Remember when I started crying because I didn’t find the new Essie Summer Collection? Well, today I am crying because I did find it. Ok, I won’t be so dramatic, and I will leave the polish commentary for below. I can’t tell you how excited I was when I first saw the promo pictures for the Essie Summer Collection. I was picturing brightly painted nails and flashy pedicures for a hot beach day–ok, not really, but I was still really really looking forward to it. I called my nail guy this morning, and he informed me that they had the new collection so I rushed over there after work to pick up a set. As soon as I got home, I immediately proceeded to swatch them since I just couldn’t help myself…womp womp. Let’s dive right into the swatches, and I will tell you what I thought of each polish.
The color of Rock The Boat is really pretty. I don’t think I have too many similar blues and the shimmer really makes it somewhat unique in my collection. Too bad the formula spread like diarrhea. Seriously. The formula on this is atrocious. Maybe I am exaggerating a little, but I found the formula so incredibly hard to work with. It was super streaky and I did my best to apply super thin coats and left plenty of time in between to make sure that I didn’t create any bald spots. Well, what you see in my swatches is 4 coats and it still looks uneven. Major sadness.
Why does Essie always have to throw in some lilac/purple color like Full Steam Ahead in every single collection? While the shimmer in this is nice and the polish color is pretty, it’s so yawn-worthy. Additionally, the formula on this polish was just as bad as on Rock The Boat. This is also 4 thin coats and I am not too happy with the end result.
Sunday Funday is a color that I imagined as a perfect pedicure color. The formula on this one was also streaky, but I felt that it covered a little better than the previous two polishes. I still wasn’t very happy with it even though I really like the color!
All I could think of when I saw The More The Merrier was pea soup. The fancy people call this chartreuse, but I just call it radioactive pea soup color because that’s how I roll. This polish was a little easier to work with, and I felt it leveled out a lot better than the previous three. I applied 2 thickish coats here.
The Girls Are Out (OMG how does Essie know about my UPS man mishap??) is a pretty color that I don’t find too unique but the formula was everything that I had hoped the other polishes had been like. It was smooth, very pigmented and leveled out perfectly after two coats. As soon as I applied the first coat, I knew this was going to be a winner.
And here is the very Naughty Nautical. This is the clear winner out of this 6 polish collection. The color is to die for. The shimmer adds that extra something to it AND the formula was immaculate. This is by far my favorite polish from this collection because of the color and formula. I just wish all the other polishes had been as easy to apply. I applied 2 coats for the swatches above.
Well, overall I am kind of disappointed with this collection. I’ve read a few reviews already which make me feel like I’m maybe doing something wrong with these polishes since they didn’t seem to have too many application issues. Is it me again? Are you there, God? It’s me, Cynthia. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? Another thing that I noticed is that the brushes on a few of these bottles seemed “fluffier” than usual so I think that also threw me off a bit. To sum up my feelings on this collection in a few words: blog sale. Yep, these are all going on my blog sale so check it out before they are all snatched up. I’m really curious to see more reviews for this collection because I keep wondering if I’m the problem (kind of like with the China Glaze Summer Neons!). It’s really too bad because I really do like Naughty Nautical, The Girls Are Out and The More The Merrier–those are my recommendations if you’re going to be getting any colors from this collection. And lastly, I did pick up a mini set to give away to one lucky reader. Make sure that you enter for your chance to win this mini set by using the rafflecopter widget below. As usual, this is open internationally.
Please let me know what you think of this collection! Good luck and thanks so much for stopping by today.
All the colors are pretty but it sucks to hear formula on the majority of them wasn’t that great! Your swatches make them look really good though 🙂
Lisa N. recently posted..Hobby Polish Bloggers May Challenge – Recreate Your Favorite
How/Why does Essie ALWAYS seem to release polishes w/ serious formula issues? Every year, w/ nearly EVERY collection, it seems!
Yet grab pretty much any bottle of any Revlon-line and the formula is fantastic (at half the price!)!
essie®!! what’s wrong w/ you??
i don´t have any essie, i´m doing a list of the essie you recomend because you cant find them in Argentina. so i ask friends to buy them for me when they travel 🙁
thanks for all of your honest reviews! you are helping me save a loot of money!
I love Full Steam Ahead and Rock the Boat. I really am a fan of Essie brand although I don’t own any because they are so darn expensive, I really like their colors. I didn’t even know they sold mini’s. I hope I win or find a mini set of my own.
You are just too funny! Thanks for the awesome review!
I really like naughty nautical and radioactive pea soup, or excuse me- the more the merrier. But I find the more the merrier to be a weird name because just mentioning the word “merry” makes me think of Christmas. And idk if I’m the only one, but I’m kinda sick of Essie. They always have that lilac color, they seem to always (as of late) have some application problems, and I know you’re lucky enough to find it at a discount at your magical nail places but I can only find it at rite aid for 8 bucks and I’m sorry but the formula and the mostly snooze-worthy shades just do NOT warrant that. If they wanna drop their prices to about 5.50 or 6 dollars max then sure, I’d pick some up but as it is, for these shades that really aren’t that special, I’ll pass. I’m a turd tonight. Sorry.
Nicole recently posted..Shimmer Gradient Semi-Nail-Fail
It’s a shame the formula is so bad! Naughty Nautical caught my eye immediately so I’m glad to hear it has a good formula. The Girls Are Out is really pretty too. The others are pretty as well but with the exception of the coral they seem more like spring colours to me, rather than summer.
The Nail Newbie recently posted..May Tri-Polish challenge, day 4: One fish, two fish…
Great swatching! I really do think that these all look great on you… lucky ducky 😉
Stefanie (Fairly Charming) recently posted..Recreate Your Favorite
Such pretty shades! But such a pity about the not so pretty formula 🙁
Great swatches!
Polish Alcoholic recently posted..OPI – Couture de Minnie Collection + GIVEAWAY
So far, I haven’t had any problems with Essie yet but then again I don’t have this collection yet. I do like The More The Merrier and Naughty Nautical.
I’m in love with Rock The Boat, looks so pretty! Thank you for the giveaway 😀
Iriel recently posted..Cone of Shame: BeautyBay
Beautiful colors!
I really love this collection! but I think that they always do lilla colors!
I’ve been wanting Naughty Nautical – the only one I want of the whole set – so I’m glad to hear that it’s a good one! 🙂 Besides another lilac, the blue does look a bit familiar as well.
Jessica Dymphna-Rose recently posted..May Challenge, Part Four: Recreate Your Favorite
My lovie, check on jen’s blog http://www.thepolishaholic.com She did a review for these this week.
ALSO, why the hell do i always land up liking colours that are so krappy to work with? is this my lot in polish life??? URG!!! By the way I thought the powder blue looked AWESOME on you AND it was on in the lilac one that i could see it was uneven, other than that they all look good Cynth!!
Siobhan recently posted..Untried Polish Challenge 1: One Colour
Rock the Boat reminds me a little bit of “Cindarella” from Sinful Colors, but RTB is a little more pigmented. RTB and The Girls Are Out are my two favs from this collection!
Thanks for the swatches, review AND giveaway!
xox
Bailey
http://akabailey.blogspot.com
Bailey recently posted..A Few Good Things
I bought Naughty Nautical and The More the Merrier last week. I looove Naughty Nautical – the formula and color are perfect. I love the weird color of the More the Merrier…but the formula was absolutely terrible. I don’t know if I got a bad bottle or what, but it’s just awful 🙁
Jay @ Wayfaring Beauty recently posted..Crows Toes Absolum – Your Potions Master Swatches & Review
Best review of this collection yet! I love your descriptions! LOL
I saw the Naughty Nautical color last week and on you it’s gorgeous-now I need to try it. I feel like Essie Bikini So Teeny (which I love) is so similar to Rock The Boat. Do you know it? And lapis of luxury is a bit darker without the shimmer but also a beautiful soft blue.
http://asequinloveaffair.com
I already bought Naughty Nautical and I love all the colors! Essie always works really well for me, even when the formula is poorly reviewed. Maybe because I’m the whitebread kind of person Essie makes polish for–well my chemistry is all WASP-y anyway lol! Chemistry is weird though–I love Zoya’s colors but I feel like it never dries on me even with their color lock system. Which is really sad and I’ve been considering selling my unuseds and giving the rest away. Some brands just aren’t worth the hassle of they don’t work for you.
I *love* the light blue shade, and am kinda intrigued by the pea soup polish too 😉
Raina recently posted..Zoya Kerry
I’m not surprised at all you have your “nail guy” programmed into your phone. 😛 I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I haven’t been all that interested in the new collections. I was in the new CG neons, but then I heard the bad formula reviews and I just kinda forgot about them. I like a few of the colors in this collection, but I have no real desire to run to the store to find them. That used to always be the case. I think it’s been a couple of weeks since I last bought polish. *gasp* am I dying? I’m slightly concerned.
P.S. I’m still signing up for your giveaway though. What colors are in the mini cube btw?
Frosso recently posted..Pomegranate Lacquer and Cellairis Inspired Mani + Giveaway!
Am I the only one who thinks it’s odd that both China Glaze and Essie came out with “Sunday Funday” as a color this year (and that they’re totally different colors)? If I were Essie, I would’ve renamed, since China Glaze’s color came out a couple months before.
Also, I’m with you about the colors. Meh. In some ways, the two blues on here remind me of OPI’s I Don’t Give a Rotterdam and I Have a Herring Problem. Not dupes, but similar in a related way, so I feel like I’ve seen them before, even though I haven’t.
Frenchroast recently posted..Coconut-Ginger Braised Chicken
oh goodness these are absolutely gorgeous!! I can see why you were crying 🙂 I’m crossing my fingers and toes I win the mini-set because I haven’t been able to buy polish for awhile :/ Thanks for the giveaway!
ChiChi recently posted..Disney nail art challenge – Cinderella
I think we need a “4 Coats?!?! Ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat!!!!” meme.
I like this collection, but the one that I was most interested in was Naughty Nautical. Thankfully you have confirmed that I should be interested in it and it has since been procured. Pretty sure it’s going to be on my toes as of tomorrow.
Sorry to hear that this collection caused your grief twice over. 🙁 At least they look good on you!
I love these colours….i hope to win!!!
Great giveaway!
Zoi recently posted..Beauty | Pharmacy Haul
Thanks
Thank you for this great giveaway!
I love the Essie nailpolish!
I love all their colours and it as a wonderful product!
So cute collection!
have a lovely day!
Omg i agree… Naughty Nautical is the clear winner, they are all very nice but im a jade lover so yup it got my attention the most….Thank you for the give-away, its awesome.
this is an unexpected favorite but I love the girls are out so much!
Crystal recently posted..Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense 37
I really love the three essies I have. I would love to win the giveaway
I would be crying too, I love every single one of these gorgeous beauties!!! <3
amanda (mae) recently posted..NOTD 144 – Double stamping!
I love your blog! Since you are the polish expert, I have a question. Can you think of a topcoat that would add the shimmery look of these polishes? I have so many solids and I really like this glitter. Thanks!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Allison. I think it would be hard to get a shimmer this subtle with a separate top coat. Whenever I want to add delicate sparkle to my manicure, I either use China Glaze Fairy Dust or Out The Door Northern Lights. I think they can make any creme look amazing!
Browsing eBay and noticed that seller myglamourboutique has stolen your swatches of this collection. Can’t blame her (they awesome swatches!) but just wanted to give you a head’s up.
On a related note, is it weird that I recognize your specific fingers in photos?
LOL…I am flattered that you recognize my fingers/swatches. These ebay people are always stealing pics and sadly I can’t do much about it.