Essie Polish Collection

Hi there, lets talk nail polish, and in particular my obsession with Essie! 

My collection has been growing over the past two years but when Essie became widely available throughout Australia (namely in priceline stores) it kind of got a little out of hand. Let me introduce what I have and what I think.

Left to Right: Cute as a Button, Tart Deco, Saturday Disco Fever

Left to Right: Lights, Mod Squad, Watermelon, Secret Story

Left to Right: DJ play that song, Go Ginza, Neo Whimsical

Left to Right: Butler Please, Bikini so Teeny, Lilacism, Borrowed and Blue, Mint Candy Apples

Left to Right: Sand Tropez, Penny Talk, A cut Above, Chinchilly

Left to Right: Devils Advocate, Bahama Mama

The worst:

I wanted to get the bad news out of the way first. My least favourites out of the bunch are the three below (Butler Please, Saturday Disco Fever and Secret story) and this is purely on consistency because as you can tell the colours are to die for. 

Starting with 'Butler Please', This polish I bought on a complete whim because the colour is spectacular. This polish is a semi matte finish which is patchy and lacks the creaminess I have come to love from Essie. 

'Saturday Disco Fever' is the most disappointing I have spent money on as it looks completely different in the bottle then when applied. In the bottle you get a creamy, neon, opaque truly amazing shade that I could not wait to apply. When I did get to try it I got a sheer, slightly darker and not at all easy to apply polish that even after four coats I could not get even.

Finally 'Secret Story' which I have a separate blog post on that you can find HERE. Again love the colour, not the formulation. This one is very similar to 'Saturday Disco Fever' Sheer and uneven, just not a pleasing experience to use. 

The Best:

Now we have the negative portion out of the way, lets talk favourites. 

The newest addition to my Essie Loves is 'Tart Deco' and this was an EssieButton recommendation I couldn't pass. The rich, creamy, opaque and yet still very wearable shade is great for the spring/summer months but I am loving the fact that there is a mix of brights for Autumn, and can I tell you, its love. I have only had this shade about a month and I have worn it five plus times, seriously addicted. 

An old and trusted favourite 'Mint Candy Apple' has worked its way into my loves, and thats because its just so easy to wear. While it is a mint green colour, it works so well with my skin tone I use it as I would a nude. Its stunning a simple. 

The only colour that is no longer available is 'Borrowed and Blue' from the wedding collection a few years ago. It is probably my most worn polish and most consistently worn, I love it and I'm so sad it is no longer available. #bringbackborrowed&blue

Next is a polish I am so surprised you don't here more about because it is amazing. A mix of pastel and bright, the rich lilac colour is so complementary to the skin tone, and so easy to get perfect I cant go wrong no matter what the occasion. 

Finally we have the only dark polish in this section 'Devils Advocate'. I will admit, its not for everyone, but it certainly works for me. I really enjoy dark nails but have never liked black, this very, very dark red/purple still has enough colour to not give you that chalky grey black can often give you and is warm enough to look more natural on the nail.

Winter Picks:

From Essie this year my picks are quite classic, so lets hope there is something for everyone. I have two dark plum reds at the beginning to keep all of the oxblood lovers happy. I have included a shimmer polish because on those really dark, cold days its nice to have a little pick me up with a bit of sparkle. Next is everyones favourite nude for those days where you just want to keep things simple and clean and finally a taupe shade for those days where you want to embrace the greys.

Spring Picks: 

I have stuck to fairly traditional spring colours for this year. The first two are your standard Mint and Lilac which are always a spring pick. The second two are more of a trend pick based on the 2014 colour picks. Both are coral based colours which are bold and fun. 

If you would like to hear me ramble in real life and not via keyboard, please check out my latest video, also about my far to large Essie Polish Collection!

I hope you have enjoyed my whole collection. I will have a video coming very soon where I speak a little bit more about the colours.

Zeeta x

Top 10 Drugstore Items

Lets Talk Drugstore Products.

Here in Australia Cosmetics are very pricey, so anything you can get on a budget that works well is a great buy. Here are my top ten Drugstore buys Australian edition.

Lip Products:

At the moment I would have to say the Revlon Matte and Lacquer Balms, I have rambled about these products for quite some time now but only because I do really love them that much. Having the two finish options and a wide range of colours (most of which are bright shades) means there is something for almost everyone. The $17.95 price tag is a little high for a drugstore product but nothing outrageous.  

Foundation:

This will come as no surprise if you watch my YouTube videos but for years now I have been obsessed with the Revlon Colourstay Foundation for combination to oily skin.  This is truly my holy grail of foundations, it has amazing coverage that you can really alter to suit your skin needs, the colour selection is reasonably large for a drugstore product and the lasting power and evenness though out the day is unparalleled in my opinion. Price: 34.95

Concealer: 

One of my new discoveries on this list has to be the Rimmel wake me up concealer. Although this product has been around for quite a while now It was just something I have not tried out. When I gave this product to my sister as a gift I knew I needed to try it out and it is great. The coverage is medium to high but reflects light enough that you don't need to use large amounts of the product, the formulations sits well with foundations and sets to a nice finish under powder. The one down side is the colour selection is terrible, even the lightest shade is a tad to dark for myself especially in winter and the darkest shade would only work for someone with a medium complexion. Price: $14.95

Powder:

This is not a surprise to anyone who has been following the beauty world in Australia and it has to be the Australia Fresh and Flawless pressed powder. If you don't know what I am talking about it is basically a dupe for the MAC Studio Fix powder (minus about $40.00). I have been obsessed with this powder for so long because it sets my foundations, ads a little more coverage and helps control my oily skin for hours and hours. I love that this product wears very evenly throughout the day so you don't end up patchy or cakey. The recent changed to the packaging SUCK but don't let that deter you from giving it a go. Price: $11.95

Bronzer: 

While I am no expert on bronzers being a pale skinned gal, I can easily say that I adore the Bourjois Chocolate Bronzer in '51'. A well known product in the beauty community I actually prefer the lighter shade in comparison to the infamous '52' colour.  The product applies evenly and is not overwhelming while still adding a little life to the edges of the face. If you are paler I would give this a go and of course if you have a little more colour the darker shade is a well know favourite. 

Primer:

I have not had the best of luck with drugstore all over face primers but I have come to really enjoy the Australis Eyeshadow Primer. I find that there really isn't too much of a difference between the Australis primer and something like the Urban Decay Primer Potion. I am not someone with terribly oily eye lids so I am not sure how it holds up in that department but I do not get any creasing throughout the day and definitely notice the pigmentation of the eyeshadows is much stronger with the primer underneath. Price: $12.95

Mascara: Drugstore Mascaras are top notch and even compared to most high end mascaras the drugstore options are just as good.  I am a huge fan of Covergirl (and Max Factor) mascaras and always have at least one on the go. Two of my favourites are the Lashblast Clump Crusher and the Lash Perfection, each easily amazing and both at amazing prices. 

Eyeliner: This is one that I often get questions about and it is the BYS Smudgeproof Waterproof eyeliner. This dip pot style product is quite a liquidy formulation but the opacity and finish of the product is worth the fuss. This the the only eyeliner I have used that does not smudge on me throughout the day. With the $4.95 maximum price this is one of the BEST products I own

Cream Eyeshadow:

Until recently I really wasn't a big lover of cream products, especially from the drugstore because normally they are sticky, clumpy and just not nice to use, but since the discovery of the Maybeline Colour Tattoo's I have been in love. I have several of the shades but my favourite is the golden based champagne with subtle shimmer that is Barely Branded. I use this product most days under my shadows to give them a little more life and deepen the pigmentation. 

Powder Eyeshadow:

Drugstore eyeshadows are something that I just don't get on with, I am really hard to please with eyeshadows because I don't see the point in using something that just isn't that great, and this product is not only a great product but one of the best eyeshadows I have used. The Loreal Color Infallible Eyeshadows are a pressed pigment style formulation which are the same as the Armani Eyes to Kill shadows. The incredible pigmentations and the unique finish of the shadows are hard to beat and are a staple in my collection. 

If you would like to hear me speak a little about these products please check out my video below!

Zeeta x

NOTD: Cute as a Button

As I promised I am going to talk you through as many of my polishes as possible and today we are going with a lovely spring time pick: Essie 'Cute as a Button'

As per usual I picked this shade up on a whim but I have since fallen head over heels. It is the perfect pink for this season being right on trend and just a lovely shade.

In photos this polish looks like you standard bright pink but in real life it is a bright coral based pink with a lot of orange to brighten it up. I am not a huge lover of pink on my nails but with the coral base I find it much more flattering on the skin.

Overall I am very happy with the polish and would recommend it to almost everyone, especially those who are not the biggest pink fans as I think it just works.

Zeeta x