Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Essie Art Of Spring Collection Spring 2010


I really like this collection... I was not wowed by the promo pictures initially (except for Lilacism, that one was great from the start!), but I'm so glad I gave them a chance and tried them on my nails.


Lilacism. This is slightly less blue in real life, but not by much. Maybe half a shade to one shade less blue. I'm wearing it right now and it's definitely on the blue side of lilac. This is sooooooooo pretty. It's creamy and stark and obvious, but not so stark that it's like white-out. It's refreshing. This is two coats.



Neo-Whimsical. This is slightly reminiscent of one of my favorite Essies- Guchi Muchi Puchi. It's a light milky pink with a splash of violet to it. Looks more purply in some lights, more pink in others. Three coats here.


Pop Art Pink. A really light milky jelly pastel pink. It's like a pink version of Marshmallow. This one is pretty versatile because at one coat it's a sheer-clear pink gloss, barely any color on the nail at all, at two coats it's a semi-sheer milky natural looking pink and at three coats (pictured here) it's a nice jelly milky pink. So, if french manicures are your thing, this would make a good base color. I like it at three coats, myself. It looks squishy and cute.


Red Nouveau. This is just... Perfection. The formula on this one was like butter. Serious pigment to this polish and it was like my nails painted themselves. It's a fairly opaque but still a bit translucent bright red on the first coat (and zero streaking so you could get away with just one if you don't mind visible nail line) and a slightly darker opaque glossy cherry red on the second coat. I love the brightness and the vibrancy of this shade. It's retro-glamorous and it just screams Valentine's day to me.

Tart Deco. Kind of an... orangey... salmon-y... coral kinda color? Creamy orange coral? Maybe a little peachy? Hard for me to describe. Soft peachy pastel cantaloupe. Very dense and milky looking. This is only two coats, I anticipated it needing more but it was surprisingly opaque and streakless.


Van D'Go. Kinda like MAC Seasonal Peach's baby sister. It's peachy and pinkish, milky and soft but still has that kind of stand-out bold creme finish that I like about Seasonal Peach. This is a lot softer, less vibrant of a shade and pinker. Two coats of this one, too.


The formula on these was all over the place. Very inconsistent. Van D'Go and Tart Deco were very opaque and thick, maybe even a little goopy but not unmanagable. Lilacism and Neo-Whimsical were on the watery side. Pop Art pink was about average, not too thick, not too thin, and Red Nouveau was absolutely flawlessly perfect. I'm surprised the formula varied so much within one collection! The drying time on these is excellent, even at three coats. Also, the wear seems pretty good, as I've been wearing Lilacism for two whole days now and there's not a chip or crack in sight even after heavy cleaning without gloves, excessive typing and obsessive hand-washing.

Overall... yeah... I can't deny it. I love this collection. It is so not 'me' at ALL... But just looking at these gives me a cheerful almost romantic feeling. They make me happy. This winter has seemed unusually dark for me and on top of that I am almost always wearing very dark vampy colors.... So looking at these brightens my day a little. Kinda like China Glaze Up & Away. Lighthearted.

What I think really draws me to these is that they remind me of my favorite Valentine's Day candy. You know, those little pastel colored hearts that everyone else seems to hate, but I love? They taste kinda like flavored chalk and have cutesy and often nonsensical sayings printed on them?

Last year for Valentine's Day my friend got me some really great ones... Instead of the usuall "call me" or "be mine" on them, they have more interesting phrases...


I think my favorite one is the "PWNED! MEH." one. Some of the other ones say things like, "6 wives okay?" "I been creepin", "parole is up!", "Up yer meds", Prenup okay?" and stuff like that... LOVE THEM.

Which also reminds me of being in high school and writing my own phrases on them with a Uni-Ball pen... "Your mom"... "5u1c1d3 15 y0ur 0n1y 0p710n".... "Pics now"...

Woo! Random candy tangent! Although... I think Red Nouveau is more Red Hots than chalk-hearts. And the mint green is missing! I bet Mint Candy Apple would fit the bill.... Oh, and the yellow! I don't know what color the yellow should be... Barbuda Banana?

(These were sent to me for review.)

56 comments:

  1. Crap I thought I would not want any but want all most all of them.

    Love those hearts.

    Up your Meds is my fave!

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  2. Beautiful Swatches!! I'll be going for Van D'Go, Lilacism and Neo Whimsical!!

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  3. Vanessa, haha, aren't they great?! I can't bear to eat them, they're too cute!

    Alia Shardae, thank you!

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  4. thanks for posting these! i love your new shorter nails - gorgeous!

    could you compare lilacism with done out in deco, do you lilac it, light as air, etc etc?

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  5. LOL! I got those candies last Valentine's Day too! Anyway, I thought I was only going to want one of these, but after seeing the swatches I want most of them, especially Red Nouveau. Wow.

    How different is Lilacism from St. Lucia Lilac?

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  6. Beautiful swatches as always! Thank you so much! :D I was wondering how does Neo-Whimsical compare to Something Sweet from the China Glaze Up & Away collection?

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  7. I LOVE the candy hearts you got last year!! They are awesome! I need to get some of those - my fiance would love them.

    As for the polishes, Lilacism is absolutely gorgeous - just stunning. I have quite a collection of lilac shades, but this one looks different than anything I have. I really like it.

    I like how Neo-Whimsical has a hint of lilac to it - takes it up a notch from the traditional pale pink. This and Lilacism are on my Must Buy list. Thanks for the awesome polish pics!

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  8. omgg they are GORGEOUS!! From the promo picture I told myself I'm only going to get lilacism, tart deco, and van d'go. But after your swatches and review I want all of them! You have that affect Scrangie haha and I love those candy hearts they're hilarious haha

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  9. YOUR MOM

    XD aaaahahahaha

    *is mentally eight*

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  10. LOVE LOVE LOVEEE the colors. They seem to complement your skin tone. I'm wondering if the pastel nature of them will wash out yellow based skin tones. Boo. =[ I love the Van D'Go color. Absolutely Goh-geous.

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  11. Lilacism and Neo-Whimsical look amazing! They are on my wishlist as of now!

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  12. Oooooh, those are so cute! They're not me at all either, but I think I'll be picking up a few of these teehee. :D

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  13. Cmon guys! Have a bit of respect! Scrangie is a person with a life, not your swatching service.

    She doesn't write this blog so you can save a few extra bucks weeding out dupes. She does it because she loves polish. Asking her to compare everything is not only very self important of you, but also rude. I don't even see one please!

    She will do comps if she feels like it, but if she doesn't, do your own homework!

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  14. I love these, like you and Iam sure many others I wasn't sure about the promo pics. After seeing them on your nails I really like them.

    Iusually feel in th minority because I do really like Essies polishes and the little bottles are super cute. But I do like sheer pinks and pastel colours, something Essie is good at producing.

    Can I just ask what base and topcoat you used to get good wear out of Lilacism? Thanks

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  15. Love them all. And I too wasn't really eager after the promo pics. Great swatch as usual. :)

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  16. Lovely colors, but boring. Your nails and photos on the other hand - gorgeous!

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  17. Man, just when I'd decided not to buy any of 'em, you show us these wooonderful swatches!

    AAAH the agony!

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  18. I love most of them, they are really gorgeous ! My fav is definitely Lilacism :)

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  19. Thanks for posting these swatches! I like the look of Lilacism and Van D'go the most. The are gorgeous polishes

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  20. wow! i passed these up in the store when i saw them, but your swatches are making me regret that! how does lilacism compare to st. lucia lilac?

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  21. Ok, so much better irl than the promo pic! Crap haha
    Lilacism looks stunning and the red perfect!

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  22. Great swatches! My favourites are Lilacism, Neo Whimsical and Pop Art Pink!
    Love "Let's fight" candy, too :-)

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  23. LMAO @ the hearts. I love those things. The swatches are lovely. I didnt think I would want any of this collection but I have changed my mind.

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  24. I love these! Definitely better than the promo pics showed. And those conversation hearts, haha I love em.

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  25. Wow! I am so impressed with Lilacism - didn't think I needed it, now I definitely do!

    I love the V-Day hearts too. I always buy them every year - though I've never seen fun ones like yours!! XD

    Thanks again for your beautiful swatches!

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  26. I wonder how Red Nouveau compares to Escapades? Hrm.....regardless, I still need it lol. And Tart Deco!!!! And the milky pink! Ahhhhhhh. In the bottle, they all looked boring, but not now! :)

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  27. I really didn't think I'd like all of these so much. I'm definitely getting Lilacism and maybe one other one. Thanks for the great swatches!

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  28. Lilacism, Neo-Whimsical, and Tart Deco look really cute. Thank you for swatching them! I'm not really a fan of cremes but these are really appealing.

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  29. Every time I see it I fall a little bit more in love with Tart Deco.

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  30. I'm not a huge red fan, but scrolling down the pics that Red Nouveau made me actually gasp. Gorgeous, gorgeous! Thanks so much for posting these. :)

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  31. OMG Those candy hearts and your story about them had me laughing so hard!

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  32. How does Lialcism compare with Opi's Done out In Deco?

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  33. ACK! I passed on these at the BS but will have to go back and get a few

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  34. Thanks for swatching this collection. I really love these Essies after seeing them on your lovely nails.
    DanaCerise

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  35. Hehe, Up Your Meds... Let's Fight... where's he find those hearts? Those'd be perfect for my bf and I :p

    I need Van D'Go and Tart Deco, now....

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  36. Lilacism is gorgeous! And i love those weird love hearts, how fun!

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  37. So upset, just placed an order with Transdesign and I didn't order these, but of course your pictures make me want the whole collection!!

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  38. Oh man, I want them all. Especially Lilacism. Beautiful swatches :)

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  39. Fab swatches as always! I have been on the hunt for the perfect retro red and I think I have found it! Is Lilacism a dupe for OPI done out in deco?

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  40. oooh! i totally need van g-oj and the lilac color...do you think thatpop art pink looks similar or is dupey to mademoiselle? i like that jelly look, but am not sure if mademoiselle is the same way...i have difficulties spotting jelly's lol. thanks for ur beautiful swatches as always!

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  41. I already left a comment, but wanted to know how close this is to OPI Done Out in Deco, and China Glaze Light as Air. Thanks!

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  42. This past weekend, I stood in Ulta staring at these for about 20 minutes, debating about purchasing them. But, in the end, I'm kinda bored by them. I like Tart Deco, I think I'll probably pick that up. The others? Nahh

    Love those candy hearts though, where the hell did he get them?

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  43. I have to admit, I'd reached a polish saturation point, my mini hoard was enough. And then.... these swatches! It's such a dreary time of year, and these are so cute...

    But I'm excited and I love them!

    So, it might be old news, but I did slap some matte about you on the Neo-Whimsical and I kid you not it looks like I really do have candy shell coated nails. What are those little chocolate eggs? It looks like I peeled off their shells and stuck them on my nails. I am so happy right now. XD

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  44. Love the conversation hearts! For everyone who asked, they're called "BitterSweets" and my husband found them at the Despair Inc. website (http://despair.com/bittersweets.html). Ain't love grand?

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  45. where did he get those conversation hearts?? I need them!!!lol

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  46. I just got Lilacism because of this post and I love it! It looks SO good with Matte about you finisher!

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  47. I love the colors but your comments about the formula variation kinda sealed the deal for me. I'll probably skip this collex, unless I win it somehow.

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  48. Hmmm. How come Van D'Go looks great on everyone except me?? :( :(

    It looks so nice in the bottle, and then I got it on, and it was this horrible glaring pink peach that looks like the cheap plastic that dollar store doll skin is made of... my husband even said it looked scary and that he could think of no situation in which I should ever put that polish on again, so I ended up just redoing my mani that night. I don't think I've ever hated a polish so much as I hate Van D'Go.

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  49. oh and i wonder if you know any other essie polishes that has the same texture as Red Nouveau's?

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  50. I've bought the mini set and at first I thought Lilacism was the best out of the 4. But then I tried Red Nouveau and it's just perfection!

    Really love the texture, esp since you're good to even in just one coat.

    I really want Van d'Go but maybe not for now :D

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  51. def want the the van d go one, i got the neo whimsical one. Sort of fell out with essie since i bought FIJI. its the worst streaking uneven polish i ever owned

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  52. Lilacism is my favourite. I got it, Pop Art Pink, Red Nouveau and Tart Deco as mini polishes. And I'm getting a full sized bottle of Lilacism. BTW, did you notice your Tart Deco getting darker when you applied your top coat? Because I noticed a HUGE difference. Without top coat it was more peachy but with a top coat it became darker and orangier.

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  53. Hi
    I love all of these colours so much that I bought them. But a quick FYI, Tart Deco totally changes colour with a top coat! It goes from a more salmony orange to a fanta orange.
    xx

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