception.  It's dark and gloomy out and earlier there was a crazy downpour of rain.  In hopes of sunnier days, I did a mani that I hope would appeal to the weather gods. :P

I wanted to do an ombre mani, but didn't have enough similar blues.  So I tried my best to lighten some colors with glitter. :P  See how the sky and clouds "gradually" get lighter. :)  On my pinky I drew a nice summery sun.  On my ring finger (third from the right), I used BYS Color Change Royal Blue.  It's actually really nice because it changes lighter or darker, so depending on my temp it gives the ombre a different transition in color.  My favorite is when it's darker toward the tips, cause then it's like the sky is turning lighter...quite literally.

With flash

Here's a complete list of polishes I used for this mani: China Glaze First Mate, BYS Color Change Royal Blue, Essie Coat Azure, Sally Hansen Gray by Gray, Revlon Cloud, Revlon Sheer Cotton, Hard Candy Hick, Sinful Colors Hottie, SC Unicorn, LA Colors Wave Length, Milani Nail Art white.  If you look closely in the flash pic, you might notice a very subtle pink shimmer.  That's from Hard Candy Hick, which I'll review once it gets sunnier.

Hopefully you guys are experiencing better weather!  Max and I are so ready for some more sun.

That window needs some cleaning...

Liz

--
PS. Check out this nice giveaway! :)

Beauty Fulfilled's Blog Birthday- Kaushal's giving away a lot of goodies like nail polish and make-up!

Essie Coat Azure

Coat Azure is from the Essie spring collection, French Affair.  It's a dusty but bright sky blue with shimmer.  I always dismissed the shimmer as being white, but I'm also seeing pink and green!  Mine was a bit thick and gloopy so I did add some polish thinner to it.  This is two coats.

Click and magnify to see shimmer :)

I added Milani Gems to it, adding more near the tips for some pizzazz.  Unfortunately, as much as I love glitter, I also have glitterphobia *gasp.*  Yes, I love you glitter, but I can't be committed.  A long term relationship is not for us.  Basically, I hate removing glitter.  It's so clingy!  What I need is pure acetone polish remover.  Until then...I tend to shy away from glitter.  Especially since I change my polish every day.  So...I freaked out and removed this after taking the pics. ^^;;

Hmm... I don't know why the glitter pics gave the blue a nasty vinyl shine.  Don't like it :/  Anyway, does anyone else have a love-hate relationship with glitter?  :P



Liz

Essie Night Cap & Holographic Jelly?

I finally got the Essie Night Cap I won from Body & Soul in the mail about a week ago.  I've been meaning to post the swatches but haven't gotten around to doing it until now.  Also if you haven't already, please go check out Body & Soul!  Mary has some awesome polish swatches and reviews of other beauty products as well.

Now on to Night Cap.  Night Cap is one of the older Essie polishes and is classified as a watery-tint.  It is indeed very watery and dries quickly.  The color is more of a grayish teal leaning more towards one or the other depending on the light.  Since it's a tint, I decided to layer it over Nicole by OPI's Make a Comet-ment.

The result was grey/teal squishiness of Night Cap made super holo by Make a Comet-ment.  Night Cap kind of softened the edge off the holo glitter, yet made it more sparkly.  I really liked it.  Since it was my first time working with a tint, I did some experimenting.  The pinky (far right) has 1 coat of holo glitter and two coats of Night Cap.  Then I thought hmm...should I add some white since the tint is sheer?  I htought it might bring the color of the tint out more so that was the result of my ring finger.  But I thought it looked too busy with all the holo glitter, so for the next two nails I did 2 coats of holo glitter and 2 coats of Night Cap.  I think I prefer one coat of holo and 2 coats of Night Cap better since there's more depth and color from the tint.

In retrospect, maybe I'd add another coat or two of Night Cap.  Currently I'm trying to think of what other polishes I can layer this over without taking away its color.  Oh and if you were wondering what Make a Comet-ment looks like on its own, here's a swatch with 2 coats.

I kinda like it on its own.  It looks delicate and pretty like lace.


Anyway that's it for now!  Enjoy your Friday. :)


Liz

Sinful Colors Haul

Second post for today!

Here's my Sinful Colors haul of 6 polishes.

From L-R: Unicorn, Black on Black, Social Ladder, Timbleberry, Mint Apple, Green Ocean

This was my second time buying Sinful Colors.  The first time I bought Let's Meet (a shimmery lemon yellow) and What's Your Name? (black with teal glitter).  Both didn't quite live up to my expectations in terms of color and formula, but since these are sold at Walgreens for $1.99, I guess I shouldn't have expected too much.  However, Sinful Colors has some really cute colors and there are some colors that are total gems.  You just have to find them. ;)

From L to R: Social Ladder, Unicorn, Timbleberry, Black on Black, Mint Apple

I used three coats for all of these.  Social ladder is this pale pink tinted white with pink and green shimmer, although the green doesn't show up as much on the nail.  It's pretty and opaque in three coats, but can be a tiny bit streaky.

Unicorn was my least favorite from this haul.  It's a bright light yellow and extremely streaky.  Even after three coats I wasn't satisfied.  Seche Vite did make it more even, but still streaky.  Yellows are known to be streaky, so if you're looking for a good yellow, I'd suggest spending a few more bucks for one with a better formula.  The yellow was also bit too bright for me.  I was expecting a more soft, pale yellow.  This polish also stained my nails yellow! Yuck :(  Be sure to use base coat with this one!

Timbleberry was my favorite out of these and all Sinful Colors polishes I own.  (Hint: This is one of the gems!)  The formula was great and the color was extremely pigmented.  It's this gorgeous bright hot (x100) pink coral.  I could have used 1 coat for this, but two is better.  In the swatch I did three for consistency.  Also...timbleberry?  I don't know if it's supposed to be spelled like that or if was a typo.  It looks like it goes by both Timbleberry and Thimbleberry, but my bottle's label is missing its "h."

Black on Black also had a nice formula like Timbleberry.  I was a bit hesitant to buy it, but Erika from Chloe's Nails seems to love it so I had to give it a try.  And I'm glad I did!  This was also a potential one coater, although I recommend two.  I also layered Green Ocean over it as seen below.

Green Ocean is a clear base with green flakies and regular green, blue, and orange glitter.  The orange seems to be more of a flash but I'm not sure.  I'll let you know once I do a full manicure with it. This is so pretty against a black base, BUT it's so lumpy!  And won't smoothen out. :(  Otherwise, I love it.

Finally, Mint Apple, a shimmery mint green with a subtle gold shimmer.  I've heard a lot about this one, so I bought it to see if it lived up to the hype.  The formula was a bit sheer, but overall it was okay and not streaky.  My swatches aren't showing the exact color of Mint Apple.  This color just wouldn't photograph and my pics are making it bluer than it really is.  It's a lot greener and minty-er...(well, duh).  It's a nice color, but I don't know if I'm loving it as much as the other bloggers.  I think I prefer the more blue Ocean Love Potion from Sephora by OPI.  I haven't done a full mani with this color yet, so maybe my opinion will change.  I'll also do a comparison when I get the chance.

Unicorn was in the Polka Dots display for Sinful Colors, so I tried using it for the dots with Timbleberry as the base color.  As you can see, I suck at doing polka dots.  Next time I'll make them smaller and more spread out.  I also decided it looked too summery for right now, so I tried this:

This is Unicorn topped with Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment.  The dense holo glitter did a good job of hiding any streaky-ness.  It looks nice in this pic, but I really did not like this.  Because the glitter is so dense, it looked like gray dust against the light yellow.  I think Make a Comet-ment looks better with dark colors, or if you do top a light color, don't do the whole nail.  Instead do something like this:

This is a mani I did for my little sis before leaving for school.  The blue is China Glaze First Mate; the light blue is Essie Coat Azure, and the glitter is Make a Comet-ment.


Whew!

Hope you all enjoyed your Saturday, and I'll see yous tomorrow! :)


Liz