When I think of holiday nail polish collections, glitter and red come to mind.  Essie’s 2012 winter collection, aptly titled “Leading Lady” doesn’t disappoint, with two glitters and two reds (well three if you count the red glitter), plus a couple unexpected shades thrown in for good luck.

In the press materials, essie founder and global creative director Essie Weingarten describes this collection as “one part Queen Elizabeth, two parts Dutchess of Cambridge. They don’t mince words, and they never mince colour.   They always go straight for the jugular.”  This collection is one part traditional (reds and glitters) a la Queen Elizabeth, but then with a Tiffany blue and a beautiful colbalt thrown in the mix, it redefines what holiday collections are all about; it’s a new generation of what the holiday standard is (aka the Kate Middleton of the collection).

As much as I love a good red and glitter, the stand out shades for me in this collection are Butler Please, a blue-blooded colbalt, and Where’s My Chauffeur?, a driven, gorgeous turquoise. These shades could have been released with any collection, no matter the season and I would have picked them up, but I love how essie released them for the holidays. They are just so unexpected.

From L to R: Beyond Cozy, Where's My Chauffeur, and Butler Please

Other colours in the collection include Snap Happy (incandescent vermillion), She’s Pampered (flagrantly luxe scarlet), Beyond Cozy (high-carat gold sparkle), and Leading Lady (glittering crimson regalia).  

She’s Pampered is described as a luxurious scarlet and I have to agree. This is a deeper red, but not anywhere near a bordeaux.  If you are looking for something along the lines of a traditional red, this would be it.

L to R: Snap Happy and Like Me

Snap Happy is a vermillion red, similar to a poppy.  This colour, to me, is the least original shade (other than the glitters) in the collection.  I have many shades similar to this one, including Like Me by essie, which was given away through a Facebook contest when essie launched in Canada.

L to R: essie Where's My Chauffeur and China Glaze Aquadelic

Where’s My Chauffeur is a gorgeous turquoise colour reminiscent of Tiffany blue.  This is one of my favourite shades in the collection because it reminds me greatly of China Glaze’s Aquadelic which came out in January 2012 with their ElectroPop collection.  Aquadelic is one of my all-time favourite nail polish colours so I was excited to get the essie version.

Butler Please is a cobalt blue unlike any other colour in my collection. This one stands out beautifully on the nails and is just so eye-catching; I often found myself just staring at my nails whenever they catch my eye.  This shade reminded me of Sally Hansen’s Pacific Blue, although it may be a touch darker.

Beyond Cozy is a golden glitter colour with a touch of silver.  This isn’t my favourite gold glitter that I have but it does remind me of Christmas a great deal.  I own other glitter polishes which are definitely more shiny, but if you are looking for something more understated, this is it.

Leading Lady is a red glitter colour that is perfect for the holiday season.  Like Beyond Cozy, this isn’t the shiniest glitter colour I have ever used, but if you want a touch of glitter, this is perfect. These two glitter polishes don’t feel grainy when they are dry so that’s always good, however, I did find they do chip off faster than the creme colours.

All the colours seemed to have very good staying power, with at least three days wear before minor chips appeared.  The glitter polishes, as I stated before, lasted about a day to a day-and-a-half before they started to chip.  Two coats of each polish were enough to get an opaque finish, and as usual I used Poshe Top Coat and Beauty Secret’s Base Coat from Sally’s Beauty Supply.

I really like this collection as it is something traditional mixed with something different.  The stand outs in the collection are definitely Butler Please, Where’s My Chauffeur, Beyond Cozy, and She’s Pampered.  The glitters are okay, they aren’t anything really special; other brands put out better glitter polishes in my opinion.

Have you tried any colours from essie’s winter 2012 collection? If so, what were your thoughts?

Please note, I was sent these products for review purposes, however, all opinions are my honest own :).

Like what you read?  Check out these related posts:

• A different take on swimsuit shopping: essie summer 2012 collection
• NOTD: essie Mint Candy Apple
• NOTD: China Glaze Aquadelic
• Fast and dry: Poshe Top Coat