Tag Archives: Essie

Essie Winter 2017 Collection Swatches & Review

I hope that 2018 is treating you well and that the New Year is full of adventures, challenges and learning opportunities.

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. The other day, I was going through my old computer files and came across some swatches I took last year of the Essie Winter 2017 Collection. While this isn’t the newest collection, I still thought it was worth sharing, especially because the formula on these is fantastic!

All these swatches of the Essie Winter 2017 Collection are two easy coats per colour. I was able to achieve full opacity, and the shine on these is undeniable.

My favourites are On Your Mistletoes (blue), New Year, New Hue (plum) and Ring in the Bling (shimmery red). They’re the bold and the beautiful.

These are the six shades in the Essie Winter 2017 Collection:

New Year, New Hue – Beat the nail drum for this saturated plum.
Be Cherry! – A retro red that you’ll love ‘cherry’ much!
On Your Mistletoes – Tip-toe towards this bold blue.
Social-Lights – A unique soft grey with a warm, autumnal shimmer.
Suit & Tied – This dusty peach is muted, sophisticated and easy to wear.
Ring in the Bling – Set your nailphile heart on fire with this flaming red.

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Essie Summer 2017 Collection Swatches & Review

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Essie Summer 2017 Collection Swatches

It feels like forever and a day since I blogged on here. So much has happened behind the scenes.

After the recent passing of my best friend’s dad and someone else suffering a stroke that paralyzed half of her body, I was reminded of the importance of stopping to smell the flowers and appreciating little moments.

I’ve had my needed ‘Me Time,’ and now I’m ready to get back to blogging – it was sorely missed! However, going forward, I plan to have a more relaxed schedule to ensure that I don’t get burned out. (Despite concerned emails that I received in my absence, I want to assure you that I don’t have any intentions of abandoning my blog, which I worked so hard on. I will keep the fire burning brightly! Stay tuned – more swatches are coming. Lots of exciting new nail-polish collections have made their way to Swatch And Learn’s headquarters!) 😉

Today, I’d love to share with you the Essie Summer 2017 Collection, which officially launches on June 13!

This Parisian-inspired collection graces nails with six sweet shades ranging from pastel blue and pink foil to soft lilac and iridescent white.

My first impression was that the Essie Summer 2017 Collection reminded me more of traditional spring colours, but, if you’ve poked around my blog for a while, you should get the memo that I’m a big believer in wearing whatever you want, whenever you want. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to nail polish. Express yourself, and have fun!

I really love how mainstream companies are breaking away from “what’s expected” for a given season. It adds that ‘wild card,’ which I appreciate.

All of these swatches have two coats, except for the white, which has three coats. All of the nail polishes have easy-to-work-with formulas that glide on like a dream with David Beckham. Plus they are buildable, so you can cover the nail line.

My snapshot thoughts on each shade in the Essie Summer 2017 Collection:

Éclair My Love – A red-hot creme for a Harlequin nail romance
Blue-La-La – A pastel blue creme that says ohh-la-la
Baguette Me Not – You won’t forget this soft lilac creme
Fondant of You – You’ll be fond of this shimmery apricot
S’il Vous Play – Celebratory pink foil that sparkles like a disco ball
Sweet Soufflé – Iridescent white with the look of whipped cream

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Swatch And Learn’s #2016BestNine

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Swatch And Learn Best Nine 2016

As another year draws to a close, it’s a time of reflection about the accomplishments and challenges that punctuated 2016.

Thank you for joining me on my blogging journey since 2010!

I look forward to sharing more swatches, reviews, and sprinklings of humour in the coming year. I’m excited to plan new goals for 2017 and to see where the ongoing adventure goes!

Because of the support and encouragement from readers like you, I am happy to say that a lot of my blogging dreams have come true in ways that I never imagined! Thank you so much for visiting and for leaving comments.

I have learned a lot from all of you, and I hope that Swatch And Learn has become a place on the internet that provides you with a little sunshine, especially on those difficult days! *Hug* Together, let’s continue to improve and grow while sharing our passion for nail polish. 🙂

If you’re addicted to Instagram like I am, you no doubt have seen the trend of posting the #2016BestNine collage, which depicts an Instagram user’s nine most-popular images based on the number of likes.

Above is the collage generated by the 2016 Best Nine website, which shows my most-liked images on Instagram.

I am so honoured that, in 2016, I received 59,935 likes on my Instagram!

Also, for my Pinterest for 2016:

1,616,971 people saw my pins
10,422 people saved my pins to their boards
6,170 people clicked my pins

It really floors me, and I’m so pleased that you have been enjoying my photos!

In this post, check out the links. They’ll lead you to the reviews and/or swatches that I published on here earlier, in case you want more information and details about a certain nail polish.

Reminder: Today’s the last day to enter my worldwide giveaway!

Be sure to get your entry in by tonight at 11:59 pm EST for your chance to win my Zoya Enchanted Collection worldwide giveaway! (3 winners! See that blog post for the full details.)

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Essie First View Swatches & Review

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Essie Gel Couture First View Swatches Review

Essie First View is a calm, muted blue that will still make you look twice!

Available in the new Gel Couture line, it has the base coat built into the colour, so you can jump right into the colour as your initial step. This will help you shave a bit of time off the manicure process, which is always a bonus.

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Essie Looks to Thrill Swatches & Review

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Essie Looks to Thrill Swatches Review

Nails get fruity with Essie Looks to Thrill!

This cantaloupe orange from the Gel Couture line would make even the strawberries and blueberries turn green with envy like a gooseberry!

With the base coat built right into the colour, this Essie Gel Couture shade also has a wider brush to promote a smoother, faster application that fellow nail junkies will appreciate.

To learn more about how it differs from regular Essie nail polish, click to read my Essie Gel Couture Launch Event Recap!

See the rest of this post for all the specific details on how Essie Looks to Thrill performed.

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Essie Gel Couture Collection & Launch Event Recap

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Essie Gel Couture Collection Swatch And Learn

Officially launching on June 14th, the Essie Gel Couture line boasts 42 new colours with a luxurious bottle design with a twist – literally! It mimics the swirl of a perfectly tailored gown.

The wand is also twisted to help the polish collect onto the brush for superior results, and the bristles are much wider than those of a regular Essie brush. Additionally, the bristles have a tapered cut, which helps makes application a breeze. (You can cover your whole nail in a single swipe, if you want.)

The formula is designed to help manicures last for up to 14 days with a gel-like shine, and you don’t need a UV or LED lamp to use Essie Gel Couture nail polishes, as they are applied like regular lacquers.

The base coat is built into the colours, which is convenient and time-saving. After painting on the colour of your choice, you just need to apply a shiny top coat to seal everything in. (They have released a new top coat specifically for this line.)

Back in May 2016, I attended an exclusive reveal of the Essie Gel Couture line, which was held in Toronto.

The luxurious treatment began even before I arrived, as I was encouraged to arrive with Uber, complementary of PR!

There were drinks and appetizers offered by friendly servers. Also, the setup displaying the new nail polishes and the ‘atelier to after party’ theme was everywhere you looked.

Rita Remark (Essie’s Global Lead Educator) introduced Essie Gel Couture during a short presentation, there were opportunities to get your nails painted by nail technicians, and you could win the paintings that the talented Margaret Lipsey worked on live! (She is the woman behind PIstache and Rose.) More on all this later in the post!

Keep reading to see more photos that I snapped during the event. Also, I show you close-up bottle shots of some of the colours, as well as the official press release for further details.

Edit: I’ve updated the bottom of this post to include images of all 42 shades in the Essie Gel Couture Collection, which is broken up into four sections: Atelier, First Look, Runway Show, and After Party.

Essie GelCouture Collection 2016 Essie Gel Couture Collection 2016

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