Hi guys! Today's post is the Essie Mirror Metallics Collection. This collection is 5 metallic chrome like shades. I know a lot of people love polishes like this so it's nice to see Essie putting them out! I don't have too much to say about these up here so check out swatches & my thoughts about these after the jump!
All my opinions about the formula and whatnot is going to be at the very end of the post this time so check there if that's what you're wondering about!
Blue Rhapsody is a light silvery blue!
Good as Gold is a gold. It's one of those golds that looks yucky on my skintone most of the time, though I do enjoy it in the shade!
No Place Like Chrome is silver.
Nothing Else Metals is a silvery lilac.
Penny Talk is copper. If you're looking for the perfect color to match a brand new penny this is for you. When I started getting into nail polish I was always on the hunt for this shade so I'm happy to finally have it!
Alright, so let's talk formula...it sucked. They are very opaque which is nice but they were hard to work with. They dried very fast, which is usually great but these were drying so fast that if I tried to go over a spot twice it would totally remove the first layer of polish. I also had a problem with these not leveling out so it would look like there were ridges of polish (I can't think of a better way to describe that lol).
If you get these and wear them on their own I would highly recommend a ridge filling base coat...even if you don't have ridges. Polishes like these tend to show every single imperfection in the nail, as you can tell in my photos....unfortunately.
Overall these are just not my cup of tea. I bought them, swatched them, then gave all but Penny Talk away. If you enjoy nail stamping I do think these would work great for that because of how opaque they are.
The Mirror Metallics collection is available now at most drugstores. I bought mine online on transdesign.com so if you can't find them in person and want to order online I would recommend them (or amazon!)
All my opinions about the formula and whatnot is going to be at the very end of the post this time so check there if that's what you're wondering about!
Blue Rhapsody is a light silvery blue!
 |
| Shade |
Good as Gold is a gold. It's one of those golds that looks yucky on my skintone most of the time, though I do enjoy it in the shade!
 |
| Shade |
No Place Like Chrome is silver.
 |
| Shade |
Nothing Else Metals is a silvery lilac.
 |
| Shade |
Penny Talk is copper. If you're looking for the perfect color to match a brand new penny this is for you. When I started getting into nail polish I was always on the hunt for this shade so I'm happy to finally have it!
 |
| Shade |
If you get these and wear them on their own I would highly recommend a ridge filling base coat...even if you don't have ridges. Polishes like these tend to show every single imperfection in the nail, as you can tell in my photos....unfortunately.
Overall these are just not my cup of tea. I bought them, swatched them, then gave all but Penny Talk away. If you enjoy nail stamping I do think these would work great for that because of how opaque they are.
The Mirror Metallics collection is available now at most drugstores. I bought mine online on transdesign.com so if you can't find them in person and want to order online I would recommend them (or amazon!)
That's disappointing. The formula issues sounds like Layla chrome polishes, only the Layla polishes are way more chrome than this (although the colour variety is better, there's like 4 similar pinks in that collection).
ReplyDeleteI like!!
ReplyDeleteOh I hate when polishes do that
ReplyDeleteEuw... not my thing either.. :\
ReplyDeleteI actually didn't have any problem with mine, although I do agree they show every little flaw. And they are quite perfect for stamping, I've used the blue a couple of times already. I did find that mine dried a little bit lighter than I wanted. Also, I know you love matte black glitters, you should check out "Tonight's gonna be a good night" from the Wet N Wild Fergie collection. It's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the formula, either! They are so hard to apply evenly plus they are really really thick! But I think the colors are all pretty so I kept all mine...
ReplyDeleteI love Penny Talk! But I have to agree with you, use only one layer otherwise the whole polish comes off. I made a little nail design with Penny Talk and a blue. -->http://jacky-b-jacky.blogspot.de/2012/07/essie-penny-talk-p2-free-of-mind-notd.html
ReplyDeleteBTW, read your blog all the time. You have polishes we don't get in Germany. Jealous! :-)
xo
Jacky B. :--)
I might have to get the penny one just for the nice coppery color. Might be good for sponging and stamping.
ReplyDeletePenny Talk is the one that I would get from the collection! Too bad about the formula problems though, i love metallics/chromes like these.
ReplyDeleteNot digging these, too frosty for my taste. Like you, I was thinking they'd be good for stamping...but I don't do that, sooo...lol. Thanks for the honest review!
ReplyDeleteThese are so pretty, but too frosty for my taste.
ReplyDeleteI saw these at a local beauty store this week. Thank you so much for your candid write-up of them. I was wondering what the formula would be like. I'm actually considering trying the Minx metallics just because I do worry about the finish of metallics on my imperfect nails. Great blog!
ReplyDelete10 years ago I would have loved these, but not so much now. Though good to know they'd probably work well for stamping.
ReplyDeleteWow, these are fabulous x
ReplyDeleteI have actually been looking for a metallic Gold like this. The other colors are okay- but Good as Gold is now on my list
ReplyDeleteAwww man they look streaky! I think I only want Penny Talk as well!
ReplyDeleteOh wow is that Gold Gorgeous! I want it for stamping, it's beautiful! Thanks so much for showcasing this collection, I can see I will be buying my first Essie soon. :)
ReplyDeletei dont know why but im not a BIG fan of metallic nail polishes. i always end up giving them away.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they ARE great for stamping. I haven't tried them yet as a base color... but I'd heard about the ridge-filling base coats being necessary. I might just keep them on hand as stamping dynamos!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for these...so disappointing :/
ReplyDeletegorgeous! i had the same problems with application..frustrating! you did a great job with these
ReplyDeleteI always use OPI Ridge Filler as a base and did 2 coats of it instead of my usual one coat. Penny talk came on flawlessly. :)
ReplyDeleteI picked up Blue Rhapsody and Penny Talk. You are right they're a pita to apply! But I simply adore the chrome finish, so I'm willing to put up with the application issues. I don't have anything like these. The blue one is a perfect Cinderella blue and Penny Talk is like a beautiful rose gold. Love them!
ReplyDeleteI was really close to referring No palace Like Chrome on eBay a few days ago, but opted for Haute as Hello instead. Glad I did!
ReplyDeleteI was waiting to see these on your blog, absolutely love Penny Talk for sure. I don't even care about the application issues! Great swatches :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm I'm not sure how I feel about these
ReplyDeleteThank you for the honest review, as always! I was thinking about this, is it fashion or have we have been shown much more exciting things (mainly by you and a couple more of my favourite nail bloggers!) that now this stuff doesn't do it for us? I would have liked these at one time, but my first thought was 'great stamping colours'. I don't really want to spend that on stamping polishes though because my head tells me it gets wasted...even though I'll change my polish three times a week and spend £s on similar shades. Funny huh?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I saw these and I was like "really?". I passed them up. I didn't know people still liked frosty, brush-strokey metallic polishes, haha.
ReplyDeleteWhen I say this collection, my immediate thought was boring. Don't get me wrong. I love chromes but for some reason these just strike me as unoriginal and dull. I prefer chromes that are colors you wouldn't like darker blues, reds, and greens.
ReplyDeleteYeah transdesign is perfect ! (especially for me, so much polishes can't be found in France... or at awful prices).
ReplyDeleteI bought Nothing Else Metals (for the name, and I didn't have a lilac chrome)... Well, I complety agree with you about the formula : it's dreadful. And the French brush is soooo wide (I can't understand why we have different brushes), it's an incredible pain to apply... I'll keep using my China Glaze Khrome, they're soooooo better ;)
Have a nice day ! ^^
I have 4 of the colors and I love them!
ReplyDeleteI think in Germany we have the advantage to have a different kind of brush on Essie polishes. The ones here are flat and wider than the regular Essie ones. Which is nice for this kind of polish. You can cover the whole nail in one stroke, so you don't have to go over a spot twice.
Haven't tried these yet and I'm really surprised about your comments on the formula - especially as you've managed to get your looking so good - as essie is usually really good. I confess to really liking Blue Rhapsody...
ReplyDeleteNot really my cup of tea either. They would definitely make my nails look horrible since I have slight ridges! I also have a problem with metallics making my hands look dry and icky! I really do like Blue Rhapsody and Nothing Else Metals!
ReplyDeleteMetallics are not usually my thing, but like you, I've been searching for that perfect copper penny shade. Will have to track 'Penny Talk' down and skip the rest.
ReplyDeleteYou did a beautiful job swatching these difficult polishes. *tries to control nail envy*
Thanks for the swatches. I like the new collection, and can see me wearing them all over the summer, but I'm not in love...except for maybe Penny talk too! ;) Looks like rose gold.
ReplyDeleteApplication for me too, was a NIGHTMARE! I didn't even get through a full mani before I gave up. I saw a few posts with tips on how to apply chrome finish polishes like this .. so, maybe I'll give it another go. But, if I can't get it after that, they're getting swapped! They're pretty but, not worth the trouble for me.
ReplyDeletethe formula was a nightmare for me too. When you're doing the 1st coat, if you try to go over a place where you've already put polish, the brush pulls ALL the polish off and leaves a bald spot and it gets all gloopy. :(
ReplyDeletewow! I would kill for that kind of brush on my essies! The brushes in the US are sooooo tiny!
ReplyDeleteI think I actually figured out how to put these on. I only picked up Penny Talk, since I have the Color Club Foiled set in really similar colors. Ridge filling base coat is a must. I found if you start on one side of the nail instead of the center, you don't have to go over the previous spots as much. I managed to get one finger to look perfect on the first try. The other four, however... :)
ReplyDeleteHi there!
ReplyDeleteI just saw one of your pictures on another blog and was wondering, if she has your permossion to use it.
Here it is: http://www.cob-callofbeauty.com/2012/12/colour-of-honour.html
Loves
Sarah
Thanks Sarah! Looks like she linked back to my blog so it's okay. Appreciate you letting me know! ♥
ReplyDelete