Essie’s Braziliant Collection includes six new shades for summer: Too Too Hot (sizzling rich red coral), Meet Me at Sunset (vibrant deep orange), Brazilliant (hot orange with a touch of shimmer), Absolutely Shore (soft sea foam green), Super Bossa Nova (upbeat bright fuchsia), and Smooth Sailing (breezy lavender blue with a reflection of pearl).
Too Too Hot is really more red than red-coral. It has a cream finish, and it was almost opaque in one coat, though I used two for swatches. The red definitely dominates here, though. It reminds me of a deeper Rescue Beauty Lounge Bangin’, less red Zoya Sooki.
Meet Me at Sunset is a orange-red; kind of like a tomato red to me. It’s very vibrant and has a cream finish. I used two coats. It’s darker than Essie Vermillionaire. Zoya Lana seems like it would come the closest but has shimmer.
Braziliant is a rich, darkened orange with white shimmer. I used two coats, but it was nearly opaque in one. MAC Imperial Flower is similar, though the shimmer is chunkier and gold.
Absolutely Shore is a whitish green with a cream finish. I used two coats, but it does have a streakier base, so take your time with this one. It’s a little less yellow-based than Nubar Sprout.
Super Bossa Nova is a brightened, dark pink with fuchsia shimmer. I swatched with two coats, but it was really pigmented in one. China Glaze 108 Degrees is very similar, though the base pink is redder.
Smooth Sailing is cornflower blue with hints of purple and chunkier silver shimmer. I used two coats. I couldn’t find a dupe for this – I don’t have anything quite like it in my stash from what I can tell!
The formula for Essie’s summer shades was excellent overall. I only had a little trouble with Absolutely Shore, which required some patience and a more precise application (aka pay attention)–the first coat will look a little streaky, so I recommend a thinner initial coat followed by a medium-thick second coat. Despite being a lighter shade, though, it is nearly opaque in just two coats. The other five were impeccable: dense pigmentation, not too thick or thin, even flow, and just easy to work with. I typically get a week’s worth of wear out of Essie’s polishes.
It's a fun collection of summery shades; the first three are more typical of summer, while the latter three are a little more unique. Overall, these were nice to work with and had great color pay off. Smooth Sailing seems the most unique!
Product
9.5/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
Texture
9.5/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
4.5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
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For Spring, Essie has launched six shades ranging from blue to nude in their A French Affair Collection. Essie can be found at various etailers and salons, but also through beauty.com ($8 per bottle).
Coat Azure (breathing taking medium blue with shimmer), French Affair (sophisticated soft lavender pink), Nice is Nice (whimsical light lavender), Sand Tropez (soft sandy beige), Topless & Barefoot (barely there soft beige pink), and Kisses & Bisses (kiss of pink shimmer – perfect to layer over any color).
Coat Azure is a dusty cornflower blue with soft microshimmer. I used two coats. China Glaze Sky High Top seems similar but brighter.
French Affair is a pale pink with cool undertones and a cream finish. I used three coats. It is cooler-toned than Essie Neo Whimsical.
Nice is Nice is a pinked lavender with a cream finish. I used two coats, and there was a hint of visible nail line. It is similar to MAC’s Little Girl Type, but darker and not as cool-toned. It’s also more pigmented and less cool-toned than Essie Lilacism.
Sand Tropez is a muted, beige with a touch of gray in a cream finish. I used three coats. It seems a bit similar to Essie Body Language.
Topless & Barefoot is a warmed over light-medium beige cream. I used two coats. I couldn’t think of a possible dupe for this one.
Kisses & Bisses is a sheer, warmed white base with a duochromed, opalescent shimmer that flashes pink and gold. I used three coats in the swatches. Essie recommends it for layering, and if you’re not into sheer polishes, it would work well as a layering polish. I did like it on its own; it gave a soft, sheer look but the duochrome finish of the shimmer added interest. Zoya Bailey seems similar, perhaps not as much of a duochrome.
my thoughts on the formula: Essie’s spring shades is a good mix of soft colors and pastels with a formula that applies easily and none of the pastel shades have a chalky look to them. I found about half needed two coats, but overall, three seemed like the ideal amount. The formula wasn’t too thick or thin, and it flowed evenly onto the nail. With a base/top coat, I had only minor tip wear after a week’s wear of Essie’s formula.
It's a very spring-themed collection, and I think Essie did it without going full throttle on pastels, too. I like the inclusion of two shimmers amongst four creams, too.
Product
9/10
Pigmentation
8.5/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
9.5/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Essie Nail Lacquer: Going Incognito, Hot Coco, Luxedo
Essie Winter 2010 Collection
Though on the way out, here are long overdue swatches for Essie’s winter collection, which includes: Going Incognito (deep emerald green), Hot Coco (tawny sepia), Luxedo (deepest plum), Masquerade Belle (black ruby), Silken Cord (risque red), and Smokin’ Hot (stone-cold fox gray). Each bottle retails at $8 a pop, and I spotted them online still at Apothica.
Going Incognito is a deep emerald green cream–almost a blue-tinged green (not quite into teal territory). It’s opaque in two coats. ORLY Enchanted Forest is the closest dupe I can think of, though it is greener (less blue).
Hot Coco is a pink-tinged mid-tone taupe cream. I can totally see the sepia in this. If you wanted to get into nude nails but found nudes too pale and washed you out, this is a nice take on it. Two coats. It seems a little similar to China Glaze Heirloom Organza.
Luxedo is a blackened plum cream. It’s very inky and barely stays purple in low light conditions as it turns nearly black. It’s nearly opaque in one coat, though I did two here. Itl ooks a lot like Essie’s Velvet Voyeur (from fall).
Masquerade Belle is a deep, velvety red-brown cream. Two coats. It’s darker and redder then MAC Dance All Night.
Silken Cord is a bright coral-red cream. It’s a surprisingly bright shade for winter–feels like something for a summer launch. I used two coats. It’s a lighter version of Zoya’s Maura.
Smokin’ Hot is a purpled gray cream. I used two coats, though I noticed a touch of drag with this one. The base color is reminiscent of Chanel’s Paradoxal. It is a darker version of Essie’s Merino Cool (from fall).
my thoughts on the formula: The formula was really nice on these; not too thin, not too thick, and the majority were pigmented enough to use just two coats of polish. The only shade I had any issues with was Smokin’ Hot, wihch seemed a little thin in places.
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Product: 27/30
Value: 8/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
final thoughts: This collection actually looks similar to Essie’s fall collection, but the shades are different, some more so than others. The formula was easy to work with, and Essie really does do creams well, so they are in their element with these six.
Parlez Vous Francais? Oui do. Though dreams of a romantic Parisian fling may not come true anytime soon, a flirty French rendezvous is here to stay! Introducing the new Spring 2011 essie collection: “A French Affair” – an assortment of six intoxicating retro pastels and show-stopping neutrals inspired by oh-so-chic French glamour.
Unlike spring shades of most seasons past, Nice is Nice, Coat Azure, Topless and Barefoot, Kisses and Bisses, Sand Tropez and A French Affair wear in the most opaque fashion and will surely result in many oh la la’s along the way.
Essie’s winter 2010 collection creates an aura of mystique with a vision of wintery beauty that is darkly decadent and supremely elegant. Each shade retails for $8.00.
Going Incognito Your identity may be secret, but your style and panache are impossible to conceal with this deep emerald green
Hot Coco Paint on this tawny sepia and channel the roaring ’20s for a look that’s timelessly flawless
Luxedo Suit up in this deepest plum and boldly go where no man has gone before
Masquerade Belle Fascinating, mysterious and seductive, this black ruby sparks the imagination and inspires intense devotion
Silken Cord You’ve got the world on a string with this stunning risqué red wrapped around your fingers
Smokin’ Hot Break the rules with this stone-cold fox gray that burns hotter than any flame
Nail Lacquers: Sew Psyched, Limited Addiction, In Stitches, Merino Cool, Velvet Voyeur, Little Brown Dress
Essie Gets It Just Right for Fall
Essie’s Fall Collection includes six new shades, which you can purchase individually for $8 a pop. You can also purchase all six together for $48 (which is still $8 each). Nordstrom also has a mini four-pack (includes Merino Cool, Limited Addiction, Little Brown Dress, and Sew Psyched) for $17. The shades are described as: Sew Psyched (cashmere-soft sage pewter), Limited Addiction (racy garnet red), In Stitches (cheeky blush pink), Merino Cool (sensuous autumn mulberry), Velvet Voyeur (intense chocolate amethyst), Little Brown Dress (beguiling black coffee).
Sew Psyched is a muted sage green with silvered-gray micro-shimmer. Two coats. It reminded me of Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Diddy Mow, but it’s darker and less yellow–like cousins but not twins.
Limited Addiction is a deep red cream that’s very opaque in one coat, though I found two coats to be perfect. It almost looked like a jelly lacquer, even though it’s a cream. Though the color may be similar to other shades of red, the application was flawless.
In Stitches is a muted rose-berry cream. I love how it’s pink, but it’s not really pink–and it’s not plum either. I think this would be really lovely on cooler skin tones in particular.
Merino Cool is a purple-tinged gray, or perhaps a very dull, darkened lilac? But not really. I think you have to go with gray as the primary descriptor, even though it is quite altered by the purple pull. I swatched it with two coats, but I think three would be better.
Velvet Voyeur is an ultra vampy red-based purple burgundy cream. It has a very glossy, inky look. Make sure you get enough polish on the brush when you go to do a second coat–I didn’t get enough on one of my nails (you’ll notice in the swatch), and it layered rather streakily.
Little Brown Dress is a deep, blackened chocolate brown cream. It’s dark, but it’s distinctly brown, even in natural light. I love that it doesn’t look black but definitively black-brown. Just two coats here, as it was incredibly pigmented.
The formula was really nice on these; not too thin, not too thick, and the majority were pigmented enough to use just two coats of polish. Merino Cool was the only one where I think three coats was necessary (though the swatch photos are with two, for reference). My personal favorites were Merino Cool and Sew Psyched, though I kind of dig Little Brown Dress.
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Product: 29/30
Value: 8/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 4/5
RECOMMENDATION: There’s no reason not to consider one of these shades, as they all performed quite well. I found Merino Cool and Sew Psyched to be the two that really grabbed me, but Little Brown Dress is a shade I wouldn’t normally consider wearing, so I liked getting the chance to try it!
