Essence – Out of space stories collection

Hello lovelies,

The good news is that we have made it half way through the week.  The great news is that tomorrow is a public holiday for us!  If you’re really lucky you have Friday off as well and you basically have one super long weekend.  Either way, today is a good day!

Today I am showing you the Out of space stories collection from Essence.  My understanding is that this is part of the range  update (almost like the I <3 Metals and I <3 pastels etc ).  I was so excited when I saw these on the shelf.  Mostly because there are 2 holographic polishes.  It’s not often that main stream brands have holographic polishes and even more so, available to us. But there is more than just holographic.  Let me show you the polishes and what I think of each one.

Essence – 1000 light years away

This is 2 coats with no topcoat.  This is a black jelly with small and medium holographic glitter.  The polish applies well.  On the first coat it is rather sheer but on the second coat I got full opacity.  The glitter is just the right density.  You still get the black look of the base colour but the glitter adds the magical sparkle.  One thing to note, this was hard as balls to remove.  You will definitely have to use the foil method to remove this.  I really liked this one.  I do have other black polishes with glitter but not many have holographic glitter and this is just the right amount.  This is definitely a favourite.

Essence – Across the universe

This is 3 coats with no topcoat.  This is pink to green duochrome with a grey base.  I have to be honest, at first I did not like this polish.  I had the same feeling about it as I had with Morgan Taylor – Little Misfit and one of the OPI Brazil polishes.  It looks gorgeous in the bottle and the shift is apparent but once it’s on the nail it looks like a grey polish.  The longer I had it on though, the more I fell in love.  I have seen the duochrome from Essence before in a darker base but I think the lighter base really makes the shift work.  It is more apparent on the nail than in photos.  In some light you will probably get that blah grey polish, but hang in there, the shift will come.  It really is quite pretty.  It applied beautifully and was thin enough for 3 easy coats. I do think it’s a bit brush strokey but I am also pretty sure a topcoat will help with this.

Essence – Beam me up

This is 2 coats with no topcoat. This is a rich pink holographic.  I’ve heard some people say the holo isn’t strong enough and isn’t nearly as intense as it should be.  I think it is really good for a mainstream polish. It is never going to be on Indie level but I really like this polish.  The polish applies beautifully and is also very opaque.  It is almost a one coater.  I wanted to take some sun shots – we all know holo doesn’t really show up well in my light box – but as luck would have it, we haven’t seen sun in a good few days.  This is really a favourite for me.

Essence – Intergalactic adventure

This is 2 coats with no topcoat.  This is a blue to purple duochrome.  The duochrome shows up well and the colours are beautiful but somehow I was just a little underwhelmed.  I have seen this combination many times before.  I will say that for a super affordable and easily accessible polish, this is fantastic.  The formula is good and the opacity is great.  There’s nothing wrong with it,  it’s just not unique or different.

Essence – Outta space is the place

This is 2 coats with no topcoat.  When I saw this polish in the bottle I thought it was a light pink pearly polish.  I wasn’t super excited about it.  I did a quick, on the fly swatch and was surprised by the opacity and the beautiful green shimmer in the light pink base.  When I did this swatch, I was hoping for more.  It is a beautiful light pink with a slight pearl finish but nice green shimmer.  It is pretty opaque for such a light colour.  Unfortunately the green shimmer only really shows up at a certain angle in certain light and not nearly as easily as I had hoped.  If that green shimmer was stronger or more obvious this could possibly have been a huge favourite.  I am still impressed with the opacity and even though it was a bit on the thicker side, it was still manageable.  It’s pretty, I just wish the shimmer was stronger. I suspect the green was supposed to be a pink to green duochrome shift but in mine, it didn’t really happen.

Essence – Space glam

This is 2 coats with no topcoat.  I was very excited about this one.  This is a grape purple base filled with a metallic / duochrome -ish flake.  At first, I didn’t like.  I thought it was just gold and you couldn’t really see the base or the pink / copper-ish shift.  I thought it was too much.  Then I walked into a different room and the different light made my nails glow.  I am still torn.  In some instances I think it’s beautiful and then I look at it again and I feel unsure.  It applies well and has a nice opacity.  I suspect maybe a third coat would seal the deal.  I would love to hear your opinion on this one if you give it a try.  I am not sure if my iffy feelings about glitter comes into play here or if it is the colour combination.  Let me know.

Essence – We will spock you

This is 3 coats with no topcoat.  This is a silver holo.  I saw this one immediately and grabbed it as if it was the last piece of food I’ll ever have.  Again, I tried to get a sun shot but no sun made it tricky.  Considering holo doesn’t show up so well in my lightbox I think this one didn’t fare too badly at all.  This is a beautiful polish and if I have to recommend only one, this would be it.  Although my heart wants to say the pink one (but wait, I have a tip here).  This has a great thin formula and applies easily.  It’s a little sheer at first but builds up really well.  I used 3 coats but  you might find 2 enough.  It is also a nice thing formula so 2 or 3 coats is easy breezy.  A little tip though, use 1 thin coat of this over another (bright) polish and you might just find yourself with a holo topcoat. Turn any colour into a holo.  Let me know if you’ve given it a try. I’ll try to do a little show and tell on Instagram if you’re interested.

Alrighty, that is for this collection.  What do you think?  Which one is your favourite? Have you grabbed any of them yet?  I’d love to hear your opinions on these.  I was a bit iffy about some and surprised by others so hearing another perspective always helps.

Thanks for reading,