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| Retro Revival 2016 Collection |
Originally released in 1997
Hands down the most anticipated shade from this collection, Starry Starry Night is so beloved and coveted that it was allegedly listed on Ebay for hundreds and hundreds of dollars! A deep translucent blue, Starry Starry night is sprinkled with mini silver glitters. The jelly-like finish of the blue base gives the glitters a lot of depth, making some look bluer than silver. I do agree that this polish is very beautiful, but I'm not sure it's that awe-worthy.
In terms of formulation, this one is fairly easy to apply. Slightly sheer and uneven, I used two to three coats for the swatches below. I also had to use a top coat because the polish dried to a pretty dull finish that did not do it justice. My only concern was the longer than normal drying time, as is expected with jelly finishes.
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| Starry Starry Night, two to three coats with top coat. |
Originally released in 2002
A dusty frost pinot noir, Life of the Party is a unique red. The formulation is superb; it's even, smooth, and nicely pigmented. I used two coats for the swatches below.
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| Life of the Party, two coats with no top coat. |
Originally released in 2006
The frost trend continues with this pretty iridescent pink with a peachy gold sheen. This is one of those polishes that's intended to be sheer. Although I don't usually care for sheer polishes, I really like how this gives an even and non-patchy coverage. I used two coats with no top coat.
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| Bikini with a Martini, two coats with no top coat. |
Originally released in 2015
A very pretty and elegant sheer peach beige, Sequin Sash is sprinkled with fine silver glitters. The formulation is sheer but easy to work with, I used two coats for the swatches below.
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| Sequin Letter, two coats with no top coat. |
Originally released in 1981, part of the original 12
A very pale nude pink, Birthday Suit is definitely not my favorite from this collection. The formulation is incredibly sheer, runny, and patchy. I appreciate that it's one of the original shades from Essie, but man is it difficult to work with! I used two coats for the swatches below; there was a lot of pooling and flooding of the cuticles as well.
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| Birthday Suit, two coats with no top coat. |
Originally released in 2005
This is a very pale grey pearl shimmer. The formulation is sheer and slightly streaky. I used three coats for the swatches below.
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| Cabana Boy, three coats with no top coat. |
The Retro Revival 2016 Collection will be available across Canada starting January 5, 2016.
