Essie Summer 2012 Collection Review, Swatches and Photos

I feel slightly jaded posting some of these upcoming Summer related collections because the weather in Melbourne is ridiculously cold, it feels worse than the average Winter even though logically that’s likely not the case.

But here we are, this is Essie’s Summer collection for 2012. It’s a little more subtle in comparison to other massively bright summer collections, especially those released by China Glaze. But that is one of Essie’s key stakes in the market, to be slightly on the less outrageous side of things.

Application was fine, didn’t experience any issues with the formula. All swatches are two coats with no top coat.

All Tied Up

A rustic bronze with subtle golden shimmer polish, the shimmers are very hard to notice from certain angles. OPI’s Baguette Me Not is an exact dupe minus the shimmers.

Bikini so Teeny

A sparkling, cornflower blue polish that contains micro iridescent glitters. The glitters are not what I’d call shimmer, but they aren’t “sandy” like typical glitters. Essie’s Lapis of Luxury is a darker version with no glitter.

Cascade cool

A creamy, sweet dusty pink crème polish that leans towards having blue tones in my opinion. I found OPI’s Sparrow me the Drama to be a darker version.

Fear or desire

A bright, tangerine orange crush crème, this is a definite summer shade. It’s almost shockingly bright and very easy to dupe. OPI’s Mummy Knows Best is the closest I found, with Zoya’s Arizona to be a bit lighter and Essie’s Action to be a matte version.

Mojito madness

A fun-loving, almost lime green shade, I say almost because I think more of China Glaze’s Gaga for Green when I think of lime (lemon lime).

Off the shoulder

A bold, hot pink crème which is likely the most wearable shade out of this entire collection. It’s a shade I would comfortably wear to work, similarly ORLY’s Coquette is close but with more orange tones.