Top Nail Polishes for Fall ~ 2012 Edition

Although there may still be a lingering thought that summer is not over yet, it is unfortunately well and truly over...it is getting dark earlier, the evenings are cooler and we are also getting the occasional rainy day so with autumn paving it's way, here are my top nail polishes for this season in no particular order.

1. China Glaze Jungle Queen can be a classified as a close enough dupe to Chanel's Paradoxal. To me it is a very particular purple with eggplant undertones further enhanced by a lighter purple shimmer running through the polish.

2. Essence Vampire's Love Trend Edition 03 True Love is my favourite polish out of the 5 available in this limited edition. Again it is a purple but it leans more towards the red spectrum (therefore it has a warm undertone) and has a nice lighter purple shimmer running through.

3. Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer in The Devil Wears Red is perhaps one of my go-to colours every Autumn. It is a sophisticated shade of vine red which turns out to be more brown than red on application of the second.  It is a nice all rounder as it will match most of your autumn wardrobe.

4. Essie Stylenomics is part of the brand's Fall 2012 collection bearing the same name as the polish. It is the IT colour of the season... a dark green with strong grey undertones that make it look like it is black.

5. Essence Colour & Go in 113 Do You Speak Love? is my favourite red this season. It is dark but not too dark and can carry you from the office to the bar and still look classy and elegant.

Those are my top polishes for this season. Do we have any common favourites? 

Review: Essence Vampire's Love Trend Edition (November 2011)

In anticipation of the Essence Breaking Dawn Trend Edition coming out in November, here's a thorough look at the past year's Vampire's Love Trend Edition.

The Vampire's Love Trend Edition was created with the various vampire series which were all the hype (and still continue to be).  At first, I was only interested in the Cheek Stain or Blush Gelee but when the stand was available at the blogger's event organized by PharmaMT, I also got all 5 nail polishes and the two lip stains.  The other products were either already taken or they didn't appeal to me.

Blush Gelee in 01 Bloody Mary

I was intrigued by this blush because I had never used a jelly blush before and I really wanted to try one. Also, being from Essence I wan't going to break the bank and spend a lot of money on a product I didn't even know I liked.  It took me quite some time to find this on sale as apparently the collection sold out within a few hours so you can imagine my joy when I popped into a pharmacy to get something else from Essence and found this blush calling me out! I grabbed it faster than you can say Essence and it was finally mine!

It may look scary in the bottle and at first I thought about using it as a lip stain instead but after seeing the product featured on other blogs, I convinced myself to use as intended. You really need a teeny tiny amount of this as a little goes a loooong way and make sure to wash your fingers thoroughly as it tends to stain the skin.  I like how it give me a nice healthy, pink flush and it dries to a nice matt finish.  The pump dispenser is very convenient as you can control the amount of product that comes out and the bottle being clear lets you know how much product there is left.  The blush has a sweet smell that eventually fades away. You can have a more in depth review on this product here.  I bought mine for €2.79 for 13ml.

Lipstain in 01 Bloody Mary & 02 True Love

The colours of both of these lip stains are both very reminiscent of vampires and fit the theme exactly. I haven't worn these yet but from the swatches I can definitely say that the colour pay-off is excellent and that they really do stain the lips.  I really love the sweet scent they impart and I am sure I will get a lot of wear of them this Fall season! 01 Bloody Mary is a deep plum while 02 True Love is a nice jelly red.

Blush Gelee in 01 Bloody Mary (left)
Lipstain in 01 Bloody Mary (far right, top) | 02 True Love (far right, bottom)

Nail Polishes

There were 5 nail polishes in this collection all of which are very dusky with a variety of effects. My favourite is 03 True Love. As a general note, the brushes are the perfect size to work with on my nails and the formulas are all easy to work with and they dry quickly.

01 Gold Old Buffy ~ Black creme with gold shimmer

02 Into The Dark ~ Mid navy blue with silver shimmer

03 True Love ~ Metallic plum purple

04 The Dawn is Broken ~ Grey creme with black particles

05 Hunt Me If You Can ~ Black creme with silver shimmer

Also available in the collection were a six piece eyeshadow palette, volume lash powder (now part of the permanent line), shimmer powder, eau de toilette.

I am already planning what to get from the new Breaking Dawn Trend Edition and on top of my wishlist is the perfume. Anyone got any of these products? What will you be getting from the new collection? 

All products were PR samples except the Blush Gelee

Review: Essence Vampire's Love Blush Gelee in 01 Bloody Mary

Earlier this year, Essence Cosmetics launched the Vampire's Love Collection in Malta (the collection was actually released in November 2011 in honour of the latest instalment of the Twilight Saga & The Vampire Diaries, but we get them much later).

The collection consisted of a nice selection of products, all revolving around the vampire theme and it also included a perfume and a volumizing lash powder, the latter of which is now in their permanent collection.  I was mostly interested in the Blush Gelee or Jelly Blush as I don't own anything like it in my collection but it was soon sold out (is it any wonder?) and hence I couldn't find it anywhere...until last month that is; as I found the blush in a pharmacy in Senglea and I grabbed it immediately!

The blush comes in a little transparent plastic bottle with a black press on cap and pump. I like that the bottle is actually transparent so that you can see how much product is left and since it comes with a pump dispenser, the inside moves up every time you pump out some product. The bottle holds 13ml of product which I think is a very good amount, especially when you're only paying €2.79 for it! I do like the packaging overall as it all adds to the vampire aura and fits the theme perfectly, from the colours chosen to the silver lettering.

The blush is only available in the shade Bloody Mary, the colour of which may look scary at first but you only need a small amount, and once dry, it looks very natural and opaque; much like a healthy, rosy glow that you get after a good work-out I would say.  Moreover, this blush lasts for a very long time on me and it really does stain the skin so you have to wash your fingers thoroughly after applying.  I like how the gel texture is not very runny but it is still easily blendable for a seamless finish.  The blush has a light scent to it which I cannot really describe however, I can detect a hint of vanilla.

The only downside I can find with this product is that it is limited edition and Essence do not have any blushes like this in their permanent collection so I think it would be nice if they considered adding it.

Essence Cosmetics is available in most pharmacies around Malta and Gozo. For updates on new stock and launches, follow Essence Cosmetics Malta on their Facebook page.