Special Essie Comparison: "Leading Lady" (Winter 2012) vs. "Toggle To The Top" (Winter 2013)

Hello, hello again. Today I am ecstatic, because, well, the new Essie Winter 2013 collection is officially in drugstores today (just went to Rite Aid after finally spotting the winter 2013 collection on essie.com, and they have a new endcap with 4 of the 6 new Winter shades):

Not such a good close up, but the shades from left to right: "Toggle To The Top"; "Shearling Darling"; "Sable Collar"; "Parka Perfect"

So, yes, Essie Winter 2013 is here. But, much like everyone else, I noticed the fair amount of resemblance between this year's "Toggle To The Top" & last year's "Leading Lady." And naturally, I had to grab "Toggle To The Top" & compare away...

Left: "Leading Lady" Right: "Toggle To The Top" (daytime light w/ camera flash)

Same as above w/ no camera flash:

All pics 2 coats each w/ Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Index finger/ring finger: "TTTT"

Middle finger/pinkie: "LL" 

*daytime light, no cam flash 

Same as above w/ camera flash (BTW, sorry for the messy cuticles - I'm just so excited about these colors! My hands are literally shaking! Ha.)

And there they are, 2 pretty babes, side by side. "Toggle to The Top" which I will refer to as "TTTT," is just as gorgeous & glittery as its big sister "Leading Lady" (or "LL"). Same exact formulas (smooth dark red jelly bases with expertly-formulated glitter inside), but the colors vary ever so slightly...

"TTTT" - Slightly darker, more cranberry

"LL" - A lighter version of its new sister polish, more ruby toned.

I believe Essie's descriptions both use "garnet" as an illustration of the red coloring in each of these, or maybe just "TTTT" & I'm just imagining it (ugh), but I think "TTTT" makes "LL" look like a true garnet red.

Together under direct sunlight (you'll notice "TTTT" by its mildly more crimson-ified tone):

So, yea. Beautiful, sexy, gorgeous, hot. All those adjectives apply to both these ladies. But to be perfectly honest... I find I like the sprightlier pop of ruby tones in "LL" a little more than the sexier, darker hue of cranberry in "TTTT."

Hope you enjoyed the pics. They're not perfectly great, kind of on purpose since I don't really want them taken, but eh, whatever. Lol. See you next time!

Essie Winter 2012 Collection - "Butler Please"

Hey there. I've taken a couple of days off from blogging, but here I am again, and here is one of Essie's most popular polishes from last year's winter Essie collection, "Butler Please" blue.

In normal daylight, no flash, no topcoat:

With flash, no topcoat

As you can see, this pretty cobalt blue doesn't have the shiny "wet" finish that I think many have come to expect from Essie (take a look at the posts for "Mind Your Mittens" and "Where's My Chauffeur" and you'll see what I mean,haha). Instead, this one dries with only a semi-shiny finish in that it's not totally matte, but not wet-looking at all.

However, the satin finish may be a plus for some, though it's also kind of a formula dud. You have to be pretty careful applying these types of polishes - the formula is streakier so there's more risk of bald-spotting and, of course, streaks! But, it does dry quickly, which is always nice.

The photos show 3 coats each. Again, its matte-ness is this polish's charm. For me, this polish is just OK. I prefer shiny wet looks to matte, but the color is just wonderful.

So, if you like neon matte colors, go for it!

Essie Winter 2013 (New!) Collection: "Sable Collar"

I'm back, sooner than expected, to share another polish that I couldn't wait to show off since I'm so excited about Essie's new winter collection: it's "Sable Collar" brown!!!

Target had yet another surprise for me yesterday with another as-of-yet hidden gem; "Sable Collar" was sitting all by its lonesome on the endcap by "Just For The Twill Of It," literally the only one (I checked). Wow, Target is sneaky about putting out shades before they're released! Heh.

So, of course, I snapped it up and now have swatches for you:

With camera flash, my favorite swatch, really shows the depth of this polish

In a room during daylight, no camera flash, no top coat

"Sable Collar" is a shimmery dark brown with hints of reddish and maybe even purple shine. This is my very first Essie brown, but I have to say that I really love it. The formula was divine - some of my fingers have only 1 coat in the swatches! It dries to a mildly satin finish (not super shiny, but shiny enough) and looks just lovely.

It would be nice for a neutral kind of day, though I see the color as more of a Fall kind of shade. But then again, the unique shimmer tones in this polish make it stunning for Winter as well. This could also work as a "conservative" type of polish, for work or that kind of thing. It could also work for going out at night, really - it works for anything! 

Big thumbs up to "Sable Collar"! My favorite of the Winter 2013 collection so far! 

Essie Winter 2012 (Last Year's) Collection: "Where's My Chauffeur"

So, as promised, here's another swatch & review of Essie's Winter 2012 "Leading Lady" collection: "Where's My Chauffeur."

"Where's My Chauffeur" is a Tiffany-esque shade of blue-green, sort of a bright aquamarine color. It's probably much darker than Tiffany blue, though, but the color does remind me of that particular shade.

"Where's My Chauffeur" under regular room lighting, no topcoat, no camera flash (most accurate color portrayal)

With camera flash (makes it appear less bright than it really looks)

The formula is pretty nice. It took 3 light coats to get it even since it's a thin crelly (creme/jelly hybrid). It dries shiny, too, but, for perfection's sake, add top coat if you like (I didn't use top coat for the pics.)

This one is worth checking out especially if you're looking for something that'll remind you of Tiffany blue. A very nice choice by Essie for winter, I might add! For winter, I love it!

More Essie to come! Thanks for reading!

Essie Winter 2012 (Last Year's) Collection: "Leading Lady"

So, while I offered a preview of a polish that still hasn't officially become available that I somehow fell upon a couple days ago (a salesperson put it out on the rack not knowing it hasn't been released yet, is my guess), I'm still waiting eagerly for the Essie Winter 2013 collection.

The collection is not up on Essie's website yet, and as of yesterday, Target didn't have it yet either. So, I don't know what the deal is - it really seems like Essie is delaying the release for some reason. 

But anyway, as I wait, I started thinking about last year's Winter collection called the "Leading Lady" collection, and how much I love the namesake polish. I took a few swatches under various lighting conditions the other day, and thought I would share them. All pics have Seche Vite top coat over the polish to smooth out the glitter texture:

"Leading Lady" in daytime indoor lighting

Daytime indoor w/ camera flash

Under traditional room lighting 

"Leading Lady" is probably my favorite Essie so far, though I'm fairly new to polish. I've heard about the one it's reminiscent of, the famous "Ruby Slippers," that apparently has more of a golden glow in slightly lighter red polish. 

"Leading Lady" is a very deep garnet red polish with red glitter, so it's much darker than "Ruby Slippers" from what I've heard and seen.

I would highly recommend "Leading Lady" to anyone. I also stumbled upon a random bottle of this at a Walgreen's. It was the only one left a few weeks ago in a slightly dusty display (AKA a display that was somehow forgotten and was literally gathering dust, haha), and I just love it. 

I have a very light skin tone, so the dark red is sumptuous, and the glitter, classy. And, with a super shiny top coat like Seche Vite - absolute beauty! But, whatever your skin tone, I think it will work. It's just a gorgeous shade, perfect for Christmas and New Year's! 

So, yes, "Leading Lady": my fave. Watch for my next few posts as I review a couple other shades from last year's Essie winter collection :)

Essie Winter 2013 Collection - "Mind Your Mittens"

Hello there & welcome to my new polish blog! I feel a bit cheesy starting a blog about nail polish, and it might just be a temporary thing, but for now, I'm very excited about polish (particularly Essie polishes), and am ready to share my polish swatches with you.

... and for my very first post, I have a very special polish that, to my knowledge, is technically not even out yet... but I happened upon it at an end cap shelf at Target in the spot where Essie "Stylenomics" apparently went... It's Essie "Mind Your Mittens"!!!

(1 coat, no top coat - wow! nice!)

Proof of color label :)

There was some conjecture about this polish on blogs where people receive pre-release press samples. Apparently this dark greenish teal (I'd say it's a lighter version of "Stylenomics," but it's also slightly blue, reminding me a little of "Bobbing for Baubles" in the bottle) had some confusion with the name. Press samples labeled this color "Parka Perfect" while a light minty shade with shimmer was labeled "Mind Your Mittens."

But, from this bottle, it is clear that the name "Mind Your Mittens" has gone to this dark teal-blue. When I saw it at Target, I had that feeling of surprise and excitement since I've been scouting stores for the new Essie winter polishes that I heard were to be released this month. 

However, I am actually disappointed that the name didn't go to the light minty shade, as I personally prefer lighter shades. I will probably pick up what will likely be "Parka Perfect" when all the shades officially hit stores.

Until then, this was a nice surprise, both to randomly find at Target, and to put on my nails. Like I said, I don't really like these blackish-looking polishes, but this was a really great formula to work with, just 1 coat offers opaque coverage, though 2 would probably be recommended for a truly perfect look. It looks more dark blue on the nail to me, but the teal is still recognizable as well. 

So, I hope you enjoyed my first post, and that if you pick this one up for winter, that you enjoy it, too.