FALL. IS. HERE. My favorite season has arrived, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m ready for boots, sweater weather, and this brand new nail polish from Essie’s Fall 2016 “Kimono-Over” Collection! For the autumn season, Essie has delivered a sweet new Japanese inspired collection featuring stunning shades of purple, orange, blue, grey and light pink — yes, even pink. You’ll definitely want to check these (and my review) out below!
PLAYING KOI Playing Koi – This is a rustic orange that screams fall, and it was also the shade I was most excited to try from the collection. I think every fall collection should have a great orange, though this did seem slightly more brown looking on the nail than the bottle. I love it! I truly love this color. The formula was okay–albeit very thin, and if you aren’t careful in your application you may need three coats to cover a few sheer spots.
KIMONO-OVER Kimono-over – I’m in LOVE with this color! This is such a deep plum that it looks black sometimes … and I love-love-LOVE it!! The color was thin, but not as much as the others and still almost a one coat polish. I used two just to be safe, but I really didn’t need to.
NOW AND ZEN Now and Zen – This is a very pretty sage gray that I like more than I thought I would; it’s a great neutral color to transition from summer to fall with. The formula consistency was good, but I had minimal streaking on the first coat.
MAKI ME HAPPY Maki Me Happy – A beautiful crimson berry. Everything about the color is great; another top fall shade and so pretty! Formula-wise, this was pretty thin and I did flood my nail twice. Additionally, this one has a pretty big stain alert when removing, which shouldn’t be shocking as most reds do.
UDON KNOW ME Udon Know Me – I actually really like this on the nail, but wasn’t crazy about it from the bottle. I’m not sure this is a color I’d wear for the fall because I’m all about really dark colors this time of year, but it’s a good one. Formula was good, however I had normal light color streaks on the first coat but all was good with a second.
GO GO GEISHA Go Go Geisha – A nice neutral, light mauve-ish pink. I’m not really into this color, and I can’t tell if it’s just because I’m not a huge fan of pink or it’s just not anywhere close to a seasonal tone for me. The formula gave me a lot of streaking and was a bit difficult to smooth out.
VERDICT: I totally digging all of the darker colors and was a bit surprised that, for the most part, I liked the lighter colors as well. I have to say that Kimono-over, Playing Koi, and Maki Me Happy are my must-grabs.
Essie’s Fall 2016 Collection is available online at essie.com, salons and local drugstores.
