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dior nail colors

Favorite Essie Gel Couture Nail Colors

favorite essie gel couture nail polish

 

Hello! Happy Holidays to each and everyone! I hope you guys are having a great time this holiday season. Me? I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family and friends. In fact, I’ve reunited with some friends I haven’t seen in years! I miss them a lot and there hasn’t been a day where I stopped thinking about them, yet for some reason, life has its uncanny ways of drawing distance and when you finally see each other, it’s like you’ve never really been apart for so long. OMG! I just love reunions and I wish it won’t take me a very long time to see these friends again.

 

Anyhow, even though I’ve been busy with all the events for the holidays, I managed to finally sort out my top favorite shades of the Essie Gel Couture nail polish. In my previous Essie nail color roundup review (seen HERE), I posted my favorite Essie colors in Enamel and Gel formulation. However, in that post, I was just starting to try out some of the Essie Gel colors, but I haven’t really made up my mind when it comes to my top fave shades until recently. So, finally, in this post, I’ll be talking about my personal favorite colors in the Essie Gel Couture line. Now, keep in mind that this particular Essie Nail Color line still doesn’t have a lot of color varieties. As much as I love the lasting power and overall formula of this gel lacquer, I find that the shade range is still quite basic – reds, pinks, some blues, greens, and purples.

 

I’m a big red nail polish lover because that’s what looks good on me, so you’re still gonna be seeing a lot of reds here, but I also have a few nudes, a dark violet/purple hue, as well as a few bright pinks, along with my opinion of the Essie Top Coat and how it compares to some other top coats in the market.

 

 

Reds

 

essie gala-vanting

 

Paint The Gown Red – ruby red

Spiked With Style – wine red

Bubbles Only – cream burgundy

Gala-Vanting – deep maroon red

 

Nudes

 

Take Me To Thread – plush taupe, looks greige with a nude mauve undertone, reminds me a lot of Chanel Particuliere (HERE)

Pinned Up – nude pink rose

Sew Me – cream caramel

All Dressed Up – swatched HERE, medium rose pink

 

essie signature smile

 

Pinks

 

Signature Smile – bright coral pink

Stitch By Stitch – light nude pink

 

Purple

 

essie turn 'n' pose, essie model clicks

 

Turn ‘N’ Pose – deep plum/purple

Model Clicks – wine purplish red

 

essie top coat

 

Top Coat – I’m really amazed at how good this top coat is. It sets not only the gel nail polishes but also the enamel ones, at least in my experience, and it does set fast. It keeps the nails hard as a rock, chip-free, and without any tip wear for at least two weeks and a bit more. It also has a flat wide brush just like the Essie Gel Couture nail colors. When compared to the other Top Coats out there, I find this particular Top Coat to be way better than Seche Vite, and it’s neck and neck with Chanel Le Gel Top Coat as well as the Smith & Cult Above It All Top Coat. Speaking of brushes, I am definitely in love with the Essie Gel Couture line because the brush itself is just so easy and quick to use. See the comparison of the original Essie Enamel brush versus the new Gel Couture brush HERE.

 

essie gel couture nail polish review

 

Bottom line, these Essie Gel Couture nail colors are as good as the high-end brands. I noticed that there’s barely any chipping on my nails after almost two weeks of wear, and the colors remained vivid. I hope that Essie will play with some trendy shades to add on this Gel Couture line soon.

 

Are you an Essie fan? What’s your fave nail polish brand? Do you also prefer the Gel formulas over the Enamel ones?

 

The Essie Gel Couture Nail Colors are currently available at most drugstores and grocery stores nationwide and at Amazon, Ulta, Target, Walgreens, and Macy’s

 

Merry Christmas Again and Have a Prosperous New Year!

 

 

Dior Vernis Review

Dior Vernis review

 

This is my first time trying out the Dior Nail Polish and I honestly can say that I love their nail colors so much already. I’ve always been using Chanel for most of my high-end nail lacquers (reviewed HERE), supplemented by a bunch of OPI, Essie, and China Glaze. This time I’m venturing into other nail polishes to see if the grass is really always greener on the other side. Well, I’m happy to say that yeah, perhaps, it almost always is, except for a few caveats.

 

The Dior Vernis nail colors are all in a gel formula, just like the new Chanel Le Vernis. It goes on smoothly and feels very rich and creamy while fast-drying at the same time. The brush applicator is wide and very precise, which I’m really impressed at. Also, the scent of this particular nail polish is not as strong as the other nail polishes I’ve tried before, even slightly less than Chanel’s. The very best thing about the Dior Vernis Gel Shine is that the colors are extremely versatile, wearable, very classic and well-pigmented. I noticed that I seem to like most of their shades and would want to wear them all.

 


 

dior vernis incognito 257

  • Incognito (257) – Definitely the best nail color if you want something subtle yet sophisticated. It’s a very corporate shade and also very casual. The best definition would be that this nail color is very versatile for everyday use. The perfect nude nail color, even more so for medium skin tones.

 

dior vernis cosmopolite 785

  • Cosmopolite (785) – I’d like to call this a vintage, retro-ish, washed-out red, or more of a brick rose-red. It’s classic but not boring and has an old-world feel. A muted red that is also very versatile. Great for when you’re bored of red nails or that red nails may be a bit too much for the occasion. This is definitely a unique red tone shade.

 

Dior Vernis mirage 338

  • Mirage (338) – If you’re a fan of purples, magentas, plums, or violet-pinks like me, then you’ll love this shade. It’s quite similar to OPI Dim Sum Plum or Essie Big Spender, but with slightly more lasting power than the other two.

 

dior vernis Massaï 853

  • Massaï (853) – My most favorite shade of the entire Dior Vernis by far, and one of the most perfect red nail color I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely a rich deep red and slightly vampy like blood. There’s no black tone nor orange tone. It’s more of a blue-toned red and the formula goes on smoothly into the nails. This nail polish definitely complements all skin tones because of its perfect beauty.

 

dior vernis nuit 1947 970

  • Nuit 1947 (970) – I love vampy shades and this one is also perfect for me. It’s a deep vampy red like wine but looks almost black in low light. It’s similar to Chanel Le Vernis in Rouge Noir than Vamp. No shimmers, just plain reddish-black nail color.

 

dior gel coat review

  • Gel Coat – This is the topcoat of choice for the Dior Vernis Gel Shine. It is meant to make the gel nail colors dry fast and to make them long-wearing. Which I think is definitely true on the fast-drying ability of this topcoat, but I’m not sure about this top coat’s long-wear potential. My nail color starts chipping on the side during the 5th day, which doesn’t happen with me whenever I use the Chanel Le Gel Coat with the Chanel Le Vernis. I don’t know if it’s this topcoat or the Dior Vernis in general, but I find this topcoat to be not as long-wearing as what it’s supposed to be. A lot of people prefer the Top Coat Abricot more than this Gel Coat, which I haven’t tried yet, but will definitely give it a go-to compare them side by side pretty soon.

 

Dior Vernis swatches

 

Verdict: I love the Dior Vernis and will definitely recommend it to you all. The colors are great and the formula is also wonderful. I love that the scent is not too strong and it disappears quickly, and I also love the wide brush applicator for a more even application better than Chanel’s. Also, the nail colors dry very fast with the help of the designated Gel Top Coat, but it’s not as long-lasting as the Chanel Le Gel Coat (reviewed HERE). I probably get a good 7 days of wear with these Dior nail polishes, while I get almost 2 weeks from the Chanel Le Vernis. In addition to that, Chanel has a lot of colors to choose from, yet Dior Vernis’ well-pigmented pretty colors are to die for.

 

– The Dior Vernis retails for $27 in Sephora, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Saks, & Neiman Marcus.

– The Dior Gel Coat is also $27 in these following retailers: Sephora, Nordstrom, Macys & Saks

– While the Chanel Le Vernis nail polishes are also available at Nordstrom 

Have a great day friends, stay tuned for more reviews…

 

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