Happy 11-1-11! Eleven is one of my lucky numbers so I'm really excited to post today! To mark the occasion I thought I'd share with you the swatches of the new Essies that I promised - Essie Master Plan & Essie Dive Bar. Just a little memo...the retail line of Essie polishes is coming to Walgreens and Rite-Aid soon! I think this is good news for those of us who don't enjoy Walmart.
Spoiler Alert: I think Master Plan and Dive Bar are both gorgeous! Although very different polishes, I think both are knock-outs in their particular weight classes!
First up, the one that has received the most buzz so far - Dive Bar. At first when I showed you bottle pics here, I speculated that the purple flash you see in the bottle would not be very evident on the nail - as with Dive Bar's cousin, OPI Unripened. I was wrong.
In some lights you see the strong teal shimmer...
...and in others the purple.
But in semi-light, you see both at the same time!
Another pic for funsies...
The effect of Dive Bar is a lot less "black" than Unripened in general lighting situations. The smaller shimmer and teal/purple flashes give this an almost black pearl feeling... Now it's by no means a Chanel Black Pearl dupe - it's a much more colourful version of that and has larger shimmer. (And is better IMHO. But to be fair I haven't tried Black Pearl because I find it wholly unappealing for some reason.) I love this, and I think it will be a universal favourite if people can get their hands on it! (NB: I ordered mine from walmart.com and shipping was free at the time. I've also seen it in certain stores. Check walmart.com to see if it's in your store today!)
Time for another star...Master Plan.
A simple creme, this only required one picture! But a picture speaks volumes. Essie nailed this one. Again, I *really* feel like this must be close to Lippmann's Waking Up in Vegas, but I gave that one away! It's just a gorgeous, quiet-but-edgy putty grey with enough warmth that it doesn't give me total corpse-hands. I typically love colours like this, but the balance in this is exactly right. Oh and application was WAY better than the Lippmann. Way.
Two great new colours coming straight out of the new retail line, currently available at Walmart. Say what you want about the decisions L'Oreal is making with regards to the Essie brand, but these colours are - in my brother's words - "bangin'"!
What do you think? Will you be picking these up?
kittytokaren
P.S. I loved these so much that I got curious about another retail-exclusive that isn't in stores - Sweet Talker - so I ordered it! I'm so anxious for it to get here!
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23 comments:
Bizarrely, I just did a little layering experiment with OPI Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees by putting CND Sapphire Sparkle over it, and it looks pretty much exactly like Dive Bar! 0.0 I didn't know Sapphire Sparkle had a purple duochrome, and it shows up in dull-ish daylight just the way DB does in your semi-light photo. Just thought it was a weird coincidence :)
Hmm. I may have to pick up Master Plan. With my "grown up" career fast approaching edgy neutrals will be featuring heavily in my polish rotation, and this one looks gorgeous! No wal- marts in NYC, though, so I'll have to use the website (no big loss there).
They both look great, but do you know how close Master Plan is to Demure Vixen? I love how Dive Bar looks on the third photo!
@Jenny - That is really cool!!! I would love to see that.
@Grace - I think Master Plan would be perfect for your "grown up" career!! Congrats btw :)
@lluvyi - Demure Vixen and Master Plan are not even close...DV is a mauve-ish lavender with shimmer. Master Plan is a grey putty.
k2k
Its hard to compare the pictures to real life, but I just so happen to have WUIV on my nails right now, and it seems like Master Plan might be just a teeny tiny bit bluer. I would go buy it to find out how close they are, but I think my grey/greige collection is getting a bit out of control. I'd love to see a comparison though!
@kiera - I would love to see a comparison as well. The blue-ness might just be the appearance it has with my skintone, which makes everything more purple. I'm tempted to go to Nordies and compare!!
k2k
Yay, glad you swatched these! Dive Bar is so pretty. I ended up picking it up the other night! =)
Oh I love both of these! I guess I'm going to have to get myself to Walmart.com since I don't have access to any here. :( or maybe not so sad face...????
WOW! *Great* job capturing the shimmer in Dive Bar! I'm so excited that it doesn't get lost on the nail! I might hafta pick this one up! Love Essie...their stuff is always great!
Ooooh both of these are gorgeous! I particularly like Master Plan. It looks like the perfect shade of grey! Thanks for posting!
I have a Sally Hansen polish that I grabbed at the dollar store (in a 2-pack, too!) that looks very similar to Dive Bar. I may have to venture into Walmart to see if they are similar.
@Katie - Oh nice! Have you tried it yet?
@Varnish Vixen - Definitely not a sad face. Walmart.com was much more pleasant than the store!!
@Courtney - Agree - love Essie!! And I think this shimmer was more obvious than some!
@Alison - I thought of you when I swatched it actually! I think you'd love it and it would really suit you!
@Jeannine - Ooo nicely done!! What's it called?
k2k
oh em gee O_o... Because of this I may just give in and buy a few Essies. I've had my eye on a few (Limited Addiction, Pretty Edgy, and Turquoise & Caicos). Now I have to add Dive Bar, it's gorgeous!!
These are lovely, I must have Master Plan (I can't ever say no to a grey!!). Too bad it's out of stock online. P.S. I also ordered Sweet Talker, and really cannot wait to try it out.
yay! thanks for the swatches- i love master plan looks very suitable for work espically since im kinda sick of sheer pinks! what color is sweet talker? btw love your blog!
**the new follower - Tamar**
@Tamar - Essie lists Sweet Talker as a charming soft blue with a touch of shimmer. I got mine today in the mail and of course had to try it out. I think it's super pretty!! I was afraid application would be a nightmare, but it was a-MAZE-ing. Opaque in two coats. I'm only catching the tiniest bit of shimmer indoors though, but I love pastels and blues so it's a keeper for me.
I'm glad these will be at Rite Aid. I don't go anywhere near Walmart. They're both pretty.
@Nails and Thangs - All of your choices are actually great Essie polishes! I say go for it!
@Joanna - I cant say no to a grey either! Hopefully it will be back in stock soon! How pale is it?? I really wanted a super pale blue and I am keeping my fingers crossed! You're making it sound great!! Hopefully Fedex will get their act together and actually get me my package.
@Tamar - Hi again there!! Yes, like Joanna said, Sweet Talker is a pale blue but I haven't received it yet!! Fedex lost my package YET AGAIN!! Ugh. But from Joanna's description it sounds lovely!
@Lucy - I am too. I'd much rather go to Rite Aid or Walgreens for these. My Walmart experience was really overwhelming...and besides, the one closest to me isn't going to carry Essie at all!
k2k
I just mentioned on your original post that one of the colors I bought, Beach Bum Blu is totally terrible. I was so hoping it was an aqua shimmer, but no, it's a streaky frost. I've also never had a polish that bubbled so badly on me, every finger is covered in bubbles. And to top it all off I also got cuticle drag, only it's not just near the cuticles, it was all over the nail, if I went over any spot more than once I'd get a bald patch. So definitely stay far away from that one!
both seem like a great colors, I really like Dive Bar. I'd like to see Master Plan compared to similar shade Chinchilly and Body Language, or even Jazz perhaps
@Donna - Ugh really!?!? And it looks so pretty in the bottle. Ugh. Frosts. Bad.
@hermetic - In my original Essie post about the new retail line, I posted pictures of Master Plan next to bottles of Chinchilly and Body Language. Check it out! The post is called "New Year, New Essie?"
k2k
PS Joanna - Saw your pics of Sweet Talker on the Essie facebook page! Looks great!!!
Just received sweet talker and it's gorgeous! I'm already wearing a light blue polish right now, but I can't wait to get home and swap it for sweet talker. The shimmer is so pretty. Hope you get your bottle soon!
I bought Dive Bar today, and had to put it on this evening. Great color, but poor application. It seems thin and watery, and I got bald patches all over the place unless I applied a thicker coat. The brush also seems thin. This is my first Essie. Is this normal? I'm used to China Glaze, Zoya, and OPI.
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