Essie Bridal 2017 Collection

The new essie Bridal 2017 collection is here and they’ve released it in the beautiful Gel Couture formulation. These are high-shine, long-lasting nail varnishes that don’t require a lamp to cure them. I’ve swatched the whole collection below, let’s take a look!

This is the first time that essie worked with a designer to come up with a bridal nail polish collection, and that honour goes to Monique Lhuillier who counts Emma Stone, Michelle Obama, and Blake Lively as celeb fans. I was so pleased when I opened this collection as I was initially worried it would all be sheer nudes, but there are some very exciting shades here as well as the traditional shades you would expect.

My own bridal manicure was one of the hardest things to decide on when I got married. I knew I didn’t want a French manicure, or something very plain, because that’s just not me. I eventually decided on a 50s inspired red manicure with half-moons and I still look back on the photos and LOVE that choice.

But let’s take a peek at the new essie Bridal 2017 collection, starting with the palest shades…

Essie Gel Couture ‘Lace To The Alter’* – a ‘soft elegant ivory sheer accented with iridescent pearls’. This is not at all my kind of colour (spam hands ahoy!) but I think it would make a really pretty nail varnish topper to give a bit of shimmer to your manicure. This was very sheer on application so I applied three coats to get this opacity. It’s a silver-blue toned white with fairly chunky glitter to really catch the light.

Essie Gel Couture ‘Dress Is More’* – ‘a sheer creamy white dusted with pink’. I love these types of polishes as they just make you look instantly put together and chic. A milky, palest pink-beige that was ridiculously shiny even without top coat and looks lovely and plumped up. I did three fairly generous coats to get this coverage.

Essie Gel Couture ‘Blush-Worthy’* – ‘a peony pink speckled with gold’. This is another shade that just doesn’t suit me, but I love that it has a pretty gold shimmer *and* a white flakie effect that peeks through as you do more layers. There’s a close-up shot further down so you can see it in more detail. This was another three coater.

Essie Gel Couture ‘Sage You Love Me’* – ‘a soft dusty grey with a kiss of green undertones’. I flipping love this nail varnish. LOVE it. We all know that I am a sucker for anything slightly grey toned, so this muted sage green is right up my street. It’s so soft and would look beautiful with a vintage, 20s-inspired gown… in fact can I get married again and do just that?! This was perfection in two coats.

Essie Gel Couture ‘Berry In Love’* – ‘a deep, dazzling plum red’. I wasn’t too excited by this until I got it on my nails, when it transformed from a fairly standard pinky-purple into a sumptuous shade of red-purple. This was another two coater.

I can already hear people asking how on earth this could work as a bridal look, but behold! I found this picture on the essie Canada website and doesn’t the colour just pop against the wedding dress? SWOON. If you’re looking for an eye-catching and unusual addition to your wedding outfit, this polish would be the dream.

Along with the next shade, which is even more unexpected…

Essie Gel Couture ‘To Have And To Gold’* – ‘a chic vintage rose gold’. I am not over-exaggerating when I tell you that when I applied this I actually looked at my nails and sighed. It was like a cartoon where the man skunk sees the lady skunk and he goes all heart-eyed and giddy. This nail varnish is STUNNING. The perfect blend of gold, silver, and rose gold in a wonderful formula. Sometimes metallic polishes can be so streaky that they look messy and can often pick up on every single flaw in the nail, amplifying any ridges or uneven surfaces. This applies perfectly and covers in two thin coats. Metallic nails would make such a statement on your wedding day, while still being very pretty and chic. What do you think?

Which is your favourite shade of the essie Bridal 2017 collection? Which could you see yourself wearing on your wedding day: would you go traditional or unusual? Let me know in the comments below!

Lex

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