New budget proof nail polish by Essence & Catrice

I always get a little overexcited when Essence and Catrice update their make up lines. And apart from finding new things, I almost always find older products that I hadn’t yet tried. I already showed you the newer launches I am swatching for you in this post today, but I also purchased 6 other polishes that were already part of the line. You will find my eye was drawn mostly to red polishes and interesting sheens.

8 new polishes to add to the collection, would you like to see the rest of it?
Leave a comment below if you do!

I picked up just two creams, two duochromes (one of which is sheer), two holographic shimmers (one of which is a top coat) and four high shine shades that are all red. I’m truly feeling red again as a color. I bought a sweater the other day that is a fire engine red, I’ve been eyeballing red Converse sneakers and I bought more red nail polish than a person needs. It is my favorite color afterall, so it was just a matter of time before I would gravitate towards it again. Let’s have a look at the individual polishes.

Essence Effect nail polish Holo Shimmer 01 Pixie Dust

We’re starting with Essence. Pixie Dust is a Holographic Shimmer effect nail polish that looked marvelous in the bottle and which I had not spotted before. It is a bit more opaque and the holographic shift to this is bang on and always rainbow like. It has an icy feel to it with more purple and blue undertones, but when put over different types of colors, you will achieve different effects with this time and time again. A top coat to my heart’s content!

Essence All That Greys Pearly Matt 05 Roaring Red

Essence polish no. 2 is a limited edition polish from the All That Greys collection. Very randomly, Essence decided to include one red: a beautiful deep burgundy/ wine shade that has a good deal of shine, but dries up matte. I love interesting textures like these. Only problem is that a polish like this cannot be worn with a top coat on top, which means this will last all but 2 seconds on my nails. But I have found the solution: I think this would look pretty cool on the toes. What do you think?

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer 100 Red Goes Nuts

Red Goes Nuts is a shade that I think was introduced for fall. But I hadn’t spotted it by now. This polish has such and interesting shade. Is it brown? Or is it red? I’d say it takes a perfect middle ground between the two. There is a good deal of shine with this  and in some lights, it looks like it has a bit of a metallic touch to it. It may look a little muddy in the bottle, but I think this can be one of those shades that makes you look chic in and instant.

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer 102 London Town at Sundown

When a polish has the word London in its name, I simply have to have it. I had been lusting after a good dark red nail polish. I own some, but they are all creams and not too interesting. I was also eyeballing two other shades by Catrice, but in the end I opted for this one. It is a deep, dark red with a ton of shine to it. This goes on non-streaky and I wish I had had this polish around Christmas time. Since it has a hint of brightness to it, I do think this can work in spring/ summer.

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer 48 Berry Potter & Plumbledore

A purple with a blue toned shift? I always love the look of duochromes and I have been umming and arring about this particular shade for such a long time. Catrice scores bonus points with the name of course and I think this is one of their more unique polishes. It is a tad on the sheer side I find. This will need three coats to cover the tips of my nails completely.

Catrice Luxury Lacquers Liquid Metal Shiny 11 Red Notting Hill Thrill

I have a love-hate relationship with the Catrice Luxury Lacquers. I loved the first batch, which was limited edition and came in a ton of different textures. The more regular shades look so so pretty in the pot, but they last about a fraction of a millisecond on my nails. These have chipped on me so quickly and so badly on me, that I hadn’t been buying any for a while. But then I spotted this stunning red shade. And I was sold.

Catrice Luxury Lacquers Liquid Metal Holo 09 Never No to Holo

Holographic nail polish is so hard to come by on the high street. Usually you have to search out specialty nail polish brands that are hard to get and expensive. So when I find one that is reasonably priced, I am all about trying it out. This surprisingly went on non-streaky in two coats, looks silver in some lights, but then has a gorgeous rainbow colored shift to it that is far more intense than my camera picks up on.

Catrice Luxury Sheers Sheer Look 06 Tw(h)ilight

Sheer nail polish is not my thing. I despise Jelly nail polish. I mean, whoever thought it a good idea to create a color that seemingly looks opaque, but then looks like you’ve stuck your hands in a pile of Jell-O is beyond me. However, this still piqued my interest. The taupe/ mauve/ grey shade of this, paired with a purple/ green duochrome just sucked me right in. I am curious to see this one the nail.

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer 112 Cha-KIRA

Last but not least, 2 creams. This dusty rose with a hint of mauve is one of those colors that makes your nails look great, but looks hideous in the bottle. I absolutely adore shades like these though. I already own Welcome to Roosywood, but that is much deeper. This is a much brighter, lighter shade and perfect for spring. I wore it the other day and it lasted 3 – 4 days before it start to chip. It also went on pretty much opaque with one coat: always a good thing.

Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer 114 The Sky So Fly

Finally, a sky blue polish. I love blue nail polish (proof can be found right here). And so I had to give this a whirl. It has a similar texture to the pink above: it has a thick and creamy texture. Where that one is mostly opaque with one coat I feel this is a bit more streaky and prone to gaps. I would advise applying two thin coats for the best results with this one.

I hope this little overview gave you an idea of what is new at Essence and Catrice nail polish wise. My personal favorites here are Cha-KIRA, the two holographic polishes and London Town at Sundown.

Which are your favorites?