Essie Colors of Couture collection // photos, swatches and reviews

The beauty of a bright nail polish is a sight to behold, but the feeling you get wearing a perfectly executed neutral is something else altogether. Never do I feel more polished than when I'm sporting a nude shade on my nails, and from what I've heard in the blogosphere (and from beauty loving friends) Essie is where it's at for natural nails.

I was in the car with my sister and Mumma Bovary when I opened this PR parcel, and the car was literally filled with squee's as they all dove to nick some of my new polishes. I managed to snatch them all back and swatched them the very next day for you all! The collection coincides with the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and is only available for purchase during the months of March and April for $16.95 AUD per bottle. Let me tell you, having Essie available at Priceline now is so wonderful for us Aussies!

Essie have given us a pretty broad spectrum of neutrals with this lot, ranging from deep and dark to stark and white with some beautiful tones in between.

My favourite of the bunch, Ladylike is a soft mauve and my very favourite shade from this round up. It flatters my pale hands with ease, but I think it would suit a wide range of skin tones.

I had a bit of trouble applying Ballet Slippers because of the bent bristles in my bottle - couple that with my lack of nail skills in general and it wasn't a happy household for a moment there.

Ballet Slippers is the iconic Essie pale pink that everyone seems to adore. This shade doesn't really speak to me personally, though I can see the appeal of having such a versatile shade in your collection.

Sand Tropez is another beautiful shade that I found really wearable. A sandy beige sort of colour, it has a touch of chocolate about it that I find really delicious looking on the nail.

Ah the stark white Blanc, a shade those who are adept at nail art would adore! I am pleased to have a good quality white shade in my stash for moments of need (I do tend to go through amateur nail art phases you know!) but found this tricky to use all over the nail. I should have been more careful when applying, but ultimately I'll be keeping this for nail art purposes only as it just didn't work with my super-pale skin tone.

Swooooon! Loving the look of this greige Master Plan, which is among my favourites from this classic Essie line up. Shades like this are the best of both worlds - polished and chic, but edgy and saying something at the same time!

Smokin' Hot was the most surprising of the polishes swatched. The eggplant tinged deep grey shade is a strange one, and I must admit I found my application skills lacking for this one. A bit more effort and 3 coats would have done this beautiful shade more justice, so I implore you to check out this post for a nicer view of this colour.

These classic and chic Essie staples were a joy to experience, and the stand outs in my opinion were definitely Ladylike, Sand Tropez and Master Plan.

 

What neutral nail shades do you adore?

Have you tried any classic Essie shades?

 

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty