Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Essie Fall 2010

Not too long ago, I went a tiny bit crazy on the Nordstrom site, and one of the things I bought was the Essie fall mini-pack, which at least for now is a Nordstrom exclusive.

Essie Fall 2010

Essie Fall 2010

Left to right: Limited Addiction, Sew Psyched, Merino Cool, Little Brown Dress.


The most classic of these is the red creme, Limited Addiction. It's a bit squishy; two thick or three regular coats are called for. I applied it a little heavier on my index finger, a little lighter on others as I worked toward the pinky, but also the angle of the light makes the index finger look darker. (All of the swatches today are without top coat.)

Essie Fall 2010

Essie makes so many reds I was sure that I had something similar in a full size even though I don't buy that many red cremes. Sure enough, there was A-List in my stash.

Essie Fall 2010

Left to right: Limited Addiction, A-List, Limited Addiction, A-List.


A-List is even squishier; I used three coats and think four might have been better. Limited Addiction is a bit deeper red than A-List, though maybe if I'd put another coat of A-List on that would have brought them closer. I'm not overly excited about either of them, though it is nice to have a classic red creme to turn to when the situation warrants.

Next up on the Karen scale of interestingness is Merino Cool, a slightly purpley taupe creme. It's a nice color, yes, but we've been seeing a lot of this sort of shade in recent times.

Essie Fall 2010

This looks similar to a lot of polishes in my stash—Sally Hansen Commander in Chic, Rimmel Steel Grey, Ulta SoHo Pretty, to name three—for comparison purposes I grabbed Channelesque.

Essie Fall 2010

Top to bottom: Channelesque, Merino Cool, Channelesque, Merino Cool.


Much as I love taupes, I can't really say Merino Cool is a must have if you already have any of the others I mentioned.

Continuing in the neutral vein, we have Little Brown Dress, a rich dark chocolate creme. For some reason, I have very few browns in my stash, so this one intrigued me. It dries darker on the nail than in the bottle and two coats were plenty.

Essie Fall 2010

The only thing in my collection that was remotely comparable to Little Brown Dress was MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious. The MAC is a shimmer, but a subtle one.

Essie Fall 2010

Top to bottom: MAC, Essie, MAC, Essie.


Little Brown Dress is just a tiny bit darker and more cool-toned than Rich, Dark, Delicious.

Finally, we have what I think the star of this set, Sew Psyched, a greyed green with a very subtle shimmer.

Essie Fall 2010

There aren't a lot of colors like this out there, but I could think of one, and fortunately had it in my stash to compare: Rescue Beauty Lounge Diddy Mow.

Essie Fall 2010

Essie Fall 2010

Top to bottom: RBL, Essie, RBL, Essie.


Well, lookie here, I do believe we have ourselves a dupe. Good news for people who won't or can't spend $18 a bottle but can afford $8. Since I already have the RBL, I won't plan to buy a full size of Sew Psyched (even though I like the name very much--I do often get psyched when I make time to sew). I do think I'll get a full-size Little Brown Dress, though; I can see myself wanting to wear it a lot in the fall (and maybe other seasons, too--it would go great with the outfit I had on yesterday, for instance).

****

Edited to add a link to the post with the other two colors in this collection:
Essie Fall 2010 The Rest of the Story.

23 comments:

  1. Little Brown Dress and Sew Psyched looks great! I think I'll get them when they hit the stores.

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  2. What a great post! Thanks for the comparisons. I think I need Sew Psyched. What was the application like?

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  3. Wow, I love Sew Psyched; very unique! Thanks for the swatches!

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  4. Thank you so much for all this work of comparison!
    I've wanted "Diddy Mow" but couldn't justify spending 58$ (18$+40$ of shipment) for a polish. RBL is really too expensive for EU costumers. Essie will be a perfect alternative. :)

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  5. WOW - so this is a collection of dupes?

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  6. I'd have to say Sew Psyched is my fave from the group. I was leaning back and forth on buying this set now I'm kind of glad I waited. Hopefully these will come out full size later this year :) Thank you!

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  7. A dupe for Diddy Mow. I'm in! Hoo-bloomin'-rah!

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  8. thank you you are so good with the informative comparisons

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  9. I love Sew Psyched! I didn't know Essie already had a fall collection out.

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  10. I almost bought these from Nordstrom, but it looks like there are some great ones that are very close to these hues. Little Black Dress is much darker on the nail. Thanks for the review!

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  11. Nailspotting, I agree those two are my favorites from this collection as well.

    Millie, application was good. The only one I had a slight bit of trouble with was Merino Cool, which seemed a little thick, but even that one was not too bad. Sew Psyched was two coats, same as the RBL, though the RBL did feel smoother to me going on.

    Ping, you're welcome!

    jellynat, yes I think a lot of people are in your shoes; I was so happy that the Essie was so very close to Diddy Mow.

    Piff, yes, it seems none of these are super unique, though to non nail polish geeks, the three non-reds will be something new, I bet.

    Jessica, I'm 99.9% certain these will come out full size later this year, just like last year's; those were Nordstrom mini exclusives in the summer as well.

    jaljen, so glad you're glad!

    peripatetic33, thank you! I find doing comparisons is a good way to justify my huge stash. :)

    Serena, they're just in minis and just at Nordstrom right now; not sure when they'll be released into the wider world.

    Freshie, you're welcome!

    Twister, thanks!

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  12. Great comparisons :) I like Merino Cool most.

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  13. These colors don't work for me, but what DOES work for me is your diligence at "comparison post"..A++++ chica!

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  14. Hello!
    Thanks for your lovely comment!
    There is no problem in writing in English, I can understand and write back too you!
    Love your nail polish reviews!
    See you soon, bye & kiss!

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  16. Goodness, you've found dupes for all of them! Yay! That taupe looks like it would work amazingly well in a franken of Paradoxal...now I want my hands on it!

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  17. Thank you for the beautiful swatches!!!
    I love the comparisons!

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  18. I wanted to order these but they couldn't ship it to Canada! Ahhh I just spent 2h on the Nordstorms website yesterday to find shoes and the pair I wanted couldn't ship that specific item to Canada either! Why do they want to torture me???!!!???

    I am happy that you did these swatches; I guess I am better off without the entire box set but I am sure ill pick up Sew Psyched ;) But I guess I will have to wait until the fall!

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  19. Thank You, great work!
    You just killed my lemming for Diddy Mow, that's a feat!

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  20. thanks! this was so helpful, now i am curious about in stiches and velvet voyeur....patience....

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  21. WOOOOOOOOO there is a dupe for diddy mow i'm in HEAVEN!!!!

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  22. Lovely comparisons. The Essie's look good and now I won't have to spend $18 for Diddy's Mow and just get Essie :)

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Thank you for reading and commenting! I greatly appreciate knowing I'm not just talking to myself here. :) I'm moderating most comments now due to the spate of spammers who claim to be looking for sexy times.