Of Life and Lacquer

Neons. Neeeons. NEEEEEEONNSSSS. Did anyone say neons? If you are like me, you pretty much live for neon polishes in every shade, every finish and every brand. I know that when Essie puts out a “neon” collection, it won’t really be neon but that doesn’t dissuade me from stalking my beauty supply. I know some of you get insulted by the lack of true neon colors, but let’s just make nice with Essie and realize that their neon = bright. If they were to put out a true neon collection, they would have to call them radioactive or something like that so until that happens, let’s just work with them…mmmkkk? The Essie Summer Neons Collection for 2015 is just what I was expecting: 6 bright polishes with a somewhat tricky formula. I’ve got to admit they’re kind of gorgeous, so let me show you these beauties.

First up is Essie Coacha’bella. This one is pretty, oh so pretty but oh so forgettable. The formula isn’t horrible–you just have to apply it precisely and not overwork it. I recommend two very thin coats–with adequate dry time in between coats–and a thicker third coat to level it all out.

Next we have Essie All Access Pass. This one was the one I knew would make me age 3 years just trying to capture the color accurately. My camera is super difficult when it comes to capturing these indigo/purple colors so I pretty much gave up after a few dozen pictures. The formula on this one is incredibly thin and sheer so I figured I’d need 50 coats to make it look good. Three coats is what it took so no biggie.

When I saw Essie Vibrant Vibes, I was afraid–very afraid. This type of color is notoriously difficult to work with so I said a little prayer to La Virgen de Guadalupe before I sat down to swatch this one. Well, it seems that my prayer worked because it really wasn’t horrible. Yes, it was super streaky after the first coat, but it looked fine after the third coat. I’m not gonna complain about that because 1) I didn’t apply white undies 2) It could be much, much worse.

I love me some bright blues, so Essie Make Some Noise is right up my alley. Out of the 6 polishes, Make Some Noise has the best formula. It’s super pigmented and opaque which means that it’s out of control gorgeous and also stains like a mofo. You can see what happened after I removed this polish over on instagram in case you’re curious. It was a blue massacre. Still, it’s pretty and only needs two coats for full opacity. If you want to avoid hella staining, wear a good base coat.

Essie Groove is in the Heart is a beautiful pink with a patchtastic formula. Patchtastic /pachˈtastik/ is a word in the Cynthia Polish Lexicon in case you were wondering. Colors like this make me look extra tan so please excuse the blatant darker skin picture–it’s still my hand…not some darker random stranger. This one required 3 coats as well and to be honest, I think this one was the hardest for me to work with. Still, it’s pink and pink is my color even when it’s baby pink so I’ll let it slide.

And lastly we have Essie Melody Maker. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. The formula on this one is really good, even for Essie. It’s the second two coater from this collection, but I didn’t get staining from this one like I did with Make Some Noise. Lesley and I were remarking that we probably have dupes for this one but we don’t care because we can NEVER get enough of these types of colors. The first couple of colors that came to mind are OCC Chlorophyl…

Sorry, I couldn’t help it. So, I was saying: OCC Chlorophyl and YSL Vert d’Orient are two polishes that are possible dupes. Do I care? Nope. It’s a sickness, I tell ya.

So what do you think about this collection? Personally I like it, I like it a lot. I’m happy that they do not require a white base because ain’t nobody got time for that. I know that the major complaint will be that these are not neon, so let’s just get that out of the way right now. The only neon in this whole collection is probably Vibrant Vibes and even that one didn’t require a white base. Despite the atrocious staining, I think Make Some Noise is my favorite one from the collection with Melody Maker coming in at a close second. I’ve heard that this collection is exclusive to Target (Essie’s post on IG), but that’s kinda weird, no? I got my set at an independent beauty supply so there’s that. I do wonder what the general reaction will be to this collection so please share your thoughts below. I hope you’re doing well today, and thanks a bunch for stopping by today. Talk to you soon!