Essie Yogaga Collection Review

Last month, I received a press release from Essie's PR collection regarding one of their new fall collections, Yogaga, which was a collection of 6 "neutral" cremes with fitness-themed names.  I thought it was such an intriguing collection for fall, and I'm so happy to show it to you today.  

Before I show you swatches, there is one color in the collection, Yogaga, that I did not receive for review, but it is looks like a soft, sandy beige.  You can see the color on Essie's website.  Here are the colors I did receive...

Boxer Shorts - light periwinkle blue.  Boxer Shorts is the reason that I put the word neutral in quotations above, because while it is a calm, serene blue, it's not what I would exactly call neutral.  It is, however, a gorgeous color and it's my favorite of the collection.  This one is definitely on the blue side of periwinkle, but there is a enough purple in the base to make this one a periwinkle rather than a cornflower blue.   Also, of the 5 I swatched, Boxer Shorts had the best formula.  It did take 3 coats to reach opacity, but the coats were thin enough that there was no issue with evenness or leveling.  

Gym Dandy - medium-toned, brown taupe.  Essie calls this one a "greige" and while I definitely see brown and mushroom and taupe, I don't see much grey.  It's certainly in the same vein, but it's more brown than what comes to mind when I see the word greige.  This one is one of the more fall-ish colors in the collection.  I did have a bit of issue with the formula, as it was a tad thick, but going slow and trying to keep a thin amount on the brush helped.  3 coats.

Marathin - slightly spicy, tea rose pink.  Marathin is the one that I have shown you before, and it's a very pretty pink for cooler months.  The more I wore it, I did think it age my hands a bit, but in all honesty, that also could have been from the Julep remover which dried out my hands while I was swatching.  This one is a great pink for those of you that just like to wear neutral colors.  For example, my mom and aunt would LOVE this one.  I did have the same formula issues that I had with Gym Dandy, but they were nothing that couldn't be handled.  2 coats.

Pilates Hottie - light grey-lavender.  Now this is one that I would call a "greige", albeit a very pale one.  It's a really pretty grey/lavender hybrid, but unfortunately, it didn't look all that great on my nails.  Though, I think it would look much better on a darker skintone.  These pale greys and lavenders always have a tendency to give me a case of "dead hands".  Like the other 2 light colors I swatched, this one also had a thicker, slightly temperamental formula.  3 coats.    

Spinning Again - brick red.  In the bottle, I thought this one was going to be more brown, but on the nail, it's a fantastic brick red that just screams "FALL!".   It's also very flattering on my pale skintone. It had one of the better formulas in the collection and is my second favorite behind Boxer Shorts.

I think this is a very wearable fall collection from Essie.  It's funny because while it is a collection of neutrals, my favorites were the least neutral of the bunch.  What does that say about me?  LOL.  

The collection, including Yogaga, is currently available from Essie.com, as well as other outlets (I think I actually saw it at Target last week), and retail for $8 a bottle.

This collection was sent to me for review.  

Orly Golden Halo

Le sigh...

I picked this one up a few days ago from TD, as it was supposedly a "French Manicure" polish (and I'm currently obsessed with French manis), but I have no idea how one would use it as a French manicure polish, unless you use it as the tip or in a funky French. 

That said, Golden Halo, is a gorgeous gold metallic with a heavy lavender cast, but it's not a duochrome.  Like most metallics, It is a bit brushstrokey, but it's not bothersome, at all.  In fact, it adds to the beauty of the polish, IMO.  This one reminds me of the ChG Romantiques polishes in appearance, though there is nothing this unique in the Romantiques collection.  This was 2 coats and I had no application issues.  BTW, while it's pretty in the picture, it just doesn't do this beautiful polish any justice.  It's definitely a "must see IRL to fully appreciate" polish.

It's a very different polish.  I mean... it's a golden lavender or a lavender-gold (whichever you prefer), so it will definitely appeal the those of us that like our polishes to be a little out of the ordinary.  That said, it is a lighter polish, and it's not "in your face" with it's unique-ness, like say a bright green holo would be, so it's not too crazy for most mainstream nail polish fans. 

This one is d/c'd according to TD, but still readily available through e-tailers.  Sally's may have it as it was (is?) part of the Orly French Manicure line, but as I haven't checked myself, I don't know for certain.  Hope you girls like this one. 

KOTD: Random Ribbons Funky French

Lately, I've been finding myself trying to push myself to be more and more creative with nail art.  More times than not, it's just me thinking about designs before falling asleep, but sometimes it actually comes to fruition.  This was one of those ideas that actually made it to my nails.

I started by using a base coat of Orly Love Each Other, a purple shimmer top coat, so the color of my natural nails could show through.  I want to experiment more and more with konadding on bare (basecoated) nails.  I then applied a konad design using plate m63.  I used the ribbon stamp and three different colors, ChG Grape Pop (bright purple creme), ChG Light as Air (lavender creme), and ChG Devotion (a purple/silver metallic).  I made sure the pattern was completely random by only using a part of it, or turning it in a different direction before stamping.  I then topped with a coat of Out the Door.

I waited about 2 hours for my konad design and base coat to be completely set before I applied a funky french to my tips using one coat of ChG Grape Pop (I had to go back and touch up a few patchy spots, but the majority is one coat) .  To get clean lines, I used Orly French Manicure Guides and waited 20 minutes or so until they were fully dry. Lastly, as I felt it needed a final element to look cohesive, I added a glitter line using Art Deco Striper in Silver Glitter under the French line.  I then topped the entire nail with another coat of Out the Door to set it.

Okay, I realize it looks like I just threw everything but the kitchen sink on my nails, but I really love this.  I love my natural nail color peeking though the konad.  I love the subtle sparkle of the base coat, and I especially love my bright purple tips.  There's something so unexpected about it that I absolutely adore and I can't wait to try this same "formula" using other colors and konad designs.

Also, I'm not going to lie to you all and tell you that it wasn't completely time-consuming.  All-in-all, it took about an hour of stamping and painting to achieve this look, so it's not something that you'd want to do before you were rushing out the door, but I knew I'd have a bit of time while I was watching LOST and V to have my design set, and a little more time to complete the funky french before I went to sleep.  Which is where I'm heading now. LOL.

Hope you all like this one and I'll see you in the morning.  :)