I photographed these with the flash setting on my camera in natural lighting as I felt it captured the true color of the shades the best - I'll also be including how many coats each swatch took.
Now, clockwise - and in "ROYGBIV" order, we go!
- French Affair: This is a lightly lavender toned baby pink - i.e. a total "me color". I really like this shade but the cream formula required 3 coats to even out.
- We're In It Together: This was a limited edition shade for Breast Cancer Awareness two or three Octobers ago. It is a neutral to warm baby pink with a very subtle shimmer. This was also three coats for even-ness.
- Madison Ave-Hue: A cool toned fuchsia pink with subtle silver shimmer. I really, really like this shade. It was even in application but I preferred 3 thin coats for opacity.
- Splash of Grenadine: How radiant orchid of them, huh? That's the best way to describe this shade. This was actually on of my first Essie polishes, and probably the one that sparked my obsession. It also had a very similar formula to the previous shade - could work with two, but three thin coats worked very well for me.
- The Girls Are Out: I thought this shade would be too similar to Madison Ave-Hue, but it is a couple shades darker. It also has the silver shimmer to it, but the shimmer is a bit more dense. Three thin coats.
- Jamaican Me Crazy: This was another one of my first Essie shades and the cute name probably drew me in. This is another few shades darker than The Girls Are Out, but it also has almost a metallic quality to it. Surprisingly, this was three coats as well - I normally can pull of metallic-like shades in less.
- Marathin: This shade was part of a limited edition collection a few summers ago and I REALLY like it - not to mention I hauled almost the entire collection! Its a rosy pinky mauve shade that applies really nicely. Three thin coats.
- Angora Cardi: Along the similar hue of Marathin, but several shades darker, this shade is quite chic. I've only recently discovered this one. Three thin coats.
- It's Genius: This is a metallic plummy-rose shade that I again, opted for three coats on rather than less.
- Leading Lady: I find this shade to be a bit...odd. It's like if you took a red jelly shade, applied a few coats, then a coat of glitter, then a few more coats of red jelly. It has a translucency to it and it takes a flawless application of it to look successful. This is three shades and I still find it kind of uneven.
- Recessionista: This is a dark, plum red that my sister enjoys "borrowing" on nearly a weekly basis. It is a true chic shade and great for fall. This was three coats.
- Skirting the Issue: Very similar to Recessionista, but a Bordeaux shade rather than plum. It looks a bit darker in person than it photographed. Three thin coats.
- A Crewed Interest: Love the color, but just cannot with the formula. If anyone knows of a dupe for this shade that isn't streaky and a pain in the butt to apply, let me know. This was four thin coats and I still don't find it perfect.
- Tart Deco: While it performs better than A Crewed Interest, it still struggles from streakiness. It's in pretty good shape after 3 coats.
- Mint Candy Apple: I went CRAZY on mint shades last year, but this one is an iconic drugstore shade. This also has strong blue tones, making it unique and took 3 coats.
- Maximillian Strasse-Her: I LOVE this shade. It is a mint shade with strong gray tones and I have to remind myself to use other polishes than this one sometimes. It took three coats for evenness.
- Parka Perfect: Another gray toned green, but a few shades darker. I really enjoy this shade as well and it was three thin coats.
- Mojito Madness: This may or may not have been another name inspired purchase. One of my original Essie shades, it is a crisp, Kelly green shade. Three coats.
- Sew Psyched: A little off center here, am I? This is an army green shade that I thoroughly enjoy. While I used three coats, you could probably get away with two.
- Power Clutch: This shade is a few shades darker than Sew Psyched, but is very similar in color family. Same formula, I used three coats but you could use two and get the same result.
- Stylenomics: Its not black...almost. This shade is a very, very dark green that I wear on my toes a lot in the wintertime. It's quite chic. This was two coats.
- Turquoise and Caicos: Another one of Essie's cult favorite shades and one heck of a summertime compliment getter. It is a true pastel turquoise and took three thin coats.
- Go Overboard: This is a much darker take on teal, but since it is in the teal color family it does have a sense of brightness to it that keeps it from being too dark of vampy. I really like this shade in the summertime and it took two coats.
- Find Me An Oasis: This is a very, very pale white blue with slight shimmer. The next shade after this one was once my palest blue shade, but this takes the cake on that. I believe this is limited edition but still available and it took three coats.
- Bikini So Teeny: This is the ultimate pale blue (but no longer the "palest" blue) shade and is among Essie's most popular. At work, my colleagues and I call this shade out on one another. If someone is wearing a pale blue nail, 9 times out of 10 they are met with " You're wearing Bikini So Teeny from Essie, aren't you". And the answer is always yes. My store could be sponsored by this shade given how much we all wear it! This swatch was three thin coats.
- Lapis of Luxury: I thought this was far too similar to Bikini So Teeny for the longest time but it really is quite a bit darker and more of a dusty blue. A very pretty shade but has some application issues - its still a touch streaky and translucent after three coats. If you're in a bind, it is a pretty close dupe for the next shade, just with an inferior formula.
- Boxer Shorts: I adore this shade. This is what Lapis of Luxury should have been; a fully opaque dusty blue. Unfortunately, this shade was limited edition (same collection as Marathin). This took three thin coats, but if you're incredibly patient with Lapis of Luxury and add a couple extra coats, you may be able to dupe this pretty well.
- In The Cab-ana: I love, love, LOVE this blue. And, of course it had to be limited edition from last spring if my memory serves me correctly. It's a bright, crisp blue shade without being neon. This was three thin coats.
- Bouncer, Its Me: Bouncer, just don't let me in. I obviously don't belong here. This was a take on the neon cobalt trend of last summer and was a definite bummer. Four coats, still SUPER streaky and an allover letdown. Its okay Essie, L'Oreal screwed up a take on this shade too.
- No More Film: For lack of a better description, this shade is a blackened blurple. It was released with a late summer collection and I feel that vibe from it. This was one whopping coat!
- Go Ginza: I always assume I have more of this shade family in my collection than I do, but this is a rosier take on lavender. Essie does so many lavender shades that I don't have because I always think this is lighter an less rosy than it is. It is a beautiful color though, with three coats.
- Bond With Whomever: Definitely a similar color, this shade is just a few hues deeper than Go Ginza, but with the same rosiness to it. Very pretty and took three coats.
- Warm and Toasty Turtleneck: Can you say ombre? These three shades work so well together. This was released last fall, I believe? Three thin coats, same deal. The name kinda got me on this one too, I'm not even going to lie.
- DJ Play That Song: Neon shades frustrate me. Some brands get them right...others really don't. This shade is a neon grape shade and it really isn't as terrible of an offender as Bouncer, Its Me but it's along those lines. It took four coats to even out before I gave up and isn't nearly as vibrant as you'd expect it to be when you look at the bottle.
- Sexy Divide: This is a dark metallic purple shade and in all honesty, its not all too unique of a shade. Despite that, it has a great formula and I don't know why I used three coats on this one, because it was great after two thin coats.
- Mademoiselle: This is Essie's most popular polish - apparently anytime something is a cult favorite, I have to try it. However, I don't know if I'm just too impatient of a polisher, or just used to opaque polishes, but I'm not a huge fan. Maybe it'll grow on me? This was four coats and its subtle to say the least.
- Topless and Barefoot: I went crazy to track this one down a couple years ago and now its a whole lot more readily available. It really is a very flattering light nude that is pink enough to not look like mannequin hands. This was a bit streaky to work with but evens out after three coats.
- Lady Like: This is quite a "me" shade because it's a mauve-y pink shade and I've worn this for meetings and interviews countless times. Is classy while not being invisible - *cough cough* - but this was three thin coats.
- Demure Vixe: This shade is a bit similar to Lady Like but it's a bit more of a brown mauve and has a translucency to it that is actually really well executed. It's easy to work with because it has a kind of iridescence to it that seems to blur mistakes.
- Sand Tropez: If Topless and Barefoot is a pink beige, Sand Tropez is a more neutral beige. This one has a slightly thicker consistency so it applies more opaque and took three coats to even out.
- Yogaga: I kid you not, I've worn this shade a ridiculous amount of times. It was part of the same collection as Boxer Shorts and Marathin, but I think this shade was the first one out of that collection that I hauled. This does photograph quite similar to Sand Tropez, but it is a couple shades darker and definitely more gray toned. This was three coats, but I often get lazy and use two.
- Pilates Hottie: That name! Love it! If you hadn't already guessed, this is the last shade I hauled from the aforementioned collection. It's a difficult one to describe - its not a lavender, but almost like a pale, purple-y taupe shade and I really, really like it. This one was also three coats.
- Chinchilly: Another shade that I've worn the heck out of, its like a warm, gray shade that's almost taupe but not quite taupe. This shade family really appeals to me. This one was three coats, but I often use two.
- Miss Fancy Pants: This one is in the same shade family, but a touch lighter and warmer than Chinchilly. Three coats, pretty even to begin with.
- Mochacino: I freaking love this shade. Literally, I may have worn this on my toes on repeat for at least two months last fall. Its a brownish gray with a shimmer to it, but not overly glittery and the shimmer makes it a dream to apply. This one was three coats to achieve opacity, but it was very even to apply.
- Crocadilly: This is one of those magnetic polishes that were really popular a year or so ago, but no matter what I tried, this will not work for me. I followed directions on Essie's site to a tee and it not only doesn't work, but literally there is no difference in the way it looks whatsoever. I've looked at blogs about these and everyone seemed to be in agreement that they sucked, but does the one I have super suck? I've tried everything! Either way, the color itself is very pretty and it was three thin coats, but with metallic shades I can usually get away with two thicker coats.
- Sable Collar: The fall collections that Essie releases tend to be my favorite, and this is another shade from last year's. It's a metallic brown with purple tones, but I noticed it to be a little thinner in texture than most metallics from Essie. This was three thick coats.
- For The Twill Of It: Same collection...yes. I know. It is a purple-ish, green-ish, brown-ish duo-chome-y shade that is really a pain in the butt to photograph accurately. This was three average coats as it had a bit of a thinness to it, though not as thin as Sable Collar.
- No Place Like Chrome: This one was my sister's, but I somehow intercepted it? Though, the reverse does happen quite often so its not completely a tragedy. This is the texture that I crave from metallic shades. One coat. Bing, bang, boom. DONE.
- Sparkle On Top: This is the lesser of the two holographic flakie shades that I have from Essie. The flakes of this one are just too clumpy and long and while the color is pretty its too bumpy on the nail without a thick, shiny topcoat. This was three coats to show color, but I normally use one.
- Shine Of The Times: I can't believe they discontinued this one (and possibly replaced it with Sparkle On Top) because this is everything a holographic flakie shade should be. Very thin in texture, but it looks different in every light - shifting from blue-ish tones to orange-ish tones. Put this over a deep shade with a matte topcoat. Just do it. This was three coats to show the color, but I normally use one.
- Jazzy Jubilant: This is another nail effect shade and it is basically a shade of different sizes of multi-colored hexagonal glitters. I wish it was more densely packed with glitters, but all in all, its a fun polish. This was three coats.
- On A Silver Platter: This is part of Essie's take on the textured nail trend. I'm actually impressed with the way they jumped onto this trend as Essie's take was quite different than other brands'. This shade is actually pretty cool - a pale gold base with silver texture and blue-ish/violet holographic glitters. This was four thin coats, but very worthwhile.
- Belugaria: Talk about texture. This is definitely a contender for one of my most unique nail polishes. Belugaria is difficult to explain - kind of a matte textured base with silver and black multi-sized hexagonal glitters that peek through. I don't know how I feel about this as an entire mani, but I've used it as an accent nail or two for the holidays. It does sit quite high above the actual nail as it has a really defined and intense texture to it, and it was only two coats. I will say, this can be kind of finicky to work with. Half of the time it's a pain, and the other half it kind of falls into place. My advice. Get a good sized drop onto your brush and try to get it as close to the nail bed in the middle of the nail as you can and distribute it quickly as it dries incredibly fast. I usually use the second coat to kind of fill in any sparse areas.
Essie's website lists more than 300 permanent shades, even without all of the "effects" shades! They truly do have something for everyone - no matter what you're looking for.
What's your favorite Essie shade?
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