A Tale of Two Essies: Comparison of Lilacism and St. Lucia Lilac

My lilac standbys from last summer were Essie St. Lucia Lilac, for a milky pale lavender, and OPI Do You Lilac It? When playing with the new Essie Lilacism from the spring 2010 Art in Bloom collection, I wondered how close Lilacism would be with St. Lucia Lilac. Well, turns out they are pretty close! Above is an outdoor sunlight picture, and below is an indoor picture in filtered sunlight. The smaller bottle is Lilacism, from the Essie spring 2010 four-pack of minis.


You can see how close they are in the bottle. Lilacism (smaller bottle) has more of a blue tone to it, while St. Lucia Lilac seems more straightforward, pale lilac. I think that's the extent of the difference! More bottle pics below, followed by on-the-nail comparisons.




Ah, in shade in the snow, above! Below, my pinky nail wears St. Lucia Lilac, while the ring finger has Lilacism.





I don't think I will be buying a larger bottle of Lilacism. I think if you want a milky-pale lilac, either of these polishes will fit the bill, but as with my comparo of OPI Do You Lilac It with BB Couture Cap Haïtien, you can also choose based on the subtle differences in tone. I will enjoy wearing both!

Essie Spring 2010 Four Pack o' Minis

It's high time that I continued my reveal of the Essie Art of Spring collection. I've tried out New Whimsical, a milky lavender-pink, and Van d'Go, a milky salmon-y peach. Now for the minis in the cute four-pack. I've already bemoaned that they didn't just give you a six pack of Essie minis, since it seems the packaging was the right size and could have accommodated it.

So, first let's take a look at the collection altogether. We have the icy, milky pink/cool-toned shades. Left to right: Lilacism, Neo Whimsical, and Pop Art Pink.


Then we have the peachy/warm shades. Left to right: Tart Deco, Van d'Go, and Red Nouveau.


Look how nicely they coordinate with the cover of this gardening magazine. Pretty!

Below, on the index finger = Red Nouveau; On the middle finger = Tart Deco. I rather like these colors the best in the collection. Perhaps because they are actually COLORS, not the milky, streaky pale barely there colors. Essie's blog shows a nice picture of a coral red, not the same but very close to Red Nouveau here, from the Philip Lim runway. I see the inspiration for this polish color!


Now let's go outside and get some light on the subject. Here with the cute box (and see how I coordinated my nails to the colors on the box? Unh-huh, clever, right!)


Index = Red Nouveau, Middle = Tart Deco, Ring = Lilacism, Pinky = Pop Art Pink.

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Lilacism is the palest, milky lavender---pretty! Pop Art Pink is a super pale pink---also very pretty. (I wonder if Pop Art Pink is my Mannequin Hand color? The term "Mannequin Hands" refers to nails the same color as one's skin tone, kind of like a mannequin. I think you need a nude tone with some tan in it, but it does seem that this pink blends nicely with my hand. I do admit that I have pale skin, so why not a milky pink tone for my Mannequin hand nails? I'll have to look into that and compare with some actual nudes.)

Now, some shadier shots, including the one at the beginning of this post.

Aw, my snow shot was rather messed up, below, by the shade and shadows.


Below, bringing back Van d'Go on the thumbnail, the three peachy colors:

This collection was inspired by colors of spring fashion. The colors are certainly pretty, and some are even interesting. I think I am not as thrilled with Essie's spring 2010 offering as I was with the fall 2009, with its full-on colors including a couple of surprise neons. However, I do think the spring 2010 collection is quintessentially Essie, and I know I'll be wearing some of these colors if not all this spring!!

Essie Aruba Blue

So, last Friday I went to ULTA and did not find the OPI Alice In Wonderland collection there. I did find the Orly Bloom collection and made a few selections, as well as the Essie Art of Spring (see my Neo Whimsical and Van d'Go posts). When browsing the regular shelves, I caught a glimpse of the most beautiful, metallic, dark cobalt blue: Essie Aruba Blue.

Wow!! It is kind of similar to Mesmerize but it's a metallic version of cobalt. I tried it this past weekend during my brief swatching session and snapped an indoor pic. It's luscious! It's divine! WOW!

I am not sure why it's called 'Aruba' Blue. Maybe inspired by a blue hole dive spot or something? That's why the dark blue?

For some reason, I have been craving blues. Are they suddenly popular and seeping into my subconscious mind?? At any rate, I hadn't seen Essie Aruba Blue before, and I don't know where it came from, but yay! I can't wear to wear this beauty.

Essie Spring 2010: Van d'Go

I love color. I love pretty much every color. Most of all, I love combinations of colors, which is why I have never had a favorite color. (If I had to choose, I would go with purple, but that's another story for another day).

One color I really don't like? Peach!

Gasp! I know, it's the color for spring, or at least one of them. I did manage to embrace coral last spring and summer, though, so I think I can make it through the peach trend. I do think that "Van d'Go" from Essie Spring 2010 is a pretty pale peach. It's kind of a salmon-y color; put a few drops of "Tart Deco" (also from this collection) in Van d'Go, and you might have an actual salmon color.

So, I gave it a go. Like Neo Whimsical, Van d'Go is milky pale, and I also had, as with Neo Whimsical, some issues with application. It was streaky and gloppy, and on my index finger it really ran all over the place.

Here is an indoor shot, like at the beginning of this post:


Again, in the direct sunlight, I felt the color was washed out some.

I don't know about these super pale colors. Neo Whimsical, with its pinky lavender-y tones, seems a better bet for me. I'll give it another try, though.

Essie Spring 2010: Neo Whimsical

ha ha, the obligatory astro turf shot...don't all nail blogs have those??

I really want to enjoy the moment and not spend the rest of winter obsessing over spring clothes or colors. It's time for the winter darks and the bright winter sparkles. With all the new pale spring polish colors coming out, however, I am finding that a little spring preview in my life is not such a bad thing. Yep, I gave into temptation.

Essie is an obvious brand to keep track of, since I have liked the fall 2009 and winter/holiday 2009 collections so much. My first reaction to pictures of spring 2010 was "gee, do we really need more super pale colors? Surely Essie has released those before?" The colors are a little different, though, with some peachy tones showing up. Overall, I was intrigued and needed to know more.

Well, more pictures of swatches followed, and I became more intrigued, if not convinced. Lucky for me that Essie has a collection of minis, which came in so handy for me for the holiday collection. This mini collection only has 4 items, though....in a square box that seems clearly to have had room to incorporate 6 bottles! What gives, Essie?

So, I grabbed the box o' minis, and then picked up the full size Van d'Go and Neo Whimsical. Let's start out with Neo Whimsical, a pale milky pink that has some lavender incorporated in it. Very pretty!



I was using the Seche ridge-filling basecoat (which I am not sure works all that great for me). The first coat of Neo Whimsical went on very sheer and rather streak-prone. I ended up putting four coats on. I thought that the third coat was starting to be more opaque and less streaky but still felt it needed the fourth coat. I also got some on my cuticles, ugh!

Now, shown in the late afternoon direct sunlight, below, this color seems a bit washed out. I think direct sun is not the best for showing these super pale colors.



Here is a less harsh shot in filtered sunlight.

I hope next time I try Neo Whimsical I'll be able to manipulate it a little better. It is a pretty color to have in my arsenal!

Essie Holiday 2009: Sweet Time of Year

Essie's holiday 2009 collection contains three colors based on candy. Yum!

"Rock Candy" is a sheer pale pink; "Lollipop" is a plain red; and "Mint Candy Apple" is pale mint green. Mmm, candy! Cue up the Homer Simpson drool.

To be honest, I like my candy with chocolate (caramel and toffee accepted, too). Hard candies such as peppermints aren't my thing, and in terms of the colors offered here, they are not ones I am lusting after for the holidays. I love the mini Essie bottles, so the little miniature collection package is a great way to sample the collection.


"Rock Candy," the sheer pink color, applied very nicely. I put three coats on. I don't mind the visible nail line; I think it is supposed to show a little.



"Lollipop" is a bright, traditional red that goes perfectly with the Christmas season. I have already stated that I am not very interested in red polish, but I do think this red is pretty and a good red representative for my polish collection.


The green seems to be the standout, especially since my ULTA has plenty of the red and pink in stock, but no green. :-P The pale mint green is very striking, but I had issues applying it. In fact, I had to remove my first attempt and start over. I also did an additional nail just to see if this problem was a fluke. (What is it with me and pale green polish problems? lol!)



I always think of candy apples as red, although of course there are the caramel coated ones as well. I wondered about the mint candy apple, and was pleasantly surprised to find Lacquer Laine contained the research and had found a real-life example of a mint candy apple. She gets extra points for the pictures of other scrumptious versions of candy apples, as well!!


Verdict: "Sweet Time of Year" is very "Essie" with its sweet approach; after all, we've got yet another soft, sheer pink. Yet, we have the fabulous and fashionable mint green, which is a great way to do this pale green trend without shelling out for Chanel Jade or MAC Peppermint Patty. I loved the Essie fall collection, with the fashion-forward putty, navy, mauve and gray accompanied by the on-trend neon hot pink and neon orange, and I find this a cute follow-up.

Euridice Scores:

Originality: 5 (everyone else is bringing on yet more pearls, frosties, shimmers and glitters...not that there is anything wrong with that).
True to its brand: 5
Application for newbies: 4 (that green gave me some issues!)
Beauty: 4.5 (it is awfully pretty!)

Overall Euridice Score: 4.5 -- Almost a Euridice yay!

Holiday Nail Polish Collections!!

Okay, with Halloween behind us, it's time to focus on the special collections offered for the holiday season. Let's see what we've got!

Essie's collection is called "Sweet Time of Year" and focuses on candy colors with a red, a sheer pink, and a mint green. I purchased an adorable set of mini bottles at ULTA in order to give this a non-committal sampling.

OPI has a fabulous holiday collection out, with the trademark clever OPI nail polish names. It's a large collection that has a wide range of interesting colors, but reds seem to make up half of it! Do we really need so many reds? I'll weigh in when I review my selections from the collection.

China Glaze has a 4-polish collection featuring glitter!! I have all four of them, predictably: red, dark green (re-release), gold, and silver!

At the drugstores I've seen holiday displays from Milani, Wet 'n' Wild, and Sinful.

At ULTA, I purchased one of two sets available from Borghese: a set of tiny samples in a plastic case that features a lovely flowered print.

Scrangie's blog turned me onto the Fingerpaints holiday collection, and I am very impressed! It's available at Sally Beauty Supply.

Finally, my holy grail has been Deborah Lippman's holiday offering, "Happy Birthday." I just got it, and I am not disappointed!! It's a multicolor glitter, excellent in its own and over so many different colors!

What other holiday nail polish collections are out? Which are your faves??

Check this space for reviews of all these collections and more! (Or at least, that's my plan!!)

Cobalt Coordination: Nails and Handbag

For Wednesday's NOTD (Nails of the Day) I finally wore Essie "Mesmerize," a rich, glossy deep cobalt color. I originally purchased this color at ULTA a few weeks back when I was first buying polish, inaugurating a series of equally exciting ULTA hauls! I was excited when I spotted "Mesmerize" since it seemed an excellent match with my cobalt "Carla" handbag from Ignes Handbags. Starting late in the summer, I've been toting my laptop to work each day using my Carla, and it has worked amazingly well. Thus, it was time to honor good old Carla by coordinating my polish and busting out the Essie Mesmerize.



The colors are close but might be slightly deeper than in these pictures, which were taken in my light-filled office. The light is mostly overhead florescent lighting with a dose of waning daylight coming in through the windows. I find that handbag colors generally wash out a bit in pictures when I'm doing "photoshoots" in my office.

Not currently listed on the Ignes website, the Carla was introduced last fall and was based on the Chiara style. The Chiara features studs and some drawstrings going around the top through loops, while the Carla is the same shape and style but simplified and featuring two zipper pockets on the outside, as shown above. Below, the other side of the Carla is plain. It has double rolled handles and a detachable shoulder strap.

Ignes handbags are made to order, and I chose this leather, which was in stock but not offered in the regular spring/summer leather collection, with a bright yellow fabric lining for maximum contrast. The leather is super-structured and thus ideal for carrying a heavy laptop every day. My Chiara, on the other hand, is a soft, gorgeous puddle of slouch dark chocolate leather---the leathers can make the same Ignes styles completely different from each other.

Below is the interior, showing one of the pockets (more pockets are on the other side, and all Ignes bags include key fobs.)


Below I am showing off my cobalt thumbnail and the Carla's outside zipper pockets!


I love this opaque, glossy cobalt blue polish. I anticipate slapping this on when I am not sure what to do for my nails but will be carrying my Carla and wearing a color that will go with this gorgeous and versatile shade of blue!