essie Original Nail Polish, 13 Mademoiselle, Sheer Pink Nail Polish, 13.5 ml

Product Information

I was able to find out that the following red cremes are part of Essie’s core collection (without counting the Gel couture and Expressie shades):

Essie Ballet slippers is one of the brand’s original nail polish shades and has been a fan favorite for at least three decades. It is a classic pale pink nail polish with a subtle sheer finish that looks good on every skin tone. Like Essie Ballet slippers, Mademoiselle comes in two shades, numbers #112 and #384. At first glance, they appear similar; however, a closer look will show slight color differences. Next, apply the first coat of your selected Essie polish in three swipes starting at the center near the cuticle and filling in the sides.Essie ballet slippers may have everything good going for it, but it streaks more than Mademoiselle. I love the nude pink but always struggle to perfect each coat without leaving brush marks.

You need about 2-3 coats of nail polish to achieve the actual color of Essie ballet slippers and Mademoiselle. However, you can apply fewer or more coats to build the color to the desired intensity. The biggest problem that comes with sheer neutral polishes is streakiness. If your technique is slightly off, you’ll have a smudgy and messy manicure. The biggest cause of streaky nail polish is the little ridges along the nails. Sheer and light-colored nail polishes highlight the little bumps which appear as streaks in the manicure. With the holiday season around the corner, I always feel attracted to red nail polish. There were 11 Essie red cremes in my drugstore’s Essie display, and then I’m not even counting the reds in the Gel couture and Expressie displays! I decided that it was time to do the ultimate Essie red creme comparison. At home, I was able to find out that there are even more red cremes in Essie’s core collection! The core collection differs a bit between North America and Europe, but they are mostly the same. It also differs a bit between stores.You can clearly see in this picture that Handmade with love contains a lot more orange than Fifth avenue, Geranium, and Lacquered up. Geranium and Fifth avenue are both described as orange-reds by Essie, but Geranium is slightly more orange. Although I love both Geranium and Fifth avenue, you definitely won’t need them both unless you’re really into orange reds. Lacquered up is a warm-toned red, but compared to Geranium and Fifth avenue, it’s more of a classic red. Comparison of Essie Fifth avenue, Essie Too too hot, Essie Russian Roulette and Essie Really red

This shade should still be available everywhere: ‘Russian roulette’. Essie calls Russian roulette ‘a fiery, exciting classic bright red cream polish with subtle orange undertones‘. To me, Russian roulette looks like a neutral bright red with a bit of orange. The formula is not as creamy as Fifth avenue but more a jelly, it is, therefore, a bit less opaque. However, it was still very nice to apply. On my shorter nails, I needed two coats for full opacity, but on longer nails, you probably need three. This shade did stain my nails after I removed it, so doubling up on basecoat would be a good idea! In case you are wondering about Russian Roulette’s original collection: Russian roulette is apparently so old that I couldn’t even find the collection! It was probably released early 90’s or late 80’s.

Always pair Essie colors with Essie base coats and top coats to be safe. How to Apply Essie Nail Polish Without Streaks Essie calls ‘Aperitif’ an ‘ appetizing creamy red polish‘. I had no clue what to expect. They don’t mention anything about undertones, or whether it is a dark or lighter shade of red. Now that I have actually seen this shade and worn it, I can tell you that it is a slightly cooler toned red creme, that covers in two coats. It is a bit darker than Russian Roulette and Really red, but not a lot. The shade was opaque in two coats, but it also has a jelly formula, so if you have longer nails you might have to use three. The shade was originally released around the year 2000 in a drink-themed collection. Based on the number this color used to have in the US (362), I estimate that this color is from the Winter 1999 collection, which is indeed the drink-themed collection called ‘The Essie Vineyard’. Other shades in the collection all had drink-inspired names such as Cognac and Vermouth. Essie Ballet slippers and Mademoiselle are classic nude pink nail polishes that are perfect dupes of each other. They are both sheer, have pink undertones, and pair well with all outfits in all seasons. I just pulled out the shades I thought were the closest and were the most difficult to tell apart. Reds are always super difficult to compare, so I hope you can forgive me if the comparisons are not 100 percent clear. Essie handmade with love compared to Essie Fifth avenue, Essie Geranium and Essie Lacquered up Essie mademoiselle is a beauty when worn by itself, and it also makes an excellent base color for french manicures. Even though I love to wear this shade alone, I also love layering it with other bold Essie nail polishes to create a more customized mani. Essie Mademoiselle #112 vs. #384