Purchased, affiliate links used
Hi friends! Each year, seasonal releases seem to come out earlier and earlier. I reviewed China Glaze’s Valentine’s Day collection in December so I guess that means mid-January is time for Spring collections to drop. Today’s blog post is for Essie’s new Spring collection called Blushin’ & Crushin’.
If you have been around here for a minute, you’ll know that I have the least excitement for Spring collections largely because of my dislike for pastels cremes. They’re just not my thing.
This collection is starting to pop up in stores. I purchased these from the Ulta website. If you would like to pick this collection up at a discount, check out Beyond Polish. If you use my affiliate code NicoleLovesNails you can save an extra 10%.
Live Swatch Video
Blushin’ & Crushin’
Description: a bright pink
Blushin’ & Crushin’ had a pretty great formula. It applied smoothly and self leveled really well. I found it has the slight squish factor that some cremes have.
I don’t know why but I just didn’t love this color. I like the saturation level and bright pinks, but I didn’t love this one.
My photos show Blushin’ & Crushin’ in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
First Kiss Bliss
Description: a very pale pastel green creme
First Kiss Bliss had a pretty good formula for a pastel creme. The base didn’t feel overly thick or thin and it applied pretty smoothly. It was a little streaky and uneven so you will need to build it up in coats to even everything out.
I don’t like pastel greens as a general rule so this polish just wasn’t for me. This seems to have a slight cool/blue toned feel to it.
My photos show First Kiss Bliss in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. I had some dark spots on my nails so this could potentionally be a three coater depending on personal preference.
Flirty Flutter
Description: a sheer dusty rose pink with blue pearl shimmer
Flirty Flutter as someone who doesn’t really enjoy pearl finishes, I was surprised at how much I liked this polish. My first thoughts were “ugh..” but the longer I had it on the prettier it got!
This is a fairly sheer polish so it does need building up to get the most opacity. Because this is on the sheer side, you will still have some VNL after three coats.
The shimmer in this polish does show some brush strokes, but they aren’t the worst ever so you will have to look for them to be annoyed by them.
My photos show Flirty Flutter in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Meet-cute moment
Description: a peachy coral pearl with golden shimmer
Meet-cute moment I have such a love/hate feeling about this nail polish. On one hand, it has golden shimmer so I did like that but on the other hand, it’s a pearl so ugh.
Formula wise, this was a pretty great polish! It applied evenly although you do get some obvious brush strokes through the pearly shimmer. It had pretty great coverage though so it didn’t need too much building.
My photos show Meet-cute Moment in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Meet-cute Moment reminded me a lot of OPI’s Data Peach from last year’s spring collection. They’re not dupes but they’re similar.
My friend Michelle was under the belief that this polish was a dupe for Holo Taco’s Encryption Key from the Lite Mode Collection. It’s not.
Spring Fling
Description: a bright pink coral with an orange or peach pearl shimmer
Spring Fling is another sheer pearl that you will want to build up. This polish reminds me of the pearly pinks I remember seeing a lot of in nail salons when I was a kid. It’s very… vintage looking.
The pearl shimmer in here does show brush strokes. I had a hard time deciding if I thought the shimmer was an orange, peach, or gold but I think it’s somewhere between a peach and orange.
My photos show Spring Fling in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I am going to call this a 2-3 coater depending on user application.
Tu-lips touch
Description: a slightly dusty pastel blue cream
Tu-lips Touch as someone who dislikes pastel blues (generally at least) this one had the tiniest droplet of grey in it that I really enjoyed! I don’t feel like the mutedness/dustiness really translated 100% for photos but it was there in person.
The formula on this polish was surprisingly good. At first, it felt slightly chalky but it self leveled nicely and I was able to reach full opacity in only 2 coats.
My photos show Tu-lips Touch in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Final Thoughts
As someone who isn’t the biggest fan of pastel cremes or pearlescent polishes, I went into swatching this collection with fairly low expectations. Spring releases are usually my least favorite (gimmie brights, glitters and pruglies please) and to no fault of its own, I wasn’t the biggest fan of this collection.
I do recognize that I am SO not the target audience for this release so I do think if pastel creams and pearls are your jam you would probably like this collection a lot.
Essie
13.5ml, 8 Free, Not Tested On Animals & Vegan
Website | Instagram
Sale Information
The Blushin’ & Crushin’ collection is starting to pop up for sale now both online and instore.
If you would like to shop Essie at a discount, do check out Beyond Polish. With my affiliate code, NicoleLovesNails you can save an additional 10%.
Essie is also sold at the following retailers: Ulta, Target, Rite Aide, Walmart and Amazon. These links are affiliate links. Using my affiliate links/codes helps me keep purchasing all of these collections to review but as always, no pressure to use them!
