Essie Fall Collection 2016: Tokyo Collection

You all know that I’m a huge Essie fan but this collection… be still my beating heart! As soon as I heard that the Essie Fall Collection 2016 had taken Tokyo as its inspiration I was already over the moon, but then I saw the pictures. And I’m happy to tell you that this is – by far – my favourite collection from them.

Too often, autumnal collections are all greens, browns, and berries with no unusual additions. But this collection has some beautiful neutrals along with vibrant seasonal colours. Let me know which colour is your favourite in the comments below! And – as if you needed any more encouragement – Superdrug are doing a ‘buy one get one half price‘ offer on Essie polishes. Go go go!

Going from light to dark, we’ll start with Go Go Geisha, an ‘antique toned blossom pink’. This has been a great go-to nude for me recently, something that goes with everything and instantly makes you feel and look put together. This reached full opacity in 2 coats, shown below with Seche Vite.

I have a few nudey-pinks but this one is slightly different to the others in my collection, as you can see below. It’s just the right blend of caramel-y nude and pastel pink.

Next up is Now And Zen, a ‘timeless sage grey’. I love this type of colour and it’s strangely hard to find. It’s a lovely dusty shade that shifts in front of my eyes: sometimes it’s more green, sometimes it’s more grey. LOVE. Again, it’s a two-coater and shown with Seche Vite.

I was quite surprised that I didn’t have anything similar already, even though I have an (out of control) grey polish obsession. That green tint makes it very unusual!

‘Udon Know Me‘ is apparently a ‘mysterious stony blue’… for essie that’s a pretty bland description and not one I can really get behind. I’m not sure what about this shade is mysterious! But it’s absolutely beautiful. When I first saw it I thought it looked more spring-like but on the nails it’s a little more dusty which makes it more autumn-appropriate. It’ll be gorgeous when you’ve got all of the berries and rich colours out of your system in the first month of slightly chilly weather! This is a really wonderful formula and could potentially be a one-coater with careful application.

I really have nothing else like this (did I mention that I love this collection?!). As you can see below, pastel blues and greens don’t really cut it in a comparison so this now has a special place in my stash.

I think this might be my favourite shade in the collection: ‘Playing Koi‘. As soon as I saw this I knew it would appeal to me but on the nails it is just gorgeous. A ‘flirtatious orange rust’, it’s perfect for autumn winter and has that marsala/burnt brick/dirty red vibe that I just love. This was another two coater, shown with Seche Vite.

Nothing else I own even comes close to this shade. Take a bow, Essie, and say hello to my new go-to autumn colour!

I was probably the least excited about this shade, just because it’s fairly standard. Essie describe ‘Maki Me Happy‘ as a ‘crimson wrapped berry’, which sums it up well but doesn’t exactly send you into a frenzy of excitement! However, if you are looking for a pink-toned-red nail varnish, this would be the one to go for. Essie’s formulas and lasting power are incredible so you can’t really go wrong.

As you can see from the swatches below, I have quite a few similar shades. But you can never have too many classic reds, right?

And last but not least… ‘Kimono-Over‘, the darkest and most vampy shade of the bunch. An ‘inviting damson plum’, this is a dreamy dark polish that looks almost black in some lights but then transforms into a luscious aubergine shade. I’m a huge fan of dark polishes year round but I think autumn/winter fashion gives vampy nails some extra drama.

The closest polish I have is the OPI one shown below, but I think that is slightly lighter and more obviously purple. The above swatches are shown with two coats and Seche Vite, but I could probably have gotten away with one careful coat.

So which is your favourite shade from the Essie Fall Collection 2016? Do you have your eye on any in particular? Let me know in the comments below (that wasn’t meant to rhyme…)

Lex

*Provided as PR sample. Links may be affiliate. For more information please see my disclaimer tab at the top of the page.