Essie Winter 2020 Collection

(Quick note - I meant to post this when it was actually still 2020. However it is still Winter and I made sure to check that these were still available before I published this, which they are, on Amazon!)

I've never been a huge fan of Essie nail polishes. They're mostly known for clean, pastel colored, creme polishes. And to be fair, it's a classic look and there's nothing wrong with that! But it's not usually what I'm attracted to (Neons! Sparkle! Thermal! Holo! More sparkle?!). But I like to keep my options open, and I'm always interested in new collections. So when the Essie Winter 2020 collection showed up in my feed, I decided to take a closer look.

First impression - so shiny! The gold Shimmer! Pearlescent! Perfect for winter! So I ordered most of the set to try them out. We have:

Love at Frost Sight: An icy baby blue shade with gold shimmer. If you have Essie's Bikini So Teeny it kiiiiiiind of reminds of that, but if you make it like 10x frostier.

Twinkle in Time: A pearly white with gold shimmer. The most basic of the bunch but possibly my favorite. I always feel like my nails look like whiteout when I wear white polish and this does not suffer from that at all!

Bonbon Nuit: A pastel pink with gold shimmer. It's pretty but meh. Not much to say on this one.

In a Gingersnap: This is the one I didn't get. It's a HOT pink (with gold shimmer, naturally), which normally I would be very in to. However part of my interest in this collection was that the shades all complimented each other. This one stood out a little too much in comparison imo.

Peppermint Condition: A minty green with (you guessed it) gold shimmer! This shade reminds me on the inside of an Andes mint. 

Sugarplum Fairytale: A pretty, light lavender with gold shimmer. It's a nice purple without being in your face about it.

So, overall? They're not quite as shimmery as I was hoping for, but they're not terrible. The colors are cohesive, and while they don't bring anything new or exciting to the table, they're definitely pretty. If you like your pastels but want to add a little more fun and glamour then these would be great! The formula is pretty average - 2 to 3 coats for full opacity. They have a bit of a pearlized finish but are not especially streaky, which is great. Finally, I really like Essie's brushes. Obviously it's a preference thing, but I love wide flat brushes. My only real complaint would be that in different lighting some of the colors look a little too similar; particularly Sugarplum Fairytale and Bonbon Nuit. I don't think both were needed, and between them both I prefer Sugarplum Fairytale. In fact they're so similar that I forgot to make sure to include it in the picture!! It's on my thumb, so you can see it a little bit, but...yeah. It's pink. Sorry hahah.