After a few years at the salon, I’ve gone back to doing my nails at home. It’s more convenient, costs less, and I feel like I’ve gotten two hours of my life back every two to three weeks. I’ll still pop in for a pedicure on occasion, but I’ve ben loving the versatility and freedom that comes from with doing my own nails.
Since leaving the salon I’ve had to slowly start building my seasonal nail polish collection to suit my fancy and dramatic shades have caught my eye. These are the winter nail colors that I love on my short nails.
Essie Wicked
I’ve exclusively worn light browns, cream shades, and soft pinks for the last three years. After ditching my acrylic nails and nursing my natural nails back to health I wanted to try something dramatic. When I saw this shade I knew it was going to be the one I tried first.
OPACITY & FINISH
This is the first Essie shade I have ever owned. I was very pleasantly surprised by the opacity of this nail polish. One coat of color was enough to get away with, but I’ll always do at least 2 coats of polish. The brush is pretty wide and flat too so if you’re patient you can get a salon-like finish. Speaking of finishes, this shade has a cream finish. There are no flecks of sparkle or glitter and nothing metallic, chrome, or pearlized.
LONGEVITY
It lasts as long as I expect a regular nail polish to without chipping. I noticed a few chips on day four that no one else would notice. On day five they got a little bigger and more noticeable. I’m happy with that since I like to change colors weekly. I’ll remove the color on day five, go without polish for a day or two and then paint my nails again.
OVERALL RATING
This nail polish looks almost black, but it’s a very deep, inky reddish-purple. The color will become more obvious when you remove the polish. The cotton ball or pad will become burgundy, not black. I used Essie Hard to Resist Glow & Shine as a base coat before applying the polish. I don’t think it was designed to be a base coat so I’m glad it lasted as long as it did. I’m not easy on my hands throughout the day. I wash my hands all the time and don’t always put on hand cream afterward.
I give this shade a 5/5.
Essie Berry Naughty
What’s more winter than a berry shade?! I didn’t want to try just any berry shade I wanted a deep berry. I guess I’m just here for the drama this season, at least when it comes to my sartorial and beauty selections. I chose this color to meet my holiday mani needs without being too overtly Christmas-y. I know some people love to deck their nails like they deck their halls for the holidays, but I’m not one of them.
OPACITY & FINISH
This shade was a little more translucent on the first swipe than Wicked, but two coats will give you a perfectly opaque finish. Also like Wicked, Berry Naughty has a cream finish with no embellishments.
LONGEVITY
I was disappointed to find an obvious chip on day two of wearing this shade. I was hoping to get to at least three or four days before an obvious chip showed up. I used the same base coat, but didn’t give myself a full manicure before the polish so that could have contributed to it chipping so quickly. I still think the color is beautiful so I’m willing to give it another go.
OVERALL RATING
I give this shade a 4/5. It lost a star because it chipped so fast, but that could be an application error on my part. I may come back and change my rating after trying it again. 4 out of 5 isn’t bad, though.
