Essie Udon Know Me - comparisons and koi fish

This is my favorite shade from Essie's new Fall 2016 Japan collection: Essie Udon Know Me! This is kind of my perfect shade, because I eat  udon noodles all the time, plus I'm a sucker for a dusty color, and also for a good blue-green. Now that I've worn it, I have to say this is the perfect shade - a nicely balanced pale turquoise, which looks a lot like a dusty blue in a lot of lights, but has an obvious hint of green when you look at it next to true blues.

Gaga Greige - Essie Master Plan

No greige collection would be complete without Essie Master Plan. I've worn it before I just didn't take pictures of it at the time - it's one of my favorites. It's a really surprising polish - I remember when I first looked at it, I thought, no, this is just your average light tan. But when you put it next to light Caucasian skin, something magic happens! It does look tan in some lights, including apparently the one in which I took these photos, but the contrast of the grey, purple, and tan next to the pink in my skin is dramatic and interesting while being the same general shade. In other lights, the purple really comes out, which is the hallmark of a real "greige" IMO. 

Essie Tart Deco and a bit of nail art for fall

There's no doubt Essie Tart Deco is a staple. Coral is one of those colors I have many of, and this is definitely one of the best, if not my favorite. It's bright but also dark as corals go, a really rich and vibrant hue. Plus it's Essie, which actually dries properly without a topcoat and won't imprint on your clothes or sheets the same night. I didn't take comparison photos (yet) but it seems most similar to the rich shade I liked of Covergirl Coy Coral, but with a better formula.

The Lilacism phenomenon - that weird thing with Essie's lavenders

Guess what? The polish I'm wearing and the bottle in this photo are BOTH Essie Lilacism.

Essie Where's My Chauffeur?

This is one of my favorite polishes of all time. Essie Where's My Chauffeur? is a gorgeous deep turquoise. If I had to pick only one of Essie's turquoise/teal shades, it would be this one. It's also one of those great Essie formulas that really does only need 2 coats, and no top coat to dry without getting sheet prints that night (it seems to be properly dry, so it won't dent or imprint, in a few hours as opposed to the next day). I love this perfectly intense blue-green - it looks green in some lights, blue in others, and is fun to look at next to a variety of other colors. 

Snail gold

My grandma's necklace