The Essie Collection

Blanc // Sand Tropez // Master Plan

French Affair // Island Hopping // Wicked

Hip-Anema // Butler Please // After School Boy Blazer

I've always had a thing for nail polish and have grown quite a collection over the years. Compared to other bloggers it may not be a lot, but among all my friends I always felt that I had an absurd amount. I had a wide spectrum of colors that covered most colors of the rainbow. My first Essie nail polish was Master Plan, and I'll be honest - it was not love at first application. This was coming right off of using O.P.I. when they released the new brushes that had a wider span to cover more nail in one stroke. The Essie brush felt too thin and was difficult to apply. But after a few years I came around and my little Essie collection has begun to grow. For the most part I always stick to neutral and dark colors, and occasionally I'll throw on a bright color. 

I talked about half of these on one of my first posts on the blog, which you can read here, where I mentioned my description of the shades. Outside of these previously mentioned, this leaves me with 4 that are unspoken for. 

French Affair:

This is a very pale pink with hints of lavender underneath. As I'm really pale this was a great option - it didn't make my hands look deathly and gave a fun subtle pop of color in the Spring and Summer. I remember I first tried this color at a nail salon when my mom took me for a mani/pedi date for my 21st birthday a few years back. 

Hip-Anema:

This is a bright tomato-red and I'll be honest, I was looking for Essie Fifth Avenue when I came across this. This fit my bill because I was in search of a bright orangey-red color, and this was perfect. I love the classic feel of having red on my hands, but since I'm more neutral I tend to use this on my toes - they compliment any strappy sandals and help to dress up my Birks.

Butler Please:

The color doesn't photograph too well, it's more of a brighter cobalt color, not as electric blue as it comes across in the photo. This is definitely one of those polishes I pick up when I'm really feeling bold with my nails. The polish does seem like an extremely abnormal color, but I actually feel that it isn't too hard to match up with outfits. The bright hues of blue compliment most colors and my neutral-filled wardrobe doesn't tend to clash with it. I'll probably be pulling this out now that we're almost in Summer!

After School Boy Blazer:

Fun back story - ever since LC dawned navy blue on her nails back in the golden age of The Hills and MTV, I've been on the search for the perfect opaque, navy blue color. I found a few from Zoya and O.P.I., but they either had glitter/shimmer in it or was an off-navy/royal/ blue/cobalt color. I also was not prepared to shell out a ton of money on the Chanel varnish so I patiently waited. Until I came across this navy shade from Essie this past Fall, and it is won-der-ful. It's one of those almost-black shades where people will stare and say wait, do you have blue or black nails? However I do notice that after a few days of wear the nails tend to look more dark blue than navy blue, so I'm not sure if it's just my eyes adjusting or if the polish changes with more exposure to the sun. 

Overall, Essie has my heart and I'm extremely selective with my polishes. As much as I love painting my nails, it takes me absolutely forever to go through nail polishes. I have only ever finished one bottle of polish, the rest I either throw away after they separate or give away if I don't like the color anymore. But out of the bunch, I'd definitely say that Sand Tropez is bound to be a long-term favorite Essie product. 

What are some of your favorite Essie shades? 

Cheers!