Product Review: Essence Colour & Go Nail Polish (132 Break Through and 132 Hello Rosy)

Before I say anything else, the particular colours I will be reviewing here are best purchased immediately because they will be discontinued and will only be sold until the 31^st of May, 2015 (or until supplies last). So, if you will like this review, GO GET YOURS NOW!!!

I have funny memories of nail polish in my youth. I remember back then, I was always curious about nail polish. The concept seemed so cool to me. My mother and sister both don’t use nail polish (my sister actually HATES nail polish), so, it’s odd that I grew up liking loving them. I started wearing clear nail polish when I was about 9 years old. My mother didn’t like the idea, but she allowed me to use some just to kill my curiosity. When I was 12 years old, I remember scanning through the selection of nail polishes in the grocery store, bravely picking out one black and one red one, and nervously approaching my mother whilst hiding the bottles of polishes behind my back, and asking her if she would already allow me to wear coloured nail polish. She gave me a very firm NO for an answer. I was forced to put the nail polishes back on the shelves. Oh, boy! I was so mad! I remember writing a very hateful journal entry about it, saying that she ruined my chances of wearing coloured nail polish for two months (summer vacation). I even cried about it! Oh, man, I was so immature! [Hahaha] If anyone is curious, she reluctantly allowed me to wear nail polish at 14 years old. [Technically, I was still 13 since she allowed me in March and my birthday is in August :P Just saying. ] My very first nail look that debuted my coloured nail polish life was a black and white French tip design inspired by my then obsession, Bill Kaulitz. Nice. LOL. To say the least, it did NOT look pretty.

Photo of Bill Kaulitz and his black and white French manicure

Anyway, fast forward to today. So much for the long story of me overeating to not being allowed to wear coloured nail polish. At present, my mother now allows me to wear any colour I want. One of the shades I will be reviewing was actually selected by her. She doesn’t encourage me to use nail polish; but she does occasionally pick some out for me. Although, she still gives some nasty remarks (they’re just JOKES, not meant to be mean) about my nail polish shades. She would give comments like the following:

• “Your nails look dead.” – when I wear black/dark blue/dark purple nail colours
•  “Ewww… Mossy nails!” – when I wear green polish
• “Slime. Gross.” – when I wear mint green polish
• “Looks like beetles.”/”Looks like dirt.” – when I wear brown polish
• “Unicorn vomit.” – sparkly/multi-colour/duo-chrome nail polish
• “Looks like blood.” – red polish
•  “Aluminium foil nails.” – silver polish
• and many, many more [HAHAHA]

On the other hand, she DOES have great taste in polish shades and when she’s the one who picked them out, she would keep on complimenting them. :) 

Now, on to the ACTUAL REVIEW. I know, I know… I talk too much. Somebody else probably got that polish that you were supposed to buy while I was distracting you with my completely unnecessary side story. 

Product Claims: 
"Colour explosion! the huge colour & go range has the beloved gel-shine finish with a highly intensive shine and an extremely short drying time for perfectly polished nails in a flash! the patented quick & easy brush is particularly flat for an even easier application. the 8ml bottle has a cool essence design – with the usual colour-coded cap in the corresponding nail polish colour." - Essence Website 

Price:

Okay, so, here’s the thing: according to the website, these should be priced at Php. 99.00 each. However, in reality, they cost Php. 119.00. What gives?! I know that’s these are still considerably cheap; but come on, now! Money is still money and I’m on a budget. Anyway, enough of my ranting. It’s a pretty decent price for an 8ml amount of nail polish with great quality.

Packaging:

It comes in a really cute packaging with a unique shape. The caps are almost always identical in colour to the actual polish shade. This is really convenient because I don’t need to pick up the actual nail polish bottle amongst other nail polishes just to know the colour.

The brush:

I love, love, LOVE the brush! I’ll admit, it does take some getting used to, but it is so worth it. It has a wide, relatively flat brush that has very soft bristles – none of the annoying long, stiff bristles that don’t apply polish evenly. The shape and size of the brush allows me to paint my nails relatively neatly (I’m really messy when it comes to application of ANY nail polish), and with the right technique, I can coat all nails evenly in one (1) stroke. Although, I still apply it the traditional way using three (3) strokes.

The only problem I have with this is that the brush tends to pick up too much product. Nothing a few wipes against the bottle wouldn’t fix.

The brush is flat and wide with soft bristles.

Ingredients: 

132 Break Through 

BUTYL ACETATE, ETHYL ACETATE, NITROCELLULOSE, PHTHALIC ANHYDRIDE/TRIMELLITIC ANHYDRIDE/GLYCOLS COPOLYMER, ACETYL TRIBUTYL CITRATE, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, STEARALKONIUM HECTORITE, ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, ADIPIC ACID/FUMARIC ACID/PHTHALIC ACID/TRICYCLODECANE DIMETHANOL COPOLYMER, STYRENE/ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, MICA, TIN OXIDE, CITRIC ACID, PHOSPHORIC ACID, CI 15880 (RED 34 LAKE), CI 77007 (ULTRAMARINES), CI 77742 (MANGANESE VIOLET).

182 Hello Rosy 

BUTYL ACETATE, ETHYL ACETATE, NITROCELLULOSE, PHTHALIC ANHYDRIDE/TRIMELLITIC ANHYDRIDE/GLYCOLS COPOLYMER, ACETYL TRIBUTYL CITRATE, POLYETHYLENE, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE, STEARALKONIUM HECTORITE, MICA, ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, ADIPIC ACID/FUMARIC ACID/PHTHALIC ACID/TRICYCLODECANE DIMETHANOL COPOLYMER, POLYURETHANE-11, STYRENE/ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, TIN OXIDE, TALC, CITRIC ACID, PHOSPHORIC ACID, CI 15850 (RED 6 LAKE), CI 16035 (RED 40), CI 19140 (YELLOW 5 LAKE), CI 77000 (ALUMINUM POWDER), CI 77491, CI 77499 (IRON OXIDES), CI 77891 (TITANIUM DIOXIDE).

Scent:
Typical nail polish scent; but, not as strong. This one doesn't make me nauseous.

Shades:
I currently have 132 Break Through, a rich violet/amethyst shade, a little darker than orchid, and 182 Hello Rosy, a sand effect, rosy pink colour in the bottle, but when applied, it looks more coral-pink.

132 Breakthrough

I bought this shade because it was the closest I could find to an orchid shade of nail polish. I am currently obsessed with the colour of the top my best friend wore to our senior prom and I really want a nail polish in that exact colour. This isn’t really close, but it’s the closest I could get.

Anyway, this particular shade has very fine pink shimmers that are hardly noticeable on the nails. You will only see them if you look hard enough. It was really difficult to take a photo that accurately showed its true colour due to the way the colour shifts in the light (and possibly, because my camera isn't that good). 

I don't have a decent photo of a nail polish swatch since I wasn't really planning on reviewing this.
The focus of this photo was the ring; but hey, it's the only photo I have of me wearing the polish.
And before anyone judges, yes, that is a notepad (literally, the one you write on), not a gadget to show off.

182 Hello Rosy

This is part of their Sparkling Sand Effect collection. It has pink shimmers in it and this grainy, sandy finish. It looks pretty matte. Just as my friend said, “Di siya makintab.” (“It’s not shiny.”) I tried applying clear topcoat to it, but it still doesn’t seem to have a sheen. In the bottle, it does look like a rosy pink shade. On the nails, however, it looks like a coral-pink colour. Depends on the lighting, it could look true to its colour or it can look borderline orange.

It's so hard to take a photo of this colour.

Consistency:

132 Break Through is liquidy and smooth. Almost creamy, even.

182 Hello Rosy is thick, goopy, and gritty.

Texture:

132 Break Through is smooth and even on the nails.

182 Hello Rosy is thick, rough, and uneven. (It’s meant to be that way.) This one doesn't build up too well, though. It tends to get bulky if you add a third (3rd) coat. 

Pigmentation and Opacity:

Both polishes are well pigmented. Full opacity can be achieved in 2-3 coats. (I used 2 coats).

Longevity:

These are pretty long lasting. I change my nail polish colours every week. 132 Break Through lasted me 7-8 days before noticeably chipping. 182 Hello Rosy lasted me 10 days with hardly any noticeable chipping (probably due to the texture of the finish).

They do start chipping after about a week (182 Hello Rosy lasts a little longer than a week) , most especially near the cuticles and on the tips of the nails (I have long nails and I type a lot, which explains why the tips wear off easily on me).  

*Do take note that I don’t have a decent base coat and topcoat. I just use plain, clear nail polish. I would assume that using a proper base coat and topcoat would help the polish last a lot longer.

Overall Performance:

I don’t have any high-end nail polishes at the moment; so, I can’t compare their quality to those. However, compared to my other cheap nail polishes, these are far better in quality. Overall, I am really happy with my purchases and I can definitely say that Essence is quickly becoming one of my favourite brands for both makeup and nail polishes.

*I am not saying that the local brands are bad. I’m just saying that these nail polishes are really worth the extra money, in my honest opinion.

Repurchase?

YES. OO. OUI. SI. JA. HAI. [Double thumbs up]

I’ll be expanding my collection of Essence nail polishes in the near future. Hooray for freedom! [Hahaha, I’m kidding. I’m just happy that I can freely wear them now that I’m in college and my school allows it.]

Recommendation:

I recommend these to everyone who loves nail polishes. They’re affordable and they have great quality!

Tips:

- Use a high quality base coat and topcoat to extend the wear time of these nail polishes. 

- Apply these in very thin layers as they are not very watery. They are a bit thicker than some polishes. 

- If you have long nails like me and you do a lot of typing or any activities that cause the polish on the tips of your nails to chip off, apply one horizontal stripe of topcoat across the tip of the nail. Once that dries, apply you topcoat as usual. 

- Store these in a cool, dry place to prevent them from thickening up and going bad prematurely. 

Final Thoughts:

What more can I say? You’ve got to catch them all! (Before they’re gone!) [Speaking of gone… Essence, please, don’t discontinue these!!! :’( Why can’t we just keep these and add new shades instead? ]

Rating:

I'll rate these with 4.5 out of 5 Jester Hats. The quality itself is good. I just don't like how the SRP and the actual price are too different for my liking. Even Maybelline nail polishes don't cost this much. Other than that, no other complaints from me.

Thanks for dropping by!