Purchased by me, affiliate links used
Hi friends! I feel like it’s been a little bit since I had some nail polish swatches for you all. I have been posting a lot of non-nail content over on my YouTube channel as of late so I haven’t been swatching as much. Fret not though, I’ll have a few things coming up over the next week or two as lots of brands are dropping some collections!
Speaking of which, Essie has dropped their first collection of the upcoming new year, Odd Squad. The inspiration behind this collection is to embrace the weird for the new year which I can get behind. The color story isn’t typical winter vibes which I can also appreciate!
I purchased this collection from Amazon. I haven’t seen it pop up on too many other sites yet but I will link them as I find them! If you want to see these in natural lighting, check out my life swatch video!
Live Swatch Video
Essie is a US based mainstream brand. Their polishes are in 13.5ml bottles, 8 free vegan and cruelty free.
Mismatch To Match
Description: a warm raisin taupe
Mismatch To Match I spend a good chunk of my time blogging about nail polish and talking about how much I dislike taupe shades in general. For whatever reason, this polish is the exception. I LOVED how this polish looked on me!
I feel like the warmth and slight reddish tone, added something to this taupe base that really was pretty. The formula and application were both fantastic. It was just shy of being a one coater on me.
My photos show Mismatch To Match in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
Never Basic
Description: a muted, soft coral with red and neutral undertones
Never Basic had a fantastic formula. I was pleasantly surprised by how nicely this applied.
I am not generally a fan of coral shades, outside of neon corals at least, but I will say this was a great polish even if it’s not for me personally. The color reminds me a little bit of like a terracotta. If you are like me and having warmer undertones, this will warm up your skin tone but I didn’t find I got lobster hands with it.
My photos show Never Basic in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. This was super close to being a one coater!
Not a Phase
Description: a red with cool undertones
Not A Phase is a fantastic “emo” red creme. To my eye looks like a brick red.
This had a fantastic formula. It applied buttery smooth and leveled perfectly. It doesn’t have that crelly like formula that many reds often have. It was a one coater for me.
My photos show Not A Phase in 2 coats plus glossy top coat but it does dry down pretty glossy. I am going to call this one a potential stainer. It is very pigmented so make sure to wear base coat!
Odd Squad
Description: a deeply rich coffee brown with red undertones
Odd Squad is a very interesting brown color. I found those red undertones warm it up and caused me to wonder if it is a very very dark red with brown in it or a very dark brown with red in it.
Odd Squad had a really beautiful formula. It self levels and applies like a dream! Depending on thickness of coats this can be a one coater.
I love brown cremes but generally prefer them to be more chocolate brown rather than this reddish brown.
My photos show Odd Squad in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. This also dries down very glossy.
Offbeat Chic
Description: a vibrant cyan blue with yellow undertones
Offbeat Chic this shade of blue is so damn pretty! I love that they threw in this seemingly random bright pop up color in this collection. I don’t know what Essie means by “yellow undertones” but I often get confused when they describe colors.
This polish had one of the thinner formulations in this release. It was thin and borderline watery, especially in comparison to the slightly thicker more opaque formulations of the other polishes in this release.
My photos show Offbeat Chic in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I wouldn’t recommend working in thick coats with this polish as it will be very runny if you do.
Perfectly Peculiar
Description: a bright minty green
Perfectly Peculiar was similar to Offbeat Chic in the ‘I don’t like this..’ formulation. This was fairly streaky and if you do more than the 3 stroke method of application, you will create bald spots in your manicure.
I do like how Perfectly Peculiar also is a seemingly random pop up color in this collection, I just wish it was formulated a little better. The self leveling is a little bit slower in comparison to the other polishes in this collection. This is a more pastel leaning green so I recognize pastels are often a little finicky.
My photos show Perfectly Peculiar in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. This might be a two coater with careful application,
Final Thoughts
This is not one of those color stories that Essie does where everything feels cohesive. According to Essie, this collection purposefully was supposed to not match.
Overall I thought the collection was pretty great even if the colors were nothing that truly got me going. I do wish Essie released a holiday collection for the year (that those of us here in the states could have purchased) and didn’t jump straight from Fall to the New Year.
My top picks are Odd Squad and Mismatch To Match.
Essie
13.5ml, 8 Free, Not Tested On Animals & Vegan
Website | Instagram
Sale Information
The Odd Squad collection is starting to pop up at online retailers, it should be popping up in store any day now. I purchased this collection from Amazon. This is a limited edition release.
If you would like to shop Essie at a discount, do check out of 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!
