Essie

Palm Beach Awaits With the Essie Spring 2016 Collection

April 29th, 2016 by Adia Goss 10 Comments

The Palm Beach-themed nail polishes in the Essie Spring 2016 nail polish collection have all the right moves for a tropical vacation, and I’m loving every shade! When I think of springtime colors, pastel shades come to mind, so I like that there are some super-saturated, unexpected colors in this six-piece release.

High Class Affair, the peachy nude, is my favorite of the collection. I love that it’s neutral but has juuust enough blush to be interesting.

I really think bright pink Lounge Lover would also be beautiful as a blush or a lipstick (Essie, are you listening?).

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Essie Retro Revival 2016 Swatches & Quick (but Sleepy) Thoughts

December 22nd, 2015 by Karen 17 Comments

It’s a revival of the fittest over at Essie!

OK, I thought that was very clever at first…but now I see that it doesn’t make a lick of sense.

Haha. I’m sorry, friend, but I barely got a wink of sleep last night. We had a scary storm with 45-mile-per-hour winds and nonstop rain, and it kept me up all night. I got through the day today, but now I’m passing out. Zzz…

I did, however, muster the energy to try on the new new Essie Retro Revival 2016 collection, which will go down in MBB history as “The Collection That Knocked Off My Red Dolce & Gabbana Christmas Mani of 2015 After About 2.5 Seconds.”

LOL!

The collection comes out next month with six $8.50 polishes, all of them throwbacks to colors that were previously released in limited edition Essie launches, so it’s sort of a glance back at the brand’s 35-year history.

In the comments, reader broantza left some dates for when these polishes first appeared in their respective limited edition launches (thank you, broantza!).

Cabana Boy – 2005; Birthday Suit – 1981; Bikini with a Martini – 2006; Sequin Sash – 2005; Life of the Party – 2002; Starry, Starry Night – 1997

It’s also limited edition, so if you see something you like, grab it (the collection’s on pre-sale now on the Essie website).

essie starry starry night swatch — Essie Starry Starry Night (two coats)

I’m excited about this one, especially Starry Starry Night, which is the dark glittery midnight blue, and Sequin Stash, the sheer glittery bronze with tiny flecks of glitter.

What can I say? Glitter — it moves me.

essie life of the party swatch — Essie Life of the Party (two coats)

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The Essie Holiday 2015 Fringe Luxeeffects Collection Nail Polishes for When You Want to Sparkle Like You Mean It!

November 16th, 2015 by Karen 26 Comments

Essie Fringe Luxeeffects 2015 collection — The Essie Holiday 2015 Fringe Luxeeffects Collection nail polishes ($8.50 each, available now online, at salons, drugstores and Ulta)

Like a confetti party for your paws, Essie’s four new Holiday 2015 Luxeeffects nail polishes have So. Much. Glitter.

Glorious gobs of glittering, glistening, lens-flare inducing glitter!

And the glitter comes in different shapes, colors and sizes, all of it suspended in a clear nail polish base, so you won’t be stuck staring at standard-issue sparkle. No, way. There’s gunmetal gray and pink glitter in Fringe Factor, platinum and cobalt in Frilling Me Softly, copper and bronze in Tassel Shaker and maroon sparkly flecks in Fashion Flares.

essie fashion flares — Essiei Fashion Flares

essie tassel shaker — Essie Tassel Shaker

essie fringe factor — Essie Fringe Factor

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The Essie Winter 2015 Collection

October 30th, 2015 by Karen 24 Comments

essie haute tub — Creamy jet black Essie Haute Tub, one of six new $8.50 shades in the Essie Winter 2015 collection, has flecks of amethyst glitter…

Your lift ticket awaits to Chalet Essie! It’s a winter wonderland of chic, but don’t worry about freezing your tush off, because the six new nail polishes in the Essie Winter 2015 collection ($8.50 each) will keep you warm. 🙂

There are three bold shades for babes (and dudes!) who like luxurious nail colors, and three lower-key lacquers for laid back luxe.

essie altitude attitude — Essie Altitude Attitude, a creamy scarlet

I’m wearing two coats of each color in these swatches, and the only one that gave me trubs is Peak Show, the creamy, powdery pink. It went on a little streaky…

The other five took to the slopes like pros! — especially Haute Tub, that beautiful black with amethyst glitter.

SO HOT, that Haute Tub. (Random side note: did you know that pregnant ladies are supposed to avoid hot tubs? Oh, well! Guess that means no trips in my hot tub time machine.)

As for the reds, both are incredibly silky smooth…

essie shall we chalet — Essie Shall We Chalet, a creamy ruby

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End of Summer Shimmery Mermaid Makeup Tutorial

August 27th, 2015 by Karen 40 Comments

There is absolutely no freakin’ way that matte-heavy eyeshadow looks are even remotely acceptable among members of the makeup-loving mermaid community, and I know this for a fact.

Actually, I don’t really know that for a fact, since I haven’t kicked it with any of my mermaid friends lately, but if I had, they would DEFINITELY be rollin’ with shimmer.

So…why am I talking about mermaids??

Excellent question.

Well, because it’s late August, and even though I’m excited about fall, I’m still sad to see summer go. *sad tabby face* 🙁

I was thinking about the beach this morning (I haven’t been once this year!), and that led me to think about mermaids, and about mermaid water babies basking on the rocks with their shimmery tails swishing in the crystal clear waters and their subtle blue and green eye makeup sparkling in the sun…

So that’s what I was going for here.

For the record, this look is also appropriate for landlubbers, so you don’t need to have a mermaid tail to wear it, although that would be pretty rad.

I think this is a good look for late summer parties and barbecues, or maybe a back-to-school party where everyone gets kinda dressed up. Or, if you’re heading someplace fabulous that just so happens to have lively nightlife and be located near a warm body of water. Or, if you just want something shimmery to wear while you walk your cat around your neighborhood.

It’s a good look for multiple occasions. 🙂

Now, honey, if you just scrolled down, I know this look might seem impossible based on the number of steps, but you can do it! — even if you’re a straight-up beginner.

If you’ve never attempted anything like this before, though, cut yourself some slack. It’s OK and perfectly normal if it looks like shimmery poo the first few times, and it probably will, unless you’re a makeup wunderkind. But so what? Rome wasn’t built in a day.

OK, enough gabbing… Let’s do this.

1. Apply foundation, concealer and powder

Get yo’ base on that face, because we’re not about to leave the house without a little something-something. For this shimmery mermaid look, I like a full-coverage base because I think it balances out the bold eyes and false lashes.

Go with your fullest coverage foundation, concealer and powder, if you need to. Doing a goofy face while you do this is completely optional but highly encouraged. 🙂
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Nails of the Day: Essie Brides No Grooms

May 14th, 2015 by Karen 28 Comments

To say that I’m obsessed with this Bkr Water Bottle I got last month would be a bit of an understatement.

I carry this thing with me everywhere. It may as well be surgically attached to my right arm! I bring it (oh, it’s already been brought-en!) to the mall, to Trader Joe’s, to the movies… Basically, I am never without my Bkr.

What can I say? Homegirl drinks a sh*t ton of water. 🙂

I’m loving on it so hard that I’ve undertaken a mission to find a matching nail polish, and I thought that this shade I’m wearing here, Essie Brides No Grooms, might be it, but it’s not. Close, but no cigar.

It’s warmer and more yellow… Still super pretty, though, but I think I need something closer to a creamy pink flamingo coral.

Here I’m wearing two coats.

Brides No Grooms is from the Essie Bridal 2015 collection, and you can say “I do” to it now, because it’s available now for $8.50 online, and at salons, Ulta and Nordstrom.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Nails of the Day: Essie Petal Pushers

May 7th, 2015 by Karen 14 Comments

Ah, push it… Puh-push it real good!

Seriously, I’ll take any excuse to quote Salt-N-Pepa, even if it’s only marginally related to what I’m talking about. 🙂

Nails of the day! — yesterday and today, because I applied this yesterday, but it’s still hangin’ tough (LOL, NKOTB). I’m wearing two coats of Essie’s creamy gray Petal Pushers from the Flowerista collection.

I love pairing light gray with mint… I think that when you wear certain lighter shades, like mint and some pastels, it’s good to toughen up your whole ensemble by throwing a more serious color into the mix, just to keep everything from going overly sweet, ya know? That’s what I’m hoping these nails are doing for this mint top and necklace.

Nails — Essie
Lips — Make Up For Ever Artist Plexi-Gloss in 103
Top — Loft
Necklace — Forever 21 (here’s something similar)
Bag — Kate Spade (here’s something similar)

P.S. They’re still pushin’ it! Pushin’ it real good…

I love that commercial! I would have no problem with Salt-N-Pepa showing up in an elevator with me. 🙂

Nails of the Day: Essie Flowerista (With a Guest Appearance by MAC Heroine Lipstick)

April 28th, 2015 by Karen 48 Comments

So purple that Prince would be majorly jelly!

There are many reasons to love Essie’s Flowerista Nail Polish ($8.50), but the main one is that it could totally hang with my favorite Tom Ford nail polish shade of all time, African Violet.

This dark, creamy purple isn’t an exact dupe, mind you. African Violet is a touch deeper, but if ya want the Tom Ford look without the steep price ($32 for African Violet), Essie’s Flowerista is an excellent alternative.

It’s also a stunner with bright purple lipsticks like MAC Matte Lipstick in Heroine. Purple lips + purple tips = purple power!

Flowerista is part of the new Essie Flowerista Spring Collection, available now at salons, Ulta, Target, Nordstrom stores and everywhere else Essie is sold.

P.S. Happy Tuesday to you! 🙂 I hope you’re having a good day so far.

With my employer’s help, for what his 20 pounds of tabby “muscle” is good for, I’ll be moving things around in my office in anticipation of those pink shelves arriving. Things have been slow going on the organizational front, but I’m finally making real progress, and it feels good.

Pretty soon I’ll even have some new paintings and pictures on my walls (I’ll take some pics and show you when they’re up). I’m really looking forward to that. I want to get some of those photo ledges, like these from Crate & Barrel, so that I can swap things out easily and keep the place looking new and fresh.

I can’t decide between the black or the white shelves…

P.P.S. What are you wearing on your nails? Inquiring, lacquer-obsessed minds want to know.