I’ve mentioned essence in a few posts before and this super affordable brand has quite the impressive line up of nail polishes available! In this post, I’m going to go through the Essence nail polish collection and share some shades that I’ve been testing out. I’ve also done a post sharing all of Essence lip products and also my first impressions of this brand.
Gel Nail Polish
turn the lights on, play with my mint, don’t be shy
This is their classic collection which features mostly colors in a cream finish but there are also some with glitter and frost. It’s called the gel nail polish but it’s not actually gel.
I love the smaller bottles (8mL) as I never finish nail polish anyways and this takes up less room. The brushes are wide and flat which allows me to cover my nails easily. Most of the formulas are quite creamy and smooth. I found turn the lights on which is the soft metal finish a bit streaky but the other shades self-leveled well. The colors are pretty true to what’s in the bottle so I won’t bother describing them!
I couldn’t decide which one to wear so I wore them all. In the end I kind of liked this patterned approach. Top to bottom: play with my mint, don’t be shy, play with my mint, turn the lights on. These are such perfect summer shades!
sweet as candy, my love diary, party princess
These had pretty good lasting power on me and I would get a minor chip on the 2nd or 3rd day. I can usually wear it for 5-7 days before the chips start getting noticeable. None of these colors stained my nails and they were easy to remove which is actually a huge factor for me.
They are only $2.49 each so I would highly highly recommend these!
my love diary- perfect bold but office appropriate nails
sweet as candy on my toes. I really love the paleness as it contrasts with my tan!
I <3 Trends
pure soul, i’m lost in you, steel the world ,chrome paradise
There’s another collection of nail polishes that focuses on trends. These would be more of a seasonal collection and the two I have are the nudes and the metals. Based on essence’s website, the current trends are metals, porcelains, whites, and jellys. These are also $2.49 each and contains 8mL although the bottle is shaped more like traditional packaging.
I wasn’t really a fan of the metal shades but if that’s what you are into you’ll enjoy this as the colors are very unique. The nude shades were fine as well in terms of formula but I wouldn’t really consider nude nails a “trend” and thought the colors were pretty common.
Steel the world on my toes
Top Coats
Lastly there’s a couple of interesting top coats! As well as a basic base coat for the gel nail polishes.
Pastel Ombre top coat- $3.99: To achieve an ombre look, paint one coat over the nail that you want to be the darkest and more coats gradually as you want the ombre to happen!
Satin Matt top coat- $3.99: Matte nails are super trendy and this top coat lets you take the shine away. However, I’ve never been a fan and I love glossy glossy nails so this is not something I’ll use.
The formula has been pigmented, smooth, and relatively long wearing! I would highly recommend checking out essence for your nail products needs! They tend to be hidden away on the aisles of Shoppers Drug Mart so look at the end of rows. Also they are now stocked at Loblaws so you can see if you can find some there!
What are your favorite summer nail shades?