New Essence range updates

Hi lovelies,

 

Happy Friday! Have you had a good week? I’m currently sitting without electricity thanks to loadshedding. Luckily I managed to have coffee before it went off but I would not hate another cup right now :/ Anyway, just another hour to go 😀

Some of my favourite times are when Essence has range updates.  You can be sure that Essence is going to stay on top of trends and offer some really great polishes and effects in their updates.  Not to mention more gorgeous colours.  This time is no exception and I am like a giddy child on Christmas morning.  I didn’t pick up all the new goodies but I did grab a few.  So let’s start.

The biggest and probably the most noticable update to the range is the addition of the “The Gel” nail polishes.  I am uncertain right now if they replace the regular colour & go polishes or if they will be in addition to the colour & go polishes.  I found them in Dischem and they ONLY had the new ‘The Gel” polishes where Clicks still only had Colour & go.  Although the Clicks shelves are very bare.  This might mean that they haven’t restocked yet or that they will still carry the colour & go line.  Don’t worry though, it would seem that most of the existing colour & go colours are still available in the ‘The Gel” range.   Either under the same name or with an updated name but similar in colour.  Plus of course a few new pretties.  This range also comes with the recommended base and topcoat.  This is not the same as the “Gel nails at home” range that requires a UV lamp.  I am currently doing a wear test on these polishes so look out for the post on Monday with swatches and the wear test result.  I am also testing the base/ topcoat vs my regular base/topcoat to see how it fares.

The range updates also includes the “The pastels” and the “The nudes” ranges.  I did not pick up any of these because I couldn’t choose which I wanted first 😉  So I will be going back and picking up all of them so that I can show you the ranges together.  They are gorgeous though.

Then, we have some additions to the ‘Effects’ range.  I picked up 3.  2 of the ‘liquid foil’ and the ‘latex matt’.  Let me show you:

Essence – Lady mermaid

This is 3 coats with no topcoat.  This was a little hard for me to photograph.  It is very sparkly. This is a blue foil with a bit of a purple violet shift.  It has some violet particles in it which you can see on the left hand side of the bottle.  It’s really stunning even if my photo doesn’t do it enough justice.  The formula is ok.  It is a little sheer at first and needed 3 coats but if you tend to paint thicker coats you could probably get away with two.

Essence – I don’t need money, honey!

This is 2 coats with no topcoat.  For some reason this one was much easier to photograph.  This one is also blue but leaning more towards a teal blue compared to Lady mermaid.  This one also has a great formula.  Almost a one coater but 2 is still best in my opinion.  This is my favourite of the two even though I like the colour of Lady mermaid a bit more.

Essence – The black cat

This is 2 coats with no topcoat.  This is labeled as a ‘latex matt’.  It’s not an ordinary matte black as it this has a more rubbery / latex finish.  In my opinion, this is more a satin black.  I absolutely love this finish and this black is stunning.  Great formula and opacity.  I am absolutely thrilled to have this in the Essence collection.  See what I mean about staying on trend?  ‘latex’ black has been very hot and now we have an easily accessible and affordable option in our Essence stand.  So thrilled.

There were also some topcoat additions to the range.  I can’t even tell you how happy this makes me.  Some that I did not grab is the ‘Ombre’ topcoat.  This is a topcoat that you can turn any colour into an ‘ombre’.  You apply one coat of topcoat to a nail and then 2 coats to the next etc etc.  Each layer of topcoat will make the colour of your polish a little darker.  Then they also have the texture or sand effect topcoat.  This will turn any polish into a texture.  How awesome is that?  I did grab 2 of the topcoats.  Let me show you.

I will be using the same polish as base to show you all the topcoats.

Essence – Be berry now

This is 2 coats with no topcoat. This is not a new shade but thanks to the super shiny finish I thought it a good one to use for this experiment 😉  This is also such a stunning polish with great formula and opacity.

Do you remember when I showed you Essence – New York city call?  It is a satin gold and I mentioned how much I loved the satin finish and that we really should have a satin topcoat.  Guess what?

Essence – Matt about you topcoat

Yup, you guessed it.  A satin topcoat. *dies* Here I used this topcoat on my all my nails except index.  On my index I have no topcoat at all.  The satin finish still has a slight ‘shine’ to it but more of a rubbery looking finish.  Some have even called it waxy.  I don’t even care, I just know I love it.  Basically, I just want to satin topcoat everything!  What is the difference between Satin finish and matte you ask?  Great question! I am so glad you asked……

On my index I have no topcoat.  On my pinky and ring finger I have the Essence Satin topcoat.  On my middle finger I have a regular matte topcoat.  Can you see the difference?  A matte topcoat removes any shines and it really is completely matte.  Compared to the satin topcoat that still has a slight shine but not a glossy shine.  I do love a matte topcoat but at the moment I am all about the satin finish.

Essence – Let stars rain down on me topcoat 

Here I have one coat of topcoat over Be berry now.  This is micro holo glitter in a clear base.  In this topcoat the glitter settles so when you look at the bottle it just looks like a clear topcoat.  If you shake it up the glitter suspends and the holo shiny will blow you away.  The bottle has some holo dot markings on the label but if you look above and below the ‘Shake me!” on the bottle you can see the fine glitter in the topcoat.  I wasn’t able to capture the true holo sparkle but trust me, this will have you staring at your nails non-stop.  This is basically the Essence version of INM Northern lights.  China Glaze – Fairy dust could be considered similar on the nail but Fairy dust does not settle.  The glitter is always suspended in the base.  Trust me on this one, if you like shiny, you will love this one!  Great job Essence!

Alrighty, this is all I have for you today for the range updates.  Don’t foget to look out for the ‘The Gel” polishes post on Monday which will include a wear test.  Then as soon as I get my hands on a few or all of the ‘The nudes” and “The pastels” collections I will share them with you as well.  What do you think of these?  Which one is your favourite?  Which one are you most excited about? Have you tried any of them yet?  I’d love to hear what you think.

Thanks for reading,