Essie: Cute as a Button

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 This color definitely lived up to it's name, the bright coral toned orange is so cute that it perks your day up as soon as you coat it onto your nails.  It went on nicely, opaque in 2 coats, and stayed on for a good few days (not surprising since it is Essie).  For me personally these types of colors only work on my skin tone when I'm mildly tan and not when I'm rocking a mid-summer tan, but I can definitely see this color being great for almost anyone.

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*natural sunlight, 2 coats, Canon T3.  

Essie: Olé Caliente

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I'm sure everyone has a color like this in their collection, but if you're in the market for a new red I highly suggest Essie's 'Olé Caliente'.  Shown here is one coat, ONE COAT.  I'm not even kidding you this color is so opaque and perfect that it would be a great supplement to any red polishes you already have. 

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Personally I like the darker reds most of the time but a great tomato based bright red is good to have on hand as well.  I can see someone with a lighter skin tone loving this color, it would really make their nails look nicely polished and defined.  As for the lack of description or story behind this polish I apologize, I still can't get over how opaque it was! ;) 

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*natural sunlight, 1 coat, Canon T3.

Essie: Turquoise & Caicos

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If you apply this color in two thin coats, you get a beautiful tiffany blue turquoise color that's perfect for the summer.  I had always heard a lot about this polish but never really looked at it in the stores or anything since I wasn't too big a fan of blues and greens back then, I stuck loyally to my baby pinks, reds, and nudes.  Let me just say, I am so happy I've finally started to branch out into other colors...better late than never!

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This closeup shot really shows how creamy and almost jelly the consistency of this polish is, it looks nice and opaque and stays on for days!  I think I wore this polish for about a week straight without noticing any chipping or smudging, which is quite a feat when you're talking about a girl who changes her polish normally 3x a week.  

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This is a shot of my sister's nails, she liked the color when I bought it so we had matching nails for a while.  I'm not a huge fan of nail art, I like my nails plain and creamy but she decided to add this pink tribal stripe effect on her ring finger that actually looks really great with the 'Turquoise and Caicos' color.  

*natural sunlight, 2 coats, Canon T3.  

Essie: Sand Tropez

                                    

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I've been focusing on brighter colors for the summertime but I decided that I wanted to take a break for a few days and give a nude polish some love.  I'm borrowing this from a friend, but after using it I think I might have to pick up a bottle for myself.  It may not be a color that I'd reach for on a regular basis but for days like these when I don't really care, it finishes off my nails nicely.  

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Essie 'Sand Tropez' is the perfect nude for when you want a creme finish to your nails but not much color.  Back when I was dancing we weren't allowed to have anything other than clear nail polish on our nails, and I hated it.  This is a great alternative for that kind of situation, it makes your nails look clean, polished, and also makes your fingers look longer than you've ever imagined.

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 One coat of this was pretty opaque, but two coats covered up any sheer spots giving full coverage.  I can see 'Sand Tropez' being a staple in any polish collection for any sort of professional function or anytime you need more of a subdued color.

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Puppy wanted to get in the shots, so I gave her one of her own :)

*natural sunlight, 2 coats, Canon T3.

Essie: Lovie Dovie

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I originally saw this color when I was looking at a blog, sorry can't remember which one :( and I forgot about it for a while.  Then when I was searching the Essie display the name jumped out at me and I realized I had never purchased it.  Not only is this a beautiful pink but the name 'Lovie Dovie' is just too impossible to resist.  

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 With so many pinks in my collection it's hard to find new ones that stand out as being something different.  This is where 'Lovie Dovie' comes in, it is a muted hot pink that has a tinge of pastel to it creating this uncommon pink shade that could go either way.  In 2 coats it was opaque and while I wouldn't say this pink creme is a necessity for every collection it's a bit different enough that it is a welcomed addition in mine.  Come on, you can't say no to that name ;)

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*natural sunlight, 2 coats, Canon T3.  

Essie: Go Overboard

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One of the three colors featured in Essie's spring collection announced earlier this year, 'Go Overboard' is the namesake for the entire collection.  This creamy dark blue has green undertones which creates this perfect in-between from true blue to navy blue.  

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This color reminds me a lot of my high school colors (teal & black) and would have been perfect to wear at pep rallies or other school functions.  I think that this type of teal/navy color is great to have in your collection because it is so beautiful to wear for any occasion but it is also work appropriate.  

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'Go Overboard' is one of Essie's more opaque colors, a nice change from the millions of sheer baby pinks, and I was surprised at how creamy it was in one coat.  Of course I did 2, which made it absolutely perfect.  

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I re-painted my middle and ring fingers in other colors that I had in my collection just to show a comparison.  My middle finger is painted in 'Khloe Had a Little Lam-Lam' from the Kardashian Nicole by OPI collection and my ring finger is painted in 'Dark Room' from the OPI collection at Sephora.

*natural sunlight, 2 coats, Canon T3.  

Essie: Secret Story

 When I saw this in the display of Essie polishes I immediately knew that it would be going home with me.  I have a ton of pinks in my collection, but I had recently begun looking for a bright pink color that was on the verge of being considered neon.  However, before I purchased it I did that little bubble test ( you know what I'm talking about right?  Where you tilt the bottle to see the little bubble of air?), anyway I could already tell that it was going to be a pretty sheer color.  The photo above is after only one coat.

 Surprisingly enough, this photo was taken after only two coats!  I thought that I would have to build up at least 4 or 5 coats to get this shade to the opacity that is shown in the bottle, but I was pleasantly surprised.  This blue-based neon pink is the perfect shade for summer, not only does it scream fun but it is also very 'on-trend' for this year.

 Of course, in typical fashion I painted on an extra coat just to be safe.  I absolutely love the way that this color turned out when I was done, it was so shiny that I contemplated not using a top coat.  I'm thinking that what I originally took as a sheerness to the color turned out to be a jelly like quality.  'Secret Story' makes my nails look amazing, I've never had a polish that looked this much like jelly before and I'm completely loving it.

My younger sister (who's in 7th grade) is on a school trip to California this week and she asked me to do her nails before she left.  I had just gotten home from the grocery store with this polish in tow, and I knew that this color would be perfect for her.  I'm a little jealous though, I like the way that this color looks on me but it looks even better on her.  She liked the color when I was done with her nails, so hopefully the staying power will last throughout her trip!  

*natural sunlight, 3 coats, Canon T3.

Essie: Nice is Nice

Around this time last year I began looking for a pastel lilac color to add to my collection.  However with so many choices out there the internal struggle I have with picking out polishes began again.  This color also reminds me of a color that Essie introduced this year not too long ago, I believe it is called 'To Buy or Not To Buy'.  While I already own and love this color, I contemplated buying the other color just because I thought the name was so cute.  My sister talked me out of it (thank god, everyone knows I don't need any more polish) however after looking at some swatches I think that they have their little differences.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still very happy with this color HOWEVER, I think that 'To Buy or Not To Buy' would be worth checking out as well if you don't already have a shade like this in your collection.  

I finally decided on this color after searching through most of my favorite nail polish brands for a color similar.  'Nice is Nice' is the perfect pastel purple for me.  It has quite a bit of white in it which I think makes it very wearable for anyone.  It's also a very creamy color which looks quite nice and opaque on the nails although it takes a few coats to achieve the color shown in the bottle.  Nevertheless, I love the way that this color looks, especially with purple being my favorite color.  It's not a stand out purple which means that this color is great for outfits of any color variety, which is always a plus.

*natural sunlight, 3 coats, Canon T3.

Essie: Eternal Optimist

Instead of being a normal flat nude color, Eternal Optimist is the perfect mix of nude with a slight tint of pink.  It's that perfect shade when you want a nude color but don't want your nails to blend into your fingers.  A pretty creamy polish this seems to be one of Essie's more opaque colors.  I like to consider myself an optimist so the cute name just further adds to my affection for this color.  

I actually only needed 2 coats to get this color to reflect the shade in the bottle, and they went on nicely and easily without any streaks or bubbling.  This color is also nice on a lot of different skin tones, I've worn it, my sister is a lot darker than me and she likes the way it looks on her and my friends who are lighter than me have also used this polish.

*natural sunlight, 2 coats, Canon T3.

Essie: Power Clutch

 Part of Essie's "Brand New Bag" Collection that was released in the Fall of 2011, Power Clutch is one of those greige shades that you never really know what to make of.  In the bottle it looks like a dark grey creme but once you get it on you nails there is a chameleon-like quality.  I personally wasn't sure how this color would look on my skin tone but I absolutely love it!  It's definitely one of those staple winter colors that I believe everyone should have in their collection.  Power Clutch instantly makes your nails look a little more polished and refined, I could see this as a very good color for the workplace.

 I used 3 coats, but you could get away with 2 if you wanted to.  I always like to paint on an extra coat or so even if the color is opaque, I don't necessarily know why but I just like to think of it as insurance. The hint of green is so subtle that I didn't even really notice it until I was reading other reviews of this color and figured I better point it out here too.  I only got two of the colors from this collection (the other being 'Carry On')  but I would say that this is the more unique of the two.

*artificial lighting, 3 coats, Canon T3.

I bought mine at Walmart, but you can easily get it at these sites below:
Walmart
Zappos
Nordstrom

Essie: Fifth Avenue

 Fifth Avenue is a color that Essie introduced a few years ago I believe.  This creamy shade is a bright tomato red with a fairly strong orange tint.  In these photographs it looks incredibly orange, I think it might have something to do with the lighting that I used, however when you use it on your nails the orange tint is undeniable.  Perhaps just imagine a pinch more red and you'll reach the color of Fifth Avenue.  I painted on 2 coats but you could absolutely get away with one fairly thick coat if you were in a rush.

 I'll admit, I originally bought this color because of the name (something that I do with all my products...if it has a cute or catchy name I'm 99% guaranteed to purchase) but I really do like the color. I've worn this on my nails a few times now and I find that it's the perfect shade of tomato red for my skin tone.  Sometimes reds can come off too bright or too dark for my taste but since this has that orange sheen it's a great bright color especially for the summertime.

*artificial lighting, 2 coats, Canon Rebel T3.  

This bottle was purchased at CVS, but you can find it practically anywhere with an Essie stand, it's one of the colors in their permanent collection.  It's also available at these links:
 Essie
Amazon

Essie: Damsel in a Dress

 First off, this isn't necessarily a 'new' Essie polish.  It debuted as part of Essie's Winter 2008 collection, I picked it up about 2 years ago I'd say somewhere during the Fall of 2010.  I had just moved to Chicago for college and was shopping at Target to stock my dorm room.  Knowing me, I left with this polish instead of toothpaste.  Oh geez.

This color is absolutely beautiful on as well as in the bottle.  It has that sort of shimmer that gives the color incredible depth and shine making it the perfect winter color. My bottle is currently about half full since I pull this baby out as a 'go-to' color once the weather starts to drop.  Anyway, that pearlescent sheen it has is my favorite part of this polish, it makes it unique amongst the sea of dark purple polishes out there.  I topped it off with one coat of my Sally Hansen top coat just to give a little bit more shine, but this polish doesn't really need it.  Damsel in a Dress has great staying power as well as nice opacity after 2 coats.

 *artificial lighting, 2 coats, Canon Rebel T3.

Like I said above, I bought mine at Target but since it's somewhat of an older color it's pretty readily available at places like Walmart, CVS, etc.  Or online at places like:
Amazon
Nordstrom