Essie Winter 2011 Collection: Cocktail Bling

Here are the six shades of creamy Essie hues for your fingers come snow time. 

L-R: Brooch the Subject, Bangle Jangle, Cocktail Bling, School of Hard Rocks, Bobbing for Baubles, Size Matters

Some nail wheel swatches. I would do it on my fingers, but I didn't want to ruin the manicure I got during the event. Size Matters is a dark red cream, Bobbing for Baubles is a rich deep navy, School of Hard Rocks is a muted forest green, Cocktail Bling is a creamy gray with blue undertones, Bangle Jangle a lilac, and Brooch the Subject a mannequin nude. A note: during the event, a couple other bloggers got Brooch the Subject manicures and it ended up looking different on both of them.

As far as I could tell from swatching on nail wheels (can I please just thank the genius who created these? They make life so much easier), all six of them feature the stellar Essie formula. Most of them were opaque on one application - but if you know me by now, you'll know I'm a loyal two-coater regardless. 

I chose Cocktail Bling because I thought it looked the most interesting out of the bunch. In the bottle and nail wheel swatch, Cocktail Bling comes across as a straightforward light gray but when placed on the nails it takes on a baby blue + gray tone. Some days I think it leans gray and others I'm convinced it leans blue. Either way, it's so pretty almost every girl who had more than five minutes of conversation with me this week complimented me on my nail color. I suspect Cocktail Bling might take after Brooch the Subject and look different on different fingers, but I won't know till more swatches hit the Web. 

Cocktail Bling lasted on my fingers for seven days with the most minimal of tip wears. On the eighth day, a small portion of polish chipped off my pinky, but the rest are still very much intact.

Essie Winter 2011 Collection will be available in stores and salons this month, no word on the exact date. Based on my experience with just about every Essie seasonal collection, I'd keep an eye out for the Essie stand in your local pharmacy/salon. Without fail, they disappear at an alarming rate.

The products in this post was given to Messy Wands by the company during the event.