Essie California Coral

Wow, this is a really vibrant shade (almost neon) and it seems to be a different colour every time I look at it on my fingertips. Yesterday, in sunlight, it was an orange-leaning coral. In artificial light, it looks more pinky. But on this fantastically dull and grey Sunday in London it looks like a coral-red.

Whatever, I really like it, though I have to say it's quite thin. This was two coats and nail tip is still visible as you can see on a couple of the shots.

If you're wondering what I'm clutching in place of a nail polish bottle, it's the head of my beloved Anglepoise lamp - empty hand shots look too weird!

I picked this colour for a manicure at Spa Nails, Whitecross Street (near Old Street in London). The manicure cost £12 and I think they did a decent job, though there is a bit of day 3 chippage (I should have sealed the ends with topcoat myself I think). Although I don't own this colour myself, I would certainly pick California Coral again as manicure and definitely a pedicure colour when the weather is a bit sunnier.

Essie Topless and Barefoot nail polish

I must apologise for the awful application in these pictures. Unfortunately these creamy opaques are probably the least forgiving on the nail if not applied perfectly, and I found the consistency of this one hard to work with (gloopy, thick, reminds me of some of the older Essie's I own which almost put me off this brand for good..). So not one of my better manicures, but as I'd done it I thought I'd share as I don't think I'll be in a hurry to return to this shade.

Topless and Barefoot looks very pretty in the bottle - a creamy nude with a hint of pink shimmer. I'm not sure how I like it on my nails - perhaps with a better application (and some nice summery weather!) I'd view it a bit more favourably. In some lights, it looks like a good nude match for my skin. Outdoors however, I can see more of the pink and a hint of mink that seems to clash with my yellow skin.

I think the only time I'd wear this would be in the summer, as a pedicure shade, applied by a professional, with a tanned foot. And any nail polish that has to come with four caveats is in my opinion more trouble than it's worth.

Essie Russian Roulette

This is one of those 'I never need to try another red polish' reds. I don't have a picture of the bottle unfortunately as this was a spur of the moment manicure choice. It's bright and bold and definitely a warmer shade - I think its one of the best reds I've tried for my skintone. 

Can imagine this would be great as a pedicure colour too.

What's your favourite red polish?

Essie - Buy Me a Cameo nail polish (blah)

Very pretty in the bottle, but usual nightmare to apply and streaky finish as shown below, though admittedly I did have some manicure oil residue on my hands which may have caused a bit of bubbling. The colour was a bit sheerer than I'd hoped too (pictured with two coats).

I think I'm just going to have to accept that as much as I love the colours (I also adore the simplicity of the bottles) me and the Essie formula just do not get along. And yet perversely I already have my eye on the new resort collection which just looks divine, so no doubt you'll be seeing more photos of dodgily applied Essie polish and hearing more of my moaning in a couple of weeks time!

Anyone else have difficulties with the Essie formula?

Essie - Mink Muffs nail polish

Hate the Essie formula - so watery and a bit streaky - but LOVE Mink Muffs. Another to add to my ever expanding arsenal of browns. Not hugely exciting but looks neat and chic on the nails - will be a good workpolish I think. Pictured with Nails Inc top and base coats.

Essie - Sexy Divide nail polish

I popped into Liberty after attending a course in central London last week - and popped out with my first Essie nail polish (and a Shu eyeshadow!)

I was hoping to find Mint Candy Apple, a lovely light aqua colour which I've seen on a few blogs and which I think

will look lovely in winter (preferably on a snowy day!), but I don't think it's out in the UK yet. There were however a few other tempting colours on display, and I plumped for the decadent shimmering purple pictured left - Sexy Divide (odd name!)

I'm not usually drawn to purples, and to be honest, despite this being a very nice purple, I don't think I'd purchase any more. I bought it mainly as I don't have any purple nail polishes in my collection, and wanted something to match my increasing number of purple eyeshadows. Why I like purple eyes but not nails I don't know - I do like lavenders, lilacs and heather colours such as OPI's Parlez vous OPI but for some reason true purples just don't speak to me.

I'm not sure what I make of the Essie formulation - I vaguely recall having tried them a few years ago and finding them a bit watery which probably explains their absence from my make up bag. They definitely seem to be thinner than other polishes and although they don't go on very evenly, you can kind of apply as much as you need in one go if you see what I mean (e.g if it's too thin you can apply more straight away as it's still quite wet on the nail, to get the right coverage). Unfortunately this means it doesn't dry very quickly, but when it does, the lasting power actually seems quite good.

I did a manicure and a pedicure with this colour and think I prefer it as a pedicure. It's a great evening colour but somehow it just looks too much like a party colour for me to wear during the daytime. It will however be a great Christmas colour and I'll probably get a lot of wear out of this over the forthcoming festive season. So in summary, if you like purples, Sexy Divide is definitely worth checking out, but personally, I doubt I'll be repurchasing when it runs out.

I have bought a couple of more Essie shades from eBay though which look promising, Angora cardigan and Sag Harbor . Will report on those shortly!

Pictured with Nails Inc Kensington Caviar top coat.