Essence Nail Art Drying Drops Review

It’s a little scary how long this has been sitting in my draft folder, but these drying drops are worth a mention! Awhile back I tried the Essence Gel top coat (which was TERRIBLE). Happily, the drying drops are a much better product.

Most of the time I am skeptical about drying drops, but these actually work really well. A lot of product tends to come out at once, so I recommend slowly squeezing the dropper. Also, it helps to wipe away the excess product from the cuticles and around the nails.

As far as the product goes, it DOES dry nails quickly; my polish is dry in a couple minutes with these drops. The best part is that these drops are only $3. I like them for when I’m in a hurry especially. If you’re on of those “before bedtime” nail polish painters, you also might like these drops.

I have used more expensive drying drops that do not work half as well as the Essence variety.  These drops are a definite win! I purchase mine from Ulta. 🙂

Essence Gel-Look Top Coat Review

Rhoda does not endorse this top coat!

I was really excited to try the Essence Gel-Look Top Coat, since there are so many “gel” top coats coming out onto the market. At $2.49, this is definitely not a bank breaker, and I have used and enjoyed other products from the brand.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

This sealing top coat is absolutely essential if you’re looking for long-lasting style. Thanks to its glossy texture with staying power and enhanced shine, it keeps all types of nail decorations in place and provides an extra-shiny finish to make unique styles stand out even more!

Some have touted this as being a dupe for Seche Vite, so let’s cut to the chase: definitely NOT. This top coat is terrible, sad to say. I’m glad I didn’t pay much for it, because I don’t see myself using it ever again! Why? Well, it definitely doesn’t deliver “XXXL shine”, but that isn’t my biggest complaint. This does NOT dry. Ever. Many reviewers have stated that they let this top coat dry for hours, only to go to bed and wake up with sheet marks. I let the top coat sit on my nails over two thin coats of polish and six hours later it was not dry. It was like I just painted my nails ten minutes ago. The finish was also not very shiny; it was just average.

This is a classic case of “you get what you pay for.” Don’t waste your pennies on this one! Sorry to be so negative, but this was a major let down.

Essence What Do You Think?

I just couldn’t bring myself to type the REAL name of this polish in the title of this post…which is What Do U Think? Believe me, most English teachers despise the use of “U”…anyway, this polish is a dupe for Chanel’s Orange Fizz. I really love this color and completely fell in love with it both in the bottle and on the nail!

It is a peachy polish with some gold shimmer. For polish that costs just 99 cents, application on this was great (and I can’t complain since I received this for free). Here it is in full sun. I used two coats.

In the shade you can see the slight pinky tone more. Unfortunately, it was REALLY difficult getting the shimmer to show up in the photos.

Here’s another shot from indoors. All of my indoor shots come out crazy vibrant like this one. The quality compares to the rest of Essence’s polishes. This was a good consistency, if not a little on the thick side.

Update on my dog: He is doing really well and back to normal! He looks worse than he is though. He’s part Chow Chow so his skin is black, which makes it look like he got punched in the face! I’m just happy my handsome pup is okay. 🙂

Nail Freebies Galore!

Ulta had a wonderful online promotion recently where you could get a free bag of nail goodies with a $25 purchase. Even though there is finally an Ulta in my area, sometimes I shop online if the deals are better (plus I can get money back through eBates). This bag of nail goodies was particularly exciting: SEVEN bottles of Essence polish (they retail for $1 each), a bottle of Ulta Professional Nails of Steel Nail Hardener (retails for $7.50), a small sample of Butter London Kitten Heels Foot Creme, and a sample of Ahava Mineral Hand Cream.

When I first saw the image online, I thought the blue and the pink colors were similar to two other Essence polishes that I have, but that was not the case! These are all new to me polishes and they’re colors that I like (no grape purple!!).

In the top row:

1. White Secret- It looks opaque, but it’s actually a sheer, milky white. I love white so this is perfect for me. It reminds me of OPI Don’t Touch My Tutu.

2. What Do U Think? – I teach English and it’s destroying me inside to type “U”, but this polish is super pretty. I read that this is a dupe for Chanel Orange Fizz (and it seems to be; check it out here). It’s a nice peach with some shimmer. I love this color, and in the bottle it’s my favorite of the bunch.

3. Date with the Night -This is a nice neutral, sort of a deep taupe/gunmetal color depending on the light. This also has some shimmer. I am totally obsessed with taupe eyeshadow right now, so I’m excited about this.

4. Enchanted Fairy- Okay, now this is REALLY my style! A girly and feminine grayish lavender with shimmer. And just look at the name!

5. Just Rock It- This is a deep blue that leans in between cobalt and navy. This looks promising from the swatches I looked up.

6. Everybody’s Talking About- This reminds me of Essie Watermelon; I may have to compare them. Either way, it’s a gorgeous deep pink and very summery.

7. Can’t Cheat On Me- This is a subtle holographic polish, so I am pretty excited about this one! It’s a classic silver shade and the swatches look pretty.

I used the mineral hand cream today and while I loved the texture, the scent was not for me. Since What Do U Think? is a Chanel dupe, I may have to try that one first!

Essence You Belong to Me + Milani Jewel FX Gold

Essence’s You Belong To Me is probably one of the most famous Essence shades, since a lot of people feel it is a good Tiffany blue shade, and this is always a popular color. From what I’ve read, the actual shade of blue is under some kind of copyright and legally can’t be reproduced. Anyway, I decided to pair this shade with something very bold: the huge glitters in Milani Jewel FX polish!

I actually like this combination a lot! The blue is nice and soft, and the gold gives it a cute pop. Plus, I like these colors together.

In the sun, this big glitter gives off a wonderful sparkle. I LOVE this huge glitter!

For such a chunky glitter, it is easy to apply. I used two coats of Essence and one coat of the glitter polish. I’ve worn this glitter a few times and this is definitely my favorite combination so far. It also looks great with hot pink (Sinful Colors 24/7- a combo my hubby loved).

Essence Walk On Air + Orly Shine On Crazy Diamond

I picked up this Essence polish called Walk On Air a couple months ago because I wanted an affordable cobalt blue. There are a lot of gorgeous blues out there, and at 99 cents, this fit the bill! I combined it with Orly Shine On Crazy Diamond, which is a great glitter that is subtle and not over the top.

This is after a couple days of wear. As you can see, I broke the nail on my index finger! There’s some tip wear in these shots, but I work from home and do a TON of typing on a daily basis. For the price, I was happy with the finish and wear. This is two coats of Essence and one coat of Orly.

This shot is a little brighter. I should have really taken these photos right after I painted them! I loved this combination and this was another winner with my husband. Not that I care if he doesn’t like my polish, but it is sweet that he notices. 🙂 Shine On Crazy Diamond is one of my favorite glitters. I like how whimsical it is, and it adds a bit of sparkle without being way over the top. Plus, it has a Pink Floyd reference! What’s not to like about that?