Before discounted Essie nail polishes were available online from websites such as Fragrance Direct and Xtras my Essie collection count was zero. With a single Essie polish retailing for £8-10 I couldn't justify purchasing any, especially as I do like to build up a collection within each nail polish brand.
However with Fragrance Direct now offering Essie nail polishes for only £1.99 here (and Xtras for £3.99 here) my collection has rapidly grown.
I now have 10 full size Essie nail polishes and 4 minis (Essie Winter Mini Collection - here with nail swatches) and I'm sure that number will only grow as long as Fragrance Direct continue to offer them at such a low price.
With the new improved brush that is wider and thicker formulas I really cannot fault Essie polishes. The application is easy, most shades are opaque with 2 coats, they last on my nails for around 4-5 days without chipping, plus the shade range is huge.
Essie Ridge Filler Base Coat
This is technically not a nail polish but I wanted to include it as this is an amazing nail care product for anyone that has ridged nails (for excessive nail polish wearers or mature nails). This creates a smooth base for any nail polish and with ridged nails myself I couldn't be without it. This also prevents the nails from being stained. I highly recommend this even at full price.
Waltz
(Full nail swatch here - Loodie Loodie Loodie)
This is a sheer milky white that can applied with 2 coats for a sheer visible nail line finish or built up for a more opaque white nails finish. I personally purchased this as I love using glitter nail polishes over a nail polish like this and it also great for creating jelly sandwich nails (sheer nail polish, then glitter, then another coat of sheer nail polish - example here).
Brooch The Subject
(Full nail swatch here - The Posh Polish)
Firstly I should mention that my own swatch of this above looks extremely dark for some reason (the swatch in the last image is more accurate), so looking at the full nail swatch is advised. Against my pale skin this is definitely a light brown shade however on warmer/ darker toned skin this would definitely be a nude nail polish. This isn't one of my favourites to be honest as I was expecting it to be more nude looking - damn you pale skin.
Nice Is Nice
(Full nail swatch here - Polish Chest)
I received this shade in a Glossy Box and was so pleased with it as it's a shade I would purchase. This for me is a muted/neutral lavender shade that really looks great against pale skin. Ideal for spring/summer if you don't love bright shades but want an alternative to pastels. I haven't tried it out but I imagine this will look great under glitter nail polishes as well.
Bikini So Teeny
(Full nail swatch here - Polished Cousins)
This is my most recent Essie purchase from Fragrance Direct, who currently have a lot of shades from the 2012 Summer collection in stock, for only £1.99! I have yet to try this out on my nails but can already tell it will be a great one for summer as it's quite a refreshing blue tone that will look good with anything.
Navigate Her
(Full nail swatch here - Me!)
I don't really have many greens in my nail polish collection as they don't appeal to me, but this lovely pistachio shade did as it's quite unique for a green. It isn't a bright at all, but more of a muted pastel green. A great one for spring/summer.
Orange, It's Obvious
(Full nail swatch here - Right on the Nails)
This is a hot tangerine/tomato orange this looks great against any skin tone and on both the fingers and toes in summer. This does need 3 coats unlike most of the others but it means that it is a super bright sunny orange on the nails. I know I will be wearing this a lot this summer.
Tour De Finance
(Full nail swatch here - Miss Budget Beauty)
This is one of the more interesting shades I own from Essie as the finish has a slight blue iridescence to it, making it not your typical summer time pink. Another great one for on the fingers and toes and it looks even better against a tan. Application of this is great and the iridescent finish makes it appear quite glossy.
Chubby Cheeks
(Full nail swatch here - Becoming Hugo)
Chubby Cheeks is a bit of an odd one for me as I don't really love this unique shade but it does make an ideal nail polish come Autumn and used along side China Glaze Electrify (swatch here) which is the ultimate autumn glitter, it is amazing. This muted coral isn't something I'd pick up in summer but still one I'm glad to have in my collection. If you do pick this up at a discounted price it may also be the old style brush as the shade was originally part of 2009 Summer collection.
Mojito Madness
(Full nail swatch here - My Life in Polish)
As mentioned earlier in this post I'm not really a green nail polish wearer, but I do love floral nail art, so I actually picked this up to use as the green for leaf details as it's quite an opaque shade. I would however consider wearing this on my nails fully after looking at nail swatches and discovering it is the exact shade of the Starbucks green that they use in their logo and straws (yes, I am that sad, but I love me a good frap!). Plus it is quite a grass-y green shade making it a nice polish for spring/summer.
With each nail polish brand in my collection I feel like they all offer something different and with Essie nail polishes I feel they offer me great staple shades from brights to muted pastels, along with a constant high quality formula and finish.
My favourite Essie shades in my collection would have to be - Where's My Chauffeur? and Beyond Cozy (swatches here), along with Nice is Nice (the first Nice is the Nice in France FYI).
Hope you enjoyed this look at my Essie collection and remember to check out the Essie polishes on Fragrance Direct (direct page here) as they are always updating the shades.
Fee xo.