Essie In Stitches Fall 2010 Nail Polish

I chose In Stitches from Essie's 2010 fall collection because it's not just a great transition color but also has a classic "go anywhere" look. I know some consider this warm blush/rose pink too conservative and boring, but for me, as much as I love Sew Psyched and Merino Cool, sometimes (=often) I don't want my nails to be the focal point of my look. Maybe it's because I wear a lot of purple or red lipsticks and most of my wardrobe consists of DVF print dresses that have a lot going on in them. In any case, Essie's fall collection is so satisfying because it gives enough options from edgy to classic.

Essie In Stitches ($8) and the rest of the  Fall 2010 nail collection is available from shopessie.com.

All photos are mine.

Essie In Stitches Fall 2010 Nail Polish

I chose In Stitches from Essie's 2010 fall collection because it's not just a great transition color but also has a classic "go anywhere" look. I know some consider this warm blush/rose pink too conservative and boring, but for me, as much as I love Sew Psyched and Merino Cool, sometimes (=often) I don't want my nails to be the focal point of my look. Maybe it's because I wear a lot of purple or red lipsticks and most of my wardrobe consists of DVF print dresses that have a lot going on in them. In any case, Essie's fall collection is so satisfying because it gives enough options from edgy to classic.

Essie In Stitches ($8) and the rest of the  Fall 2010 nail collection is available from shopessie.com.

All photos are mine.

Essie In Stitches Fall 2010 Nail Polish

I chose In Stitches from Essie's 2010 fall collection because it's not just a great transition color but also has a classic "go anywhere" look. I know some consider this warm blush/rose pink too conservative and boring, but for me, as much as I love Sew Psyched and Merino Cool, sometimes (=often) I don't want my nails to be the focal point of my look. Maybe it's because I wear a lot of purple or red lipsticks and most of my wardrobe consists of DVF print dresses that have a lot going on in them. In any case, Essie's fall collection is so satisfying because it gives enough options from edgy to classic.

Essie In Stitches ($8) and the rest of the  Fall 2010 nail collection is available from shopessie.com.

All photos are mine.

Essie Fall 2010 Mini Collection

Essie's 4-packs of seasonal minis make it very easy for us, addicts. Between the cuteness of the packaging and the option to have four mini bottles (makes much more sense for those of us who rarely wear the same color two weeks in a row), this is an easy choice. I also got a full size of In Stitches, which I'll show you on Friday and only passed on one color, Velvet Voyeur, because I get my dark purple fix from last year's Chanel.

The mini fall collection includes:
Sew Psyched- celadon? blue sage? It's hard to describe, but the color is both unique and wearable even for my conservative taste.
Limited Addiction- sexy and classic red
Little Brown Dress- chocolate liqueur
Merino Cool- a cool mauve, urban and sophisticated

I love the creamy opaque texture and finish and the fact I can leave the house wearing only one coat. I usually apply the second coat the next day, so I have far less chance of messing up my nails. Dealing with your inner klutz requires a little creativity, and a nail polish that looks good enough even before your manicure is fully finished.

Essie fall collection mini 4pc ($17) is available from essieshop.com

All photos are mine

Essie Fall 2010 Mini Collection

Essie's 4-packs of seasonal minis make it very easy for us, addicts. Between the cuteness of the packaging and the option to have four mini bottles (makes much more sense for those of us who rarely wear the same color two weeks in a row), this is an easy choice. I also got a full size of In Stitches, which I'll show you on Friday and only passed on one color, Velvet Voyeur, because I get my dark purple fix from last year's Chanel.

The mini fall collection includes:
Sew Psyched- celadon? blue sage? It's hard to describe, but the color is both unique and wearable even for my conservative taste.
Limited Addiction- sexy and classic red
Little Brown Dress- chocolate liqueur
Merino Cool- a cool mauve, urban and sophisticated

I love the creamy opaque texture and finish and the fact I can leave the house wearing only one coat. I usually apply the second coat the next day, so I have far less chance of messing up my nails. Dealing with your inner klutz requires a little creativity, and a nail polish that looks good enough even before your manicure is fully finished.

Essie fall collection mini 4pc ($17) is available from essieshop.com

All photos are mine

Essie Fall 2010 Mini Collection

Essie's 4-packs of seasonal minis make it very easy for us, addicts. Between the cuteness of the packaging and the option to have four mini bottles (makes much more sense for those of us who rarely wear the same color two weeks in a row), this is an easy choice. I also got a full size of In Stitches, which I'll show you on Friday and only passed on one color, Velvet Voyeur, because I get my dark purple fix from last year's Chanel.

The mini fall collection includes:
Sew Psyched- celadon? blue sage? It's hard to describe, but the color is both unique and wearable even for my conservative taste.
Limited Addiction- sexy and classic red
Little Brown Dress- chocolate liqueur
Merino Cool- a cool mauve, urban and sophisticated

I love the creamy opaque texture and finish and the fact I can leave the house wearing only one coat. I usually apply the second coat the next day, so I have far less chance of messing up my nails. Dealing with your inner klutz requires a little creativity, and a nail polish that looks good enough even before your manicure is fully finished.

Essie fall collection mini 4pc ($17) is available from essieshop.com

All photos are mine

The Mystery of Essie Crystal Nail File

Not all nail files were born equal. The one from Sephora, for example annoys me to no end by only having one operational side. It's a thick slub of glass and they couldn't make both side usuable? Why? Then I have and had several brandless other files from several stores, online and offline. Some are good, others are better. My favorite, though, is this one from Essie. It's the perfect size, perfect weight and does a superb job leaving my nails smooth with no rough edges.

Recently I wanted to buy a secod one for my travel bag, only to discover it's no longer available on Essie website. You can still buy it from various other online sources, but it seems Essie has stopped making/selling them and that's a real shame.

Photo by me with the help of Kosh.

The Mystery of Essie Crystal Nail File

Not all nail files were born equal. The one from Sephora, for example annoys me to no end by only having one operational side. It's a thick slub of glass and they couldn't make both side usuable? Why? Then I have and had several brandless other files from several stores, online and offline. Some are good, others are better. My favorite, though, is this one from Essie. It's the perfect size, perfect weight and does a superb job leaving my nails smooth with no rough edges.

Recently I wanted to buy a secod one for my travel bag, only to discover it's no longer available on Essie website. You can still buy it from various other online sources, but it seems Essie has stopped making/selling them and that's a real shame.

Photo by me with the help of Kosh.

The Mystery of Essie Crystal Nail File

Not all nail files were born equal. The one from Sephora, for example annoys me to no end by only having one operational side. It's a thick slub of glass and they couldn't make both side usuable? Why? Then I have and had several brandless other files from several stores, online and offline. Some are good, others are better. My favorite, though, is this one from Essie. It's the perfect size, perfect weight and does a superb job leaving my nails smooth with no rough edges.

Recently I wanted to buy a secod one for my travel bag, only to discover it's no longer available on Essie website. You can still buy it from various other online sources, but it seems Essie has stopped making/selling them and that's a real shame.

Photo by me with the help of Kosh.

Essie Nail Polish Summer Collection

I had to get myself out of the beige nail polish rut and do something summery. Essie Summer Collection looked too adorable to pass. The colors are happy, beachy and spell "Vacation". Or maybe it's just my imagination. I decided I could live without the tomato red of Vermillionaire and Miss Matched, a pale lavender, so I opted for the 4 piece mini set. I love mini nail polish bottles, especially since it's been a while since I used any one color so often I actually finished it (or even came close).

Knockout Pout is the hottest pink (cream texture) and I really wanted to love it. But it was too loud and looked borderline trashy against my skin. I don't know why. The color is pretty and summery but my hands looked rather awful wearing it. I ended up removing the polish within less than an hour. Next came Haute As Hello, a pink coral cream. I felt it was much better and something I'd definitely wear on a hot summer day. Then I noticed it made my skin look yellow and sickly. I still like it a lot, but it might have to be relegated to my toes.

My hands weren't too happy with all dips in the polish remover. They required some serious TLC before I could go on, so I took a break, applied Lush Full Of Grace serum and finished with Kanebo Sensai hand cream  (best thing ever. I think I'm down to my last sample and that scares me).

Pretty Edgy is as green as it gets and should thrill any green nail polish fiend who likes shiny, creamy textures. It looks nice on my hands and I can actually see myself wearing it when I'm feeling...edgy, I guess. It's not an everyday color for me and I'm a bit too conservative nail-wise to feel completely comfortable with it, but I've been staring at the bottle so much  it has definitely grown on me.

Is anyone surprised to learn I've been wearing Demure Vixen for the second week in a row? A muted mauve with a very pale rosy/brown tone it doesn't stand out or calls any attention to itself, but I like it best for everyday purpose. It's beautiful, very chic and always appropriate. Demure Vixen is the one iridescent color in the (almost) all-cream collection, but the iridescence is mostly lost by the time you apply the third coat (necessary for a full coverage). It's the only color that was easy to apply without fighting streaks (I think the mini brush is not ideal). The other colors were very streaky for the first two coats but settled nicely by the third one, so it's not a big issue. You need three coats to get the full effect of the color as you see it in the bottle.

The 4 piece mini set of Essie Nail Polish Summer Collection ($17) is available from essieshop.com. Individual full size bottles ($8 each) are available from select nail salons and online.

All photos are mine.

Essie Nail Polish Summer Collection

I had to get myself out of the beige nail polish rut and do something summery. Essie Summer Collection looked too adorable to pass. The colors are happy, beachy and spell "Vacation". Or maybe it's just my imagination. I decided I could live without the tomato red of Vermillionaire and Miss Matched, a pale lavender, so I opted for the 4 piece mini set. I love mini nail polish bottles, especially since it's been a while since I used any one color so often I actually finished it (or even came close).

Knockout Pout is the hottest pink (cream texture) and I really wanted to love it. But it was too loud and looked borderline trashy against my skin. I don't know why. The color is pretty and summery but my hands looked rather awful wearing it. I ended up removing the polish within less than an hour. Next came Haute As Hello, a pink coral cream. I felt it was much better and something I'd definitely wear on a hot summer day. Then I noticed it made my skin look yellow and sickly. I still like it a lot, but it might have to be relegated to my toes.

My hands weren't too happy with all dips in the polish remover. They required some serious TLC before I could go on, so I took a break, applied Lush Full Of Grace serum and finished with Kanebo Sensai hand cream  (best thing ever. I think I'm down to my last sample and that scares me).

Pretty Edgy is as green as it gets and should thrill any green nail polish fiend who likes shiny, creamy textures. It looks nice on my hands and I can actually see myself wearing it when I'm feeling...edgy, I guess. It's not an everyday color for me and I'm a bit too conservative nail-wise to feel completely comfortable with it, but I've been staring at the bottle so much  it has definitely grown on me.

Is anyone surprised to learn I've been wearing Demure Vixen for the second week in a row? A muted mauve with a very pale rosy/brown tone it doesn't stand out or calls any attention to itself, but I like it best for everyday purpose. It's beautiful, very chic and always appropriate. Demure Vixen is the one iridescent color in the (almost) all-cream collection, but the iridescence is mostly lost by the time you apply the third coat (necessary for a full coverage). It's the only color that was easy to apply without fighting streaks (I think the mini brush is not ideal). The other colors were very streaky for the first two coats but settled nicely by the third one, so it's not a big issue. You need three coats to get the full effect of the color as you see it in the bottle.

The 4 piece mini set of Essie Nail Polish Summer Collection ($17) is available from essieshop.com. Individual full size bottles ($8 each) are available from select nail salons and online.

All photos are mine.