Essie Lots of Lux

I think I’ve worn this color at least a couple times before, but a quick search in my nail journal here says I’ve apparently never posted a swatch! This is Essie Lots of Lux, from the Encrusted Treasures collection from the 2013 holiday season.

#Essie Lots of Lux, 2 coats, no top coat. Outdoor natural light. #essielook #nails #swatches #nailpolish #textured #metallic #shimmer #notd

A post shared by Lacquerfiend (@eternaldecember) on Feb 28, 2017 at 12:47pm PST

Lots of Lux is a royal-blue textured polish that Essie describes as a “shimmering lapis lazuli blue nail lacquer with a super fine matte finish.” It looks a bit brighter and less purplish than the blue I associate with lapis, but it’s definitely multifaceted and jewel-like, with what looks to me like a bright metallic blue base and a touch of both silver and turquoise shimmer, and maybe a pinch of silver micro glitter with the blue texture particles. There’s a lot going on when you take a closer look.

At two coats, the polish was pretty opaque, but it didn’t really dry matte for me and had more of a muted metallic finish. The photo above is on day 2 and without top coat. Application was easy. It dried relatively quickly but chipped pretty quickly, too. I think this lasted all of 3-4 days. Beautiful while it lasted, though! Also, textured polishes touch up easily, so there’s that to make up for the below-average durability.

Removal was easy compared to a hardcore glitter, but it’s tougher than a creme, as can be expected of this type of polish.

…I’ve got naked nails now. What color to wear next?

Essie Sable Collar

Trying out a different way of pulling my images from Instagram.

Swatched Essie Sable Collar for this week’s nails. It’s from Essie’s winter 2013 collection, and I’ve had it for a long time but just somehow never felt like wearing it.

Photo 1 of 2. Day 2 of 2 coats #Essie Sable Collar, topped with Essie Good To Go top coat. Outdoor natural light. The pink shimmer is pretty subtle in my photos, sorry! #shimmer #nails #swatches #nailpolish #notd

A post shared by Lacquerfiend (@eternaldecember) on Sep 7, 2016 at 9:56pm PDT

 

It didn’t photograph especially well for me, unfortunately, and I didn’t have a chance to take another photo before it chipped (oops), but it’s kind of a metallic puce. Essie calls it a “luxurious pearlescent cocoa plum.” I suppose that’s a fancier way of saying that it’s puce (purplish brown) with a bit of subtle pinkish shimmer. It’s so subtle that I can hardly see it in some light. Not a bad color, though. When the shimmer actually shows, it gives Sable Collar a nice lit-from-within look.

 

Photo 2 of 2. Day 2 of 2 coats #Essie Sable Collar, topped with Essie Good To Go top coat. Outdoor natural light. The pink shimmer is pretty subtle in my photos, sorry! #shimmer #nails #swatches #nailpolish #notd

A post shared by Lacquerfiend (@eternaldecember) on Sep 7, 2016 at 9:57pm PDT

 

The formula was fine, easy enough to apply, though I was sloppy. It’s a bit on the watery side, as Essies tend to be. Dry time was average for me. Durability was not so good, at least with Julep Nail Therapy as my base coat, and chipped on the second day. Ah, well.

By the way, FYI, Wikipedia says: “Puce is the French word for flea. The color is said to be the color of the bloodstains remaining on linen or bedsheets, even after being laundered, from a flea’s droppings or after a flea has been crushed.”

Lovely, huh?

Face-off: Essie Leggy Legend vs. Julep Luz

Quick comparison post! I mentioned earlier that I thought Essie Leggy Legend and Julep Luz might be fraternal twins. On a closer look, though, I think they’re probably more like cousins – not too alike, but maybe with some general similar features.

Here they are in outdoor natural light, two coats each (Leggy Legend on the index and ring, Luz on the middle and pinky), topped with Essie Good to Go top coat, on the third day:

They’re both bronzy and metallic, somewhat coppery and somewhat golden, but that’s about where the similarities end. As you can see, Leggy Legend is definitely redder-toned and has a much finer texture than Luz. The shimmer particles are smaller and have way less scatter when the light hits them.

It’s a bit easier to see the difference in the overall hue in this next photo, also taken in outdoor natural light on the same day and around the same time, but with the sun coming in at a different angle:

I’ve already talked about Leggy Legend in a previous post and am still in love with this polish.

Luz is also a good one, though it’s got a different personality – less slick, more flamboyant. There’s a bit of a rosy, coppery undertone to it, as with Leggy, but in brighter or more direct light, the predominant color seems to be a metallic, less saturated yellow gold. Its loud sparkle makes me think foil – though I guess terms describing finishes are kind of arbitrary, anyway. Formula is great and dries pretty fast, and so far, durability is good. I’m now on my fifth day with these nails, and it’s just showing some expected tip wear. Not bad.

Here it is in indoor white LED light (again demonstrating how Luz’s paler gold sparkle tends to take over):

Not all that similar, but they play well together. 🙂

Leggy strikes me as the stand-out of the two polishes, mostly because its intense, glowy copper-gold is truly one-of-a-kind in my collection, whereas Luz’s predominant gold is more similar to other gold polishes I own. Both are lovely and apply wonderfully, though. Maybe I’ll do side-by-side comparisons of my other gold polishes someday.

Essie On A Silver Platter

Time to play catch up with my swatch posts. Here’s Essie On A Silver Platter, which I wore over Christmas – a long time ago, I know!

This is two coats, in outdoor natural light, topped with Essie Good to Go top coat (and a bit hastily and sloppily applied, I’m afraid):

On A Silver Platter is a clear base densely packed with silver-gold shimmer and various sized holographic sapphire-blue/indigo glitters. It’s on the sheer side at two coats, as you can see, but it builds up pretty well. The formula is on the watery side, like many Essies, but it’s workable if you know what to expect (and if you’re not in a huge rush like I was). Just gotta be careful not to flood the cuticle (like I did). 🙂

It’s got a bit of a lacy sheer effect, like Julep Love, Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Kiss/Mermaid’s Dream/etc., or Revlon Parfumerie Wintermint. I’m not sure if it’s meant to be a textured polish, as it’s from Essie’s Encrusted Treasures collection from winter 2013. It’s not particularly textured, though, at least not more than you’d expect from a glitter polish. I liked it better topped with a shiny top coat, anyway.

In different outdoor natural light (different time of day):

Ugh, please excuse my horribly dry, winter-ravaged skin. It’s easier to see the rainbows from the holo glitters in these shots, so I threw them in here.

Durability on this polish wasn’t great for me – it chipped after maybe a couple days, at best, using base and top coat. Overall, I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite polish, but I like the idea of the indigo holo glitters mixed in with the gold shimmer. I may need to try this one again with better application technique and see if I can get it to look better. Blue and gold deserves a second chance!

Essie Retro Revival pre-sale (Starry Starry Night!)

I usually don’t do posts like this, but I’m so excited about it myself that I thought I should, just in case someone dropping by my blog is as excited about it as much as I am.

Essie’s Starry Starry Night is back!

Image from Essie.com

As of the time of this posting, it looks like it’s already sold out…but maybe Essie might make more available to meet demand? Please?

(The other colors in the Retro Revival are Life of the Party, Bikini with a Martini, Sequin Sash, Birthday Suit, and Cabana Boy. They’re all still available, as far as I’ve seen!)

Essie Leggy Legend

As soon as I saw Essie Leggy Legend from this fall’s rock era-inspired collection, I knew I had to have it.

This is two coats in outdoor natural light in overcast weather, topped with Essie Good to Go top coat:

Leggy Legend isn’t just any gold-toned polish. The color is a unique bronze-y, shimmery metallic with bright gold and rosy copper notes that I haven’t seen in any other gold-family metallic polish I own. I expect the multi-faceted color makes it adaptable to many skin tones. It’s also super shiny and overall amazing.

The formula is fantastic, too. Like most Essies I’ve tried, the consistency is very fluid, but it’s not as runny as some, yet goes on buttery smooth. It dries on the faster side, and requires only two coats for good coverage. Win! The shimmer particles do tend to show some mild brushstrokes, but it’s minimal if applied carefully. No complaints about the fairly standard brush.

Here it is again from another angle, also in outdoor natural light (still overcast), for more dramatic lighting:

The richness of this color – I don’t even know how to properly express how much I love it.

I snagged my bottle from CVS (regular $8.50) with a 25% off coupon for about $6.38 + tax. Probably not the lowest price you can get an Essie for, but I was dying to wear it. Worth it. :]

LynBDesigns I am Beyond Impropriety

This is another polish from LynBDesigns‘ Meet Me at the Abbey collection, I am Beyond Impropriety.

Here’s two coats, topped with Essie Good to Go top coat, in outdoor indirect natural light (shade):

My bottle of I am Beyond Impropriety is a neutral-ish, slightly blue-leaning, slightly dusty lavender crelly base with a good helping of what looks to me like somewhat iridescent golden flakies. That is, in person, the fine flake glitter seems to flash pink sometimes, though it just looks gold in the photos. My bottle wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, since the official swatch photos are definitely way more pink/mauve, and LynBDesigns even describes the color as “a mauvey purple crelly with intense golden shimmer.” My photos of this color are pretty much color accurate to my bottle, and it’s definitely more of a lavender. The base also looks more opaque to me, such that the flakies don’t layer as visibly. The flake glitter looks a bit coarser and more random-sized in my bottle than in the official swatch, but that’s all right with me. Such is the way of indie polishes, though, so even though I’d have preferred the pinker tone and more translucent base, I’m cool with it.

Here’s a shot in outdoor direct natural light (bright sunlight):

This polish was pretty easy to apply and was opaque in two to three coats. I used two for these photos, but on my other hand (not pictured), I applied it thinner and needed three. Dry time was faster than average. The polish dried fairly smooth, but the finish was something of a semi-matte. I thought it looked better with a coat of glossy top coat.

Again in indirect outdoor natural light (shade), but different color temperature:

Here’s another angle on those flakies:

Durability doesn’t seem to be this color’s strong suit, unfortunately. It started chipping pretty badly on me at the end of the second day, and the typical polish usually lasts four or five days.

Long story short, it’s a pretty color with easy application but only lasts a couple days, even with a generally reliable base and top coat. That’s not necessarily much of an issue if you like to change your nail color often, though, and as always, your mileage may vary, particularly since this is an indie polish that may have some variation from bottle to bottle.

Do you have any thoughts on this color or indie polishes in general? I’d love to hear from you!