A new year brings new polishes. Fresh for January 2015, Essie introduces Cashmere Matte, a six-polish collection with satin matte textures and subtle micro-iridescent finishes.

Nudes are always good to have on hand, and although we’ve seen matte before, a matte polish with an iridescent finish is something new. Not all the colours have it, but for the ones that do, this finish really brings something to the table.

Comfy in Cashmere

This mauve shade has a subtle iridescent velvet tinge to it, which gives it a bit of spark. This one is a great everyday kind of colour, perfect for the office, but fun enough for a night out. Two coats was good enough for an opaque finish.

Wrap Me Up

I was instantly attracted to this one right away, because I love a good off-white neutral shade. Although I did find the colour gorgeous, it took three coats for it to appear opaque, and even then I felt like I could have gone over it with a fourth.

Just Stitched

I am obsessed with this shade.  In the bottle it looks kinda meh, one part boring, one part too little-girl pink.  Once its on though, it transforms into the most gorgeous neutral pink, like ever. The matte finish on this leans to the side of a pearlescent finish, but look closely, theres some holographic blue in there, just enough to add that extra kick, let-me-get-my-face-right-up-to-those-nails kind of effect.

All Eyes on Nudes

This cappuccino-coloured shade is the perfect matte nude.  In fact, it’s so nude that it basically matches my skin tone.  I’m quite pale, so its not that noticeable on my skin, but if you are darker than me (which I bet most people are), this would look beautiful on nails. Two coats were good enough for an opaque finish; a great “I’m not wearing any polish, but I totally am” kind of lacquer.

Coat Couture

A deep purple, almost grunge grey shade with a iridescent blue tinge. I actually have Lululemon pants that are pretty much the same shade as this.  As one of the two darker colours in this collection, this one is very season appropriate, but neutral enough to wear year round. I used two coats to get it fully opaque.

Spun in Luxe

The darkest shade in the collection, this not-quite-black shade has a hint of blue in it, making it unique.  Pair it with a high-gloss topcoat to really bring out that blue shimmer.

All of the shades aside from All Eyes on Nudes and Wrap Me Up have an iridescent tinge to them.  In the past I haven’t been a huge fan of the matte craze, but this collection has me changing my mind. They are rather fast drying — just polish and go.  Plus, the extra little bit of kick really changes up the whole look. My favourites from the collection were definitely Just Stitched and Comfy in Cashmere.  I really wanted to love Wrap Me Up, but I found the formula to be a bit too thin for my taste.

Are you excited for Essie’s Cashmere Matte collection?

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

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