Essie Better Together

The next several posts will look at Essie's 2011 Wedding Collection. I decided to pick up this collection on a whim when I was in a major polish hoarder phase-- but it works because I've got two weddings upcoming! (Well, one is in October of 2012, but it's my sister-in-law's, so it's a big deal!) So I'm reviewing this collection for any potential brides out there... but stay tuned for next summer/fall when I will be putting together some ideas for my SIL's big day.

First up is Better Together. From what I can tell, this is a pretty classic sheer bridal pink, meant to worn to give the nails a little bit of color or as part of a french manicure. This color can be made opaque, but I needed four thickish coats to get there.

Artificial light:

Artificial light with flash:

Natural light - shade:

Natural light - sun:

As you can see, it's a very pretty color-- reminiscent of ballerinas, in addition to brides. Sweet and simple. But the fact that it's sheer and takes at least four coats to make opaque is a huge turn-off, at least for me personally. The color isn't original and unique enough to warrant the extra effort. You can find pretty, light pinks that are opaque in fewer coats. However, in addition to needing many coats for this one, I also had a lot of issues with bubbling with Better Together. Not sure if that's because I used thicker coats or just the nature of this particular polish. I used Essie First Base base coat and Good to Go top coat. For some reason I also got some bubbles in the top coat, which is something I don't run into often with this top coat.

My verdict: while it's a pretty color, I think that unless you're specifically looking for a sheer pink polish, you can find a similar color that's opaque and less problematic.