Monday, October 17, 2011

Essie Fall 2011 Nail Polish Collection Swatches and Review

I think this may be the very last of the fall collections I have yet to post... Which is a little sad, because it reminds me that fall will be over soon. September went by insanely fast and now I feel like I've blinked and October is nearly gone. I'm trying to make the most of it, but why can't it just be fall all year round??

Anyway, here's Essie's Fall 2011 collection:

Case Study. This is a medium beige creme. It looks darker on my nails than it does in the bottle, as do all the colors in this collection (and most of the cremes in all the fall collections this year, odd). It's a little bit of a dirty beige, not so clean and stark like some beige cremes. A bit of an edge to it, but still completely conservative and office appropriate.



Carry On. Very dark vampy plum creme. It looks very dark but not quite black indoors, but outside it looks a lot more plum. This lighting makes it look darker than it is. It is obviously plum/burgundy in all lights and isn't as similar to Essie Velvet Voyeur as it seems here.



Glamour Purse. Essie describes this color as "almond taupe" and I'd say that's a pretty fair description. This is one of those putty-like 'greige' (still can't get used to that word) colors that have exploded in popularity within the past three years. It's flattering, it's a neat color, but it's very, very, very common/done/dupe-able.


Lady Like. This one is unexpected. I thought it would be a plain pink creme from all the promo pictures and in the bottle, but on my nails it's a dirty, dusty greyed pale pink. Reminds me of one of my favorites, Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge. It's really nice. My favorite in the collection.


Power Clutch. A dirty green-grey. It's dark and it's a little murky looking. I like this dirty/smoky/murky trend. This one looks more grey than green to me, but the (blue-toned) green is definitely there. I just expected a greener color, like a drab olive, based on the promo pics. Still cool, though.


Very Structured. This is a difficult one. It changes colors so much. In sunlight it looks like a pumpkiny orange with a little taupe or brown mixed in. In other lights, it looks like an earthy, dark terracotta. Essie calls it burnt sienna and I think that's the best way to describe it. It does look a lot darker on the nail than in the bottle, more so than the other colors. But this one also feels the most like a fall color.

The formula on these was perfect. Smooth, even, not runny or gooey. The tiny little Essie brush has really grown on me because I can get such a precise application with it. Also good for people with really small nails. I'm glad not all brands have gone for the Pro-Wide-style brush. Amazing drying time on these as well. Absolutely no complaints on the formula or brush. I did three coats of each color and I think they look best at three.

Overall, not as interesting as most of the other fall collections. A lot of really nice stylish, flattering, office-appropriate-yet-still-chic colors here. Nothing wild or outrageous or too edgy. It feels very fashionable to me, like there's a little bit of 'trendy' in it but still manages to stay classic. Strong colors, good formula, just nothing really brand new in it.

This is available now at both salons and Essie retail vendors (Meijer, Walgreens, Target, CVS, etc.)

(Most of these were sent to me for review.)

17 comments:

  1. Thanks for reminding me to bust out my bottle of Lady Like. I got it because someone else recommended I try it since I've been wanting to try out more soft shades.

    And I overlooked Very Structured. It never appealed to me until I saw the colour on your nails. SCRANGIE! You always do that to me! :P

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  2. You always make cremes look so perfectly gorgeous! Your swatches are making me rethink a couple of those colors that I passed on :)

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  3. Now I definitely need to pick up Lady Like. Your swatch of it looks divine!!! It's such a beautiful shade! <3

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  4. Ooo, Lady Like looks like a dirty version of Zoya's Heather -- which, surprisingly, I love, even though it's totally not in my usual range.

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  5. I like the last three. Lady Like is really unexpected. Very pretty.

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  6. I have Case study and Very structured and love them but am now tempted by Lady like. How does it compare to Tickle my France-y and Steady as she rose?

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  7. Adorei todos. Os beges parecem doce de leite!
    Lindos !!!!!
    Beijos.

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  8. This collection was so pretty I bought every color and have not regretted it one bit, even though it's meant skipping the blue trend.

    And Scrangie, have you seen, RBL brought back your polish for a limited time!! Those of us who missed it the first time can finally snatch it up!

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  9. glamour purse and lady like are gorgeous

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  10. OMG! What are you doing! I need them ALL!!!!!!

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  11. I really like Glamour Purse, Lady Like and Power Clutch. Your swatches are gorgeous as usual. Thanks.

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  12. Your nails are so pretty and neat^^
    I like 'Lady Like' from this collection, so pretty.

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  13. scrolling through your awesome swatches, I stopped to show my sister Lady Like and Glamour Purse. So pretty. Happened to go by CVS and there was a lonely bottle of Lady Like left. Got it and I love it ! My sister used it first and now we're both rockin' it. :D

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  14. i just love this collection, especially Carry On, Lady Like and Very Structured.

    all lovely quite unique colours, very hard to describe :) (i love that trait in my nail polish colours)

    but i was wondering if Lady Like isn't a dupe for another older Essie - Demure Vixen.
    do you have it? could you please make a comparison sometime?
    thanks so very much! looove your blog!

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  15. Thank you again, everyone!

    Greeneyespinknails, the Essie seems deeper in color than both of those, but I'd have to see them side by side to say for sure

    Monica, nope, definitely not a dupe at all!

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  16. Thank you very much!
    It was the first thing I thought about when I saw your swatch. I'm glad it's not a dupe though :)

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