When I first saw this year's Essie Winter Collection, I've got to be honest I was a bit disappointed! Needless to say, I didn't pick up the standard red that is Party On A Platform, nor the salmon pink pearl finish in Oh Behave! (ugh...I know what you're thinking ever since the Retro Revival Collection, these old fashioned polishes keep popping up!).
The turquoise that is Satin Sister I would have bought had I not owned an exact dupe already, I used to wear turquoise on my nails quite a lot five years ago but now it remains barely worn (but you never know when the mood might strike again). And finally I gave the grey Go With The Flowy a miss too, because a) I'm not a fan of grey on my nails (it's such a non-colour, why bother?!) and b) according to Kindra from EssieEnvy (you need to check her out if you haven't already) the formula is pretty bad.
So I know my swatches are quite limited with just Getting Groovy and Ready To Boa, but I'm not made of money and I can't afford to buy polishes I'm not going to wear (...and I can't afford to buy polishes I do wear, but that's another story!)
Essie - Getting Groovy (Winter 2016)
Described as a metallic gold palladium, this polish is essentially the gold version of Apres-Chic; the silver micro-shimmer from last year's Winter Collection. Getting Groovy is also a micro-shimmer and acts exactly like its counterpart; it applies like a dream, removes surprisingly easily and will be everyone's favourite! Last year, Apres-Chic was my surprise favourite and I bought a second bottle to have in stock, I loved it that much! I can see Getting Groovy going the same way...now Essie can we have three for three? Maybe a rose gold micro-shimmer for next year's winter collection, pretty please?! Anyway, this gold is pretty light and dainty in colour (thanks to the silver-ish hue of its micro-shimmer), not too yellow or brassy nor dull and dark/almost green looking in colour. It's honestly the most perfect light gold, and - better still - one you might not actually own already!
APPLICATION
- 2 coats on top of Orly's glue basecoat for easy swatch removal.
This polish could be a 1 coater on short nails, on long nails though 2 coats are needed to properly cover the free edge of the nail. The 2nd coat does darken the gold a tad, but not by much.
WEAR
I've already worn this one as a full manicure and unlike Apres-Chic (which already has pretty impressive lasting power) this polish is outstanding! With long nails I managed 4 days chip free having been very manual intensive those days (including washing hands thoroughly with a nail brush cleaner after varnishing boxes several days in a row).
REMOVAL
Easy removal for a metallic micro-shimmer, although it does leave a few flecks of micro-shimmer behind all over you fingers, simple targeted hand washing deals with that issue no problem.
Essie - Ready To Boa (Winter 2016)
This glistening bronze mahogany (can't give a more accurate description if I tried), is gorgeous but a bit dark, the warmth of the bronze doesn't really give the "lit-within" look when on the nails as much as it does in the bottle. It's a shame but not unexpected since both OPI's Every Month is Oktoberfest (more purple in tone) and German-icure (more red) from the Germany Collection (Autumn 2012) had the same lacklustre effect when actually on the nails as opposed to in the bottle. Ready To Boa is still a nice colour, though if you're into your dark nails (which is what winter's for) I just wish it had lived up to its potential!
APPLICATION
- 2 coats on top of Orly's glue basecoat for easy swatch removal.
This is a 1 coater, I did 2 because I was taking photos and I didn't want any free edge to be visible (they can sometimes sneak up on you via the detail of the camera) but half-way done with my first hand I was seriously questioning why I had bothered with the 2nd coat. 1 coat is perfect but if you were to add a second one, then know that the colour doesn't deepen.
WEAR/REMOVAL
I haven't worn this one as a full manicure yet, so I can't attest to how well it lasts or removes.
There you have it, my somewhat limited selection from the Essie Winter Collection 2016. What did you think of this year's collection?
Which colours did you pick up? How did you like them?
Would you like to see a rose gold micro-shimmer similar to Getting Groovy and Apres-Chic next year?
And last but not least, how adorable is my Rudolph wrapping paper? I got it from Stonemanor (a shop that sells English goodies here in Belgium and always has a huge selection of festive decorations, especially for Halloween and Christmas; they go all out!)
xxxemma